Monthly Archives: September 2024
American right-wing influencers duped to work for covert Russian influence operation — prosecutors | Euronews
They have millions of followers online, they have been major players in right-wing political discourse since Donald Trump was US president, and they worked unknowingly for a company that was a front for a Kremlin influence operation, US prosecutors say.
An indictment filed on Wednesday alleges a media company linked to six conservative influencers — including well-known personalities Tim Pool, Dave Rubin and Benny Johnson — was secretly funded by Russian state media employees.
The company would use the money to churn out English-language videos that were “often consistent” with the Kremlin’s “interest in amplifying US domestic divisions in order to weaken US opposition” to Moscow’s interests, like its war in Ukraine, according to the indictment.

Alaska governor vetoes expanded birth control access as a judge strikes down abortion limits – Los Angeles Times
In competing developments about reproductive rights in the nation’s largest state, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bill to expand birth control access while a judge struck down decades-old restrictions on who could perform abortions.
The Republican governor’s veto Wednesday stunned supporters of the measure, which would have forced insurance companies to cover up to a year’s supply of birth control at a time, something considered especially important in providing access in distant rural communities.
The bill overwhelmingly passed the state Legislature this year: 29-11 in the Republican-controlled House and 16-3 in the Senate, which has bipartisan leadership. It was not opposed by insurance companies, supporters noted.

Netanyahu derailed a potential Gaza hostage deal in July, Israeli newspaper reports – Egypt Independent
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in July effectively spiked a draft hostage and ceasefire deal by introducing a raft of new, 11th-hour demands, according to a report by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth citing a document it obtained.

Republican candidate for governor Mark Robinson is losing the ad war in North Carolina | North Carolina | The Guardian
The North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson’s campaign ad spending appears to have completely collapsed in the wake of the Republican’s mounting scandals and increasingly dire poll numbers.
The lieutenant governor’s apparent shortfall comes despite changes to North Carolina’s campaign finance laws, which would make it easier for national donors to contribute to his campaign without leaving fingerprints on their money.

(13) Kamala Harris Responds To Republican At Town Hall – YouTube

(13) Protesters gather in Tel Aviv again to pressure government to reach a cease-fire deal – YouTube
Large protests have continued in Tel Aviv in Israel for a fourth consecutive night Wednesday as hundreds took to the streets to call on the government to reach a cease-fire deal that would bring home the remaining hostages held in Gaza. (AP video shot by Ami Bentov)

Maldives drops plan to reopen longline tuna fishing following protests – Conservation news
Longline fishing for tuna will remain closed in the Maldives, the island country’s president announced on Aug. 29. The decision came after local fishers, conservation NGOs and scientists protested against plans by the administration of President Mohamed Muizzu to reopen longline fisheries for yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna. Longline fishing has been banned in the Maldives since 2019.
“I am quite relieved by the decision and hope that the Government will uphold it,” Shaha Hashim, chairperson of conservation NGO Maldives Resilient Reefs, told Mongabay over a message. “This decision will not only safeguard the livelihoods of fishers and the tourism industry but also protect our marine biodiversity.”
Fishers in the Maldives have traditionally used pole-and-line fishing to catch tuna like skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis) and yellowfin (Thunnus albacares). But since 1985, the Maldivian government has alternated between allowing and restricting longline fishing to increase catches of yellowfin and bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus). Longline fishing involves placing a long horizontal drag line that can stretch for kilometers, with thousands of baited hooks suspended in the water for several hours.
“While they are very good at catching tuna, they also catch and inflict immense collateral damage, entangling and drowning seabirds, turtles, manta rays, sharks, many of them endangered,” Callum Roberts, a marine conservation biologist with the University of Exeter, U.K., told Mongabay.
Source: Maldives drops plan to reopen longline tuna fishing following protests – Conservation news

8596 Haiku | jllopart
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Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max – ƒ/1.6 1/75 5.1mm ISO125 – Fifty Lakes, MN
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