Category: Europe

For average wage earners in Russia, it's a big payday. For criminals seeking to escape the harsh conditions and abuse in prison, it's a chance at freedom. For immigrants hoping for a better life, it's a simplified path to citizenship.
All they have to do is sign a contract to fight in Ukraine.
This desperate recruitment drive is part of Moscow's strategy to replenish its forces in the nearly four-year conflict, while simultaneously avoiding an unpopular nationwide mobilisation. The bloody war of attrition has also seen foreign combatants join the fray. Following a mutual defence treaty in 2024, North Korea reportedly sent thousands of soldiers to help Russia defend its Kursk region against a Ukrainian incursion.
Furthermore, men from South Asian countries, including India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, have reported being duped by recruiters who promised legitimate jobs, only to find themselves conscripted for combat. Officials in Kenya, South Africa, and Iraq have confi..

Federal immigration officers have shot and killed another American citizen in Minneapolis, just 17 days after they fatally shot Renee Good.
The victim of the shooting was identified as Alex Pretti, 37. He was near 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis on Saturday morning, filming DHS agents during an operation.
Open-sourced video capturing the incident shows Pretti moving to assist a pair of individuals on the sidewalk near the agents, who then began pepper-spraying the group.
The victim is tackled by a group of at least five agents and dragged to the ground. The footage shows the Border Patrol agents struggling with Pretti on the ground and striking him when a gunshot is heard. A moment later, an agent fires multiple shots while Pretti is down on the pavement.
Ten shots were fired within five seconds.
Immediately after the shooting, the agents back off from Pretti's body, and one officer — who appears to be holding a gun — runs away from the scene and hides behind a..

The National Transportation Safety Board is set to scrutinise the deadliest US air crash since 2001 this Tuesday, where 67 people died in a collision between an airliner and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., on January 29. Investigators are expected to detail multiple contributing factors rather than a single cause.
The NTSB hearing will explore these numerous factors, with the board aiming to propose crucial changes to avert similar incidents. The Federal Aviation Administration has already cemented temporary restrictions, ensuring aircraft and helicopters will no longer share the same airspace around Reagan National Airport.
However, families of the victims are urging that these recommendations are not overlooked, a fate many past NTSB suggestions have met. Tim Lilley, whose son Sam was the first officer on the American Airlines plane, expressed his hope: “I hope officials in Congress and the administration will make changes now instead of waiting until for another disaster.”..

CloseKyiv and Kharkiv bombarded in '370 drone attack' hours after Ukraine-Russia peace talks openVladimir Putin ordered a “brutal” attack on Kyiv that has left millions without power as trilateral peace talks were underway in Abu Dhabi, according to Ukrainian officials.
The two-day negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by the US, marked the first such talks since the war erupted in February 2022, but they drew to a close on Saturday with no significant breakthroughs made. The Donbas region, including the largely Russian-occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions, remain a sticking point for both countries.
The second day of talks came as dozens of people were injured in Kyiv and Kharkiv, with at least one person dead in the capital, after Russia launched a major missile and drone attack, according to Ukrainian officials.
“Cynically, Putin ordered a brutal massive missile strike against Ukraine right while delegations are meeting in Abu Dhabi to advance the America-led p..

CloseMoment federal agents shoot man in MinneapolisThe man shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis Saturday has been named as Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse.
Federal officials accused Pretti of attempting to assassinate officers with a pistol.
Publicly available video doesn’t show Pretti pointing or drawing any weapon and threatening officers.
Another video shows him attempting to stand between federal agents and a person one of them has just pushed to the ground.
A group of about six officers then stand over Pretti and wrestle him to the ground, scattering after shots ring out. One angle of the encounter seems to show an officer pulling a pistol resembling the one found on Pretti just before the shooting begins.
Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara said Pretti was a “lawful gun owner” with a permit.
Federal officials didn’t provide any footage or a detailed timeline of the encounter, merely pointing to the gun as evidence Pretti was attempting an attack.
State offic..

Under the Trump administration, immigration and border agencies have received an unprecedented windfall of nearly $170 billion in new funding, but their operations have also come at a major cost to the taxpayer, according to newly released data.
The cost of a single enforced deportation is $18,245, the Department of Homeland Security announced on Wednesday. Last year, the figure was just over $17,000.
The agency announced the statistics while touting its CBP Home process, which offers a $2,600 stipend to migrants willing to self-deport, arguing the program saves taxpayers thousands of dollars.
During the president’s first year in office, there were more than 675,000 deportations, and an estimated 2.2 million self-deportations.
The Trump administration’s military-style deportation crackdowns have also caused major expenditures and economic disruptions in cities across the country, most recently Minneapolis.
open image in galleryIt costs $18,245 to carry out a single deportation, accor..