ECB Officials Briefed on Military Threat Posed by Putin's Russia
Policymakers started their April 16-17 gathering in Frankfurt with a seminar presented by academics detailing scenarios on how such an attack on the Europe Union might plausibly materialize within four years, said the people, who declined to be identified because the session was private.
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The Hill
a few seconds ago
- The Hill
Brennan, Clapper: Trump administration seeks to ‘rewrite history' with Obama claims
Former CIA Director John Brennan and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper used a joint op-ed to push back on claims from the Trump administration that Obama-era intelligence officials misrepresented conclusions about its review of Russia's effort to influence the 2016 election. 'Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, and John Ratcliffe, the Central Intelligence Agency director, have over the past month claimed that senior officials of the Obama administration manufactured politicized intelligence, silenced intelligence professionals and engaged in a broad 'treasonous conspiracy' to undermine the presidency of Donald Trump. That is patently false,' the duo wrote in The New York Times. The intelligence community concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election with the aim of aiding President Trump in the contest. The pair then list a suite of reports that backed that conclusion, from Trump-appointed special counsel John Durham to a bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report prepared under now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 'Every serious review has substantiated the intelligence community's fundamental conclusion that the Russians conducted an influence campaign intended to help Mr. Trump win the 2016 election,' the two wrote. Amid pressure on the Trump administration to release files related to the prosecution of deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein, the Trump team has released several other tranches of documents. Gabbard, in particular, has released a memo and documents she said shows Clapper withheld information from the American public, including that there was 'no indication of a Russian threat to directly manipulate the actual vote count.' That was never in dispute though, and intelligence officials said at the time that Russia was unable to manipulate vote counts. The documents released by Gabbard show intelligence officials discussing that Russia was unable to change any votes. Gabbard later released a report from House Intelligence Republicans casting doubt on whether Russia aimed to help Trump versus sow chaos in the U.S., but most other assessments back the conclusion the adversary did so with the hopes of boosting the president. But beyond the documents released, Gabbard and others have largely talked about the intelligence community's review of the 2016 election as part of a conspiracy to damage Trump, undermine his victory, and boost the largely-debunked Steele Dossier. 'Contrary to the Trump administration's wild and baseless claims, there was no mention of 'collusion' between the Trump campaign and the Russians in the assessment,' they wrote. 'We have testified under oath, and the reviews of the assessment have confirmed, that the dossier was not used as a source or taken into account for any of its analysis or conclusions,' they added. They also reiterated that the assessment made no judgment about the impact Russia's moves had on the outcome of the election. 'While some state and local electoral boards and voter information and registration systems were accessed by Russian intelligence, the assessment made clear that none of those types of systems were involved in counting votes,' they wrote. 'Russian influence operations might have shaped the views of Americans before they entered the voting booth, but we found no evidence that the Russians changed any actual votes.' Clapper and Brennan go on to describe efforts to keep their intelligence work shielded, understanding the influence it would have on the election, calling it a 'remarkable irony' to have Trump figures release it now. 'The real politicization is the calculated distortion of intelligence by administration officials, notably Mr. Trump's directors of national intelligence and the C.I.A., positions that should be apolitical. We find it deeply regrettable that the administration continues to perpetuate the fictitious narrative that Russia did not interfere in the 2016 election,' they wrote. 'It should instead acknowledge that a foreign nation-state — a mortal enemy of the United States — routinely meddles in our national elections and will continue to do so unless we take appropriate bipartisan action to stop it.'
Miami Herald
a few seconds ago
- Miami Herald
Zelensky signs new law reversing last week's protested corruption bill
July 31 (UPI) -- After a week of protests, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky signed an anti-corruption bill reversing one he signed last week. The Ukrainian parliament voted unanimously for the new bill after backlash from Ukrainian people and the European Union. Last week's law brought two anti-corruption watchdogs under the control of the country's prosecutor general, which is a politically appointed position. Proponents said it was necessary to prevent Russian influence in the anti-corruption system and speed up corruption cases. But opponents said it stripped away the independence of the organizations -- the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. The new law reversed last week's law. "I want to thank all the lawmakers for passing my bill, now a law. I have just signed the document, and the text will be published immediately," Zelensky said on his Telegram channel. "There are guarantees for the proper, independent operation of anti-corruption bodies and all law enforcement agencies of our state." Many sitting members of parliament are being investigated by NABU. The agency has charged 71 current and former MPs with corruption. Forty-two of them were charged between 2022 and 2025. Still in parliament are 31 of the charged MPs. Ukraine's Anti-Corruption Action Center approved of Zelensky's initiative, saying it would "restore the principles previously dismantled by the Verkhovna Rada [parliament]." The European Union warned Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, that it saw last week's law as backsliding in the country's efforts to combat corruption and could jeopardize its plans to join its ranks. "The European Union is concerned about Ukraine's recent actions with regard to its anti-corruption institutions, NABU and SAPO," European Commission Spokesperson Guillaume Mercier told Ukrinform, the country's national news agency last week. Mercier added that the European Union's financial assistance to Ukraine is conditional on "transparency, judicial reform and democratic governance." Former Prime Minister and current MP Yulia Tymoshenko defended last week's bill. "This bill, the president submitted under colossal pressure, is not about NABU and SAP, and not about the fight against corruption. NABU and SAP are organs of political pressure on Ukraine's government from outside. We are not a country that can be ruled by foreign powers as a dog on a leash," Tymoshenko said during the parliament session on Thursday. "I don't care who takes away our sovereignty, East or West." Last week, Zelensky quickly signed the disputed bill, claiming NABU and SAP were not effective enough and were filled with Russian agents. The organizations were investigating corruption allegations against some of his closest allies. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Newsweek
a few seconds ago
- Newsweek
North Korea Openly Defies Sanctions With Help From China
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. North Korean oil tankers blacklisted by the United Nations have been transmitting their locations while operating in Chinese waters, openly flouting sanctions against the illicit transfer of energy to Kim Jong Un's regime and despite U.N. resolutions requiring Beijing to seize and inspect the ships. In an investigative report released on Thursday, the specialist outlet NK Pro said data from ship-tracking service MarineTraffic found at least five North Korean tankers had entered Chinese waters in July. Four were under U.N sanctions. A Newsweek map captured their partial tracks utilizing self-reported signal data captured by MarineTraffic and Global Fishing Watch. The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment after hours. Why It Matters North Korea is not banned from importing oil but faces a U.N.-imposed 500,000-barrel cap per year. Countries must report any shipments of fuel to the international body. Russia faces restrictions on its oil exports including a G7-imposed cap, which Moscow has circumvented this with a sanctions-busting shadow fleet. The data indicates North Korean vessels were getting oil from Russia's Far East, too, and will continue to get the commodity under the protection of its closest allies, Beijing and Moscow, thus undermining the sanctions regime. What To Know NK Pro said the five North Korean tankers likely sailed to Chinese waters to pick up fuel. They included the U.N.-sanctioned ships Song Won 2, An San 1, Kum Jin Gang 3 and Sin Phyong 9. The latter three had also frequented an oil pier at Russia's Vostochny Port, in the far-eastern Primorsky region, which is the main hub for North Korean fuel runs, the outlet said. This image from 2008 shows Port Vostochny in Russia's far eastern city of Nakhodka where North Korean vessels have reportedly loaded Russian oil. This image from 2008 shows Port Vostochny in Russia's far eastern city of Nakhodka where North Korean vessels have reportedly loaded Russian fifth vessel, the Chong Ryong San, is not sanctioned but is suspected of transporting petroleum products to North Korea's main port of Nampho and conducting illicit ship-to-ship transfers, according to a U.N. report. All four blacklisted vessels had broadcast their locations this month off eastern or southeastern China, near the reports of Zhoushan, Taizhou and Fujian. It was a sign that China was following Russia in rejecting sanctions against North Korea, said Neil Watts, a sanctions specialist and former member of the U.N. Panel of Experts on Pyongyang. Between March and November 2024, Russia supplied North Korea with over a million barrels of oil, or twice the U.N.-imposed limit, likely in payment for military support, according to the BBC, citing satellite data from the U.K.-based Open Source Center. What People Are Saying Neil Watts, former member of the U.N. Panel of Experts: "The freer movements of North Korean vessels over the last two years, since the start of the war in Ukraine, suggest that China is following Russia in dismissing sanctions against North Korea." What Happens Next The North Korean tanker movements show Beijing's reluctance to enforce U.N. resolutions barring them from entering foreign ports, according to Watts, who added that such "brazen movements" are likely to continue as they see themselves untouchable under Russian and Chinese protection.
