Russian authorities have taken steps to declare the LGBTQ+ movement extremist by filing a lawsuit with the Supreme Court. The move is seen as a major blow to the already marginalized LGBTQ+ community in Russia, which has faced increasing conservatism in recent years. The ministry claims to have identified signs of extremism, including incitement of…
France has taken the unprecedented step of issuing an international arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar al Assad, accusing him of using banned chemical weapons against civilians. This marks the first time an international warrant has been issued for a sitting head of state. Along with Assad, warrants have also been issued for his brother…
The new leader of the Wagner Group, a notorious Russian mercenary group, has been revealed as Anton Yelizarov, 42, also known as “Lotus”. Yelizarov takes over the leadership role following the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash on August 23. Yelizarov, a former army officer, has been involved in some of the most…
Troops fighting alongside Russia in Ukraine, including the Rusich Sabotage and Reconnaissance Group, are threatening to leave the conflict unless the Kremlin secures the release of one of their founding members from Finnish custody, according to the Institute for the Study of War. Yan Petrovsky is facing extradition to Ukraine on charges of terrorism. The…
An MP has warned “Putin’s war dogs” Wagner are running a “network in the shadows” stripping African gold and natural resources to directly fund the war in Ukraine. Alicia Kearns is chair of the 11-strong Foreign Affairs Committee that became the first under a UK Parliament to commission a report into the operations of a…
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, has praised Niger’s military coup in a voice message on Telegram and offered his fighters’ services to bring order. Wagner Boss Yevgeny Prigozhin with Ambassador Freddy Mapouka, a Presidential Advisor in the Central African Republic (CAR). Although he did not claim involvement in the coup, he…
A high-ranking Russian parliamentarian and reservist General has warned that Russia plans to invade countries viewed as NATO’s “weakest links” using its mercenary army, Wagner. Reservist Col-Gen Andrey Kartapolov, who is the Chairman of the Russian parliament’s defense committee, claims that Wagner has been training Belarus’ armed forces and could be used to take over…
Russian state TV has aired footage of raids on properties linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group that attempted an armed mutiny last month. Russian TV shows wig collection, souvenir sledge hammers seized in raid on Prigozhin residence© AFP During the programme, called “60 Minutes,” which aired on Rossiya-1 TV on Wednesday,…
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has denied that Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, is still in Belarus. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko walks before a press conference in Minsk© Thomson Reuters Last month, Lukashenko brokered a deal that ended an armed mutiny in Russia, with the president later revealing that Prigozhin had arrived…
The Mayor of a small town in Southern Mexico entered into holy matrimony with a female reptile in a traditional rite to bring good fortune to his people, amidst clapping and dancing by onlookers Victor Hugo Sosa, Mayor of San Pedro Huamelula, a town of Indigenous Chontal people in the Tehuantepec isthmus of Mexico, took…
