U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken mentioned the issue of military cooperation between North Korea and Russia on the 19th (local time) and said, “The seven major countries (G7) are stepping up efforts to block arms transfers and support for Russia’s defense industrial base.” “He said.
According to the Voice of America (VOA), Secretary Blinken, who attended the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting held on the Italian island of Capri since the 17th, said at a press conference that day, “North Korea and Iran are mainly supplying weapons to Russia.”
“Currently, the largest contributor to Russia’s defense industrial base is China,” he said. “China shares machine tools, semiconductors, and other dual-use items, and Russia’s defense industrial base has been greatly damaged by sanctions and export controls.” “It is helping with the reconstruction,” he criticized.
He then pointed out that while China claims to want ‘good relations’ with other countries, including Europe, on the other hand, it should not show a two-faced behavior by encouraging Russia, which is the biggest threat to European security.
He emphasized, “The G7 agrees on the need for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, and the Korean Peninsula,” and added, “We are also united in opposing China’s unfair and non-market practices.”
Prior to this, the G7 foreign ministers (USA, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Japan, and Italy) criticized ‘North Korea-Russia military cooperation’ in a joint statement issued after a three-day meeting on this day.
They said, “We condemn in the strongest terms the deepening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including North Korea’s exports in violation of UN Security Council resolutions and Russia’s procurement of North Korean ballistic missiles and their use against Ukraine.”
He continued, “We are also deeply concerned about the possibility of nuclear or ballistic missile-related technology being transferred to North Korea in violation of Security Council resolutions.”
The G7 foreign ministers said, “We urge North Korea to refrain from conducting any more nuclear tests,” and added, “It must also stop generating revenue for its illegal ballistic missile and weapons of mass destruction programs, including malicious cyber activities.”
He then pointed out North Korea’s human rights violations, expressed disappointment over the continued refusal to engage in dialogue, and said, “We urge North Korea to accept repeated offers for dialogue in order to strengthen peace and security in the region.”
(Seoul = News 1)
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G7 foreign ministers “condemn North Korea-Russia military cooperation in the strongest terms”
Former PDVSA director linked to Tareck El Aissami corruption plot dies in custody – Diario La Página
– 2024-04-20 06:35:02
#fight #corruption #Anna #Kinberg #Batra #Patrik #Kronqvist
Patrik Kronqvist
Apologize, lay all the cards on the table and thus kill interest in the deal. That is usually the strategy when hunted power holders speak out in the media.
But Governor Anna Kinberg Batras appearances i the week raised more questions than they answered.
After all, she didn’t seem particularly remorseful that she hired a close friend for a top job that was only advertised on the county board’s notice board. It was competence alone that was allowed to guide the recruitment, she insisted insistently.
Instead, she seemed to think that the big problem was that the behavior became known at all.
The governor regretted that the crisis had “occurred”, considered it unfortunate that she had been “questioned” and explained that it was not her intention to end up “in this type of rumour-mongering”.
Kinberg Batra took the fact that the National Prosecutor chose not to initiate a preliminary investigation because she would not have committed any errors. It is undeniably a low bar for a governor – to manage to avoid prosecution in the service.
■ ■ ■
Say the word “corruption” and most Swedes probably think of cash being smuggled under the table. But that type of direct bribery is relatively rare in Sweden.
According to experts, it is all the more common with “sophisticated corruption”, as the sociologist Apostolis Papakostas calls it.
It is a phenomenon that moves in the gray zone between what is criminal and what is just morally dubious. It can be about things like giving advantages to an acquaintance in a procurement or hiring a close friend.
However, that type of corruption rarely makes an impression in the crime statistics. It is not only because such activities take place in secret. With today’s legislation, it is also difficult to convict those in power for such actions – as the closed preliminary investigation against Anna Kinberg Batra shows.
Last year, however, there was one thesis in sociology at Linköping University, which in an innovative way shed light on the corruption risks that exist in Sweden.
Using register data, researcher Emanuel Wittberg was able to show that young adults in metropolitan areas, who have a relative in a municipal housing company, are more likely to get a rental contract.
He also demonstrated that newly graduated political scientists who have parents in a government agency have an increased chance of getting a job in that particular workplace – but not in other agencies.
It does not necessarily mean that the behavior has been corrupt in every single case. But the pattern is clear: Anna Kinberg Batra is not alone in Swedish administration in thinking that the very best competence is found in the close circle of acquaintances.
■ ■ ■
Swedes’ internationally high level of trust in authorities is not a law of nature. It emerged after the state at the end of the 19th century stamped out corruption from the state apparatus and combated the civil servants’ habit of hiring relatives and friends.
Anna Kinberg Batra makes use of that trust when she appeals to the Swedes to trust that everything has gone right with the recruitment, despite the fact that she completed the processes to ensure just that.
The more such scandals are uncovered, the more trust is weakened.
But thankfully it’s probably a slow-acting poison.
A more acute systemic threat is organized crime. Around 60 percent of European networks use corruption to achieve their goals, according to Europol. As the gangs strengthen their power in Sweden, the problem will therefore only grow.
The Anna Kinberg Batra case reveals that Sweden is extremely ill-equipped to face that threat.
When it comes to fighting corruption, Sweden is the closest to a developing country. OECD has alarmed for years that the Swedish legislation is too weak. And the issue is obviously a low priority for Swedish authorities – the Director General of the State Treasury, the authority that is supposed to coordinate the work against corruption, has also recruited a manager via a note at reception.
The gang can of course use the same loopholes, the same lax legislation and the same lack of follow-up and control that ordinary Swedish officials have been using for decades. But they can do it systematically, on a large scale and with a heavy capital of violence at the bottom.
■ ■ ■
The government seems to have realized the danger. MAN investigating now strengthened legislation against both corruption and misconduct. But not all measures can be about tightening formal laws and regulations. It is also very much a management issue.
If the fight against corruption and infiltration is to be successful, senior managers must take preventive work seriously, create a culture where the issues are considered important and – above all – not ignore the regulations themselves.
In other words, if the government is to have any credibility in the fight against corruption and misconduct, Anna Kinberg Batra must be removed from the post of governor.
Not because the case would be unique in any way – both research and previous scandals show that, unfortunately, it is not – but because the government must send a clear signal that such violations of the rules are serious.
Because how the hell are you supposed to fight infiltration in the state if the top managers can get away with hiring close friends?
Stairs are best cleaned from the top.
Patrik Kronqvist is political editor and head of Expressen’s editorial page. Read more of his texts here.
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The fight against corruption must begin Anna with Kinberg Batra | Patrik Kronqvist
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The heads of states and governments of the European Union agreed at the summit held in Brussels to expand the sanctions against Iran because of the unprecedented attack on Israel. Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, announced this late in the evening of April 17 in a conversation with journalists after the summit.
“We have decided to impose additional sanctions against Iran. This is a clear signal that we want to send,” said Michel.
He emphasized that Iran should be isolated internationally. Michel has not specified the details of the new sanctions yet.
Then the EU issued a statement based on the results of the first day of the meeting.
“The European Council strongly and unequivocally condemns Iran’s attack on Israel and affirms its full solidarity with the people of Israel and its commitment to Israel’s security and stability in the region,” the statement said.
As follows from the document, restrictive measures will be related, among other things, to “drones and missiles”.
EU countries agreed on new sanctions against Iran – 2024-04-20 05:14:12