Sputnik International
Top-5 possible reasons behind Telegram CEO Durov’s detention Pavel Durov, co-founder of the Telegram encrypted messaging app, has been arrested in France. He faces multiple charges of allegedly failing to moderate the service. Why did Durov have a target…
❗️ Durov's detention in France has been extended until Wednesday, French media reported.
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
🤬42🤔1🌚1
Former Democratic Party Congresswoman Rep. Tulsi Gabbard endorses Trump
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
“This administration has us facing multiple wars on multiple fronts and regions around the world and closer to the brink of nuclear war than we ever have been before. This is one of the main reasons why I'm committed to doing all that I can to send President Trump back to the White House where he can once again serve us as our commander-in-chief,” Tulsi Gabbard said, throwing support behind the Republican candidate.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
❤47👍11😁10💩4🤔1
This media is not supported in your browser
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
Hardcore video of revenge for Pavel Durov’s arrest was leaked online. Those with a weak heart should look away.
📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt
📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt
😁98👍6🔥3👌3🤬2
An American PMC mercenary from a group of fighters involved in the Ukrainian terrorist attack on the Kursk region complained about the chaos in Ukraine's army.
The man's identity was hidden, his face covered by a mask and dark glasses over his eyes due to fear of retaliation for his crimes committed against Russian civilians on Russian territory.
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
“We were actually asked to go into the Kursk incursion area in order to help assist with a sniper operation they were looking at, but it's chaos right now. We ended up not doing that operation,” the mercenary said in an interview with ABC News.
The man's identity was hidden, his face covered by a mask and dark glasses over his eyes due to fear of retaliation for his crimes committed against Russian civilians on Russian territory.
“I am genuinely worried that they're [Ukrainian forces] overextending. I think a lot of people are. I think they are,” the mercenary said.
“I mean, we've been playing this game for two-plus years of fighting with one hand behind their back, basically trying to delay the inevitable,” the mercenary said as Russian forces continue to neutralize Ukrainian terrorists in the Kursk region as well as mercenaries from around the world.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
🤬35👍12🤔8❤4🔥2😁2💩1
❗️ The UAE demands that France provide its national Pavel Durov urgent access to all necessary consular services, the country's foreign ministry said in a statement.
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
"The UAE is closely following the case of its citizen Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, who was arrested by the French authorities in Paris–Le Bourget Airport, emphasizing that the UAE has submitted a request to the Government of the French Republic to provide him with all the necessary consular services in an urgent manner," the statement said.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
❤62👍32😁6🤔5🤬1🫡1
This media is not supported in your browser
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
One online prankster is going viral for an appearance at a Florida home where he offered a Harris-Walz campaign sign and an unsolicited pitch for the Democratic presidential ticket.
“You’re not gonna leave it there!” said the annoyed homeowner. “I can’t stand them! … Get it out of my property!”
”You didn’t address me by my pronouns!” said the dejected prankster.
“F**king transgender* is what you are!” she scolded.
*LGBT movements are regarded in Russia as extremist organizations and are outlawed in the country
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
😁76👍11🔥4🥴2❤1🤔1💩1
Sputnik International
❗️ The UAE demands that France provide its national Pavel Durov urgent access to all necessary consular services, the country's foreign ministry said in a statement. "The UAE is closely following the case of its citizen Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, who…
French law enforcement interrogated, then released the bodyguard and assistant of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, who remains in custody, French media reported citing a source familiar with the situation.
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
🤬62🤔5👌2👍1🌚1
This media is not supported in your browser
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
Biden’s everlasting vacation/presidency
John Kirby squirms when confronted with an obvious question about how a US president can spend so much time on vacation.
Joe Biden has reportedly spent over 450 days of his presidency on vacation.
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
John Kirby squirms when confronted with an obvious question about how a US president can spend so much time on vacation.
“I'm a little confused, John. I know the president took a vacation last week in California after the Democratic convention. He added another week to that in Rehoboth, Delaware, this week. How engaged is he in any of this?” Fox News's Neil Cavuto asked.
“I mean he was being updated on the attacks over the weekend in real time by his national security team… He's watching things very, very closely,” White House National Security Communications Adviser offered.
Joe Biden has reportedly spent over 450 days of his presidency on vacation.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
😁49💩18👍5❤1🤬1
Media is too big
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
“The hallmark of dictatorship” – Tucker Carlson on Durov’s arrest
“You see the Biden administration encouraging [French President Emmanuel] Macron to arrest the owner and founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, who is as of right now in a French prison. That’s the hallmark of dictatorship,” the American journalist said.
RFK Jr. also blasted the Democratic Party for its lack of actual democratic values.
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
“You see the Biden administration encouraging [French President Emmanuel] Macron to arrest the owner and founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, who is as of right now in a French prison. That’s the hallmark of dictatorship,” the American journalist said.
“We've lost Europe. Europe now does not have free speech,” independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in an interview with Carlson.
RFK Jr. also blasted the Democratic Party for its lack of actual democratic values.
“Elon Musk should be the hero of the Democratic Party. [In] the old Democratic Party he would be the hero. Somehow he became a villain, because he was actually the only platform that would allow free speech on his platform,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. emphasized.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
👍76❤1🤬1💩1👌1
Meta* CEO says they shouldn't have 'demoted' Hunter Biden laptop story on platform - letter
Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg in a letter to US House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan admitted that the Hunter Biden laptop story was not Russian disinformation and should not have been demoted on the social media company's platform while it was under review.
Moreover, Zuckerberg mentioned that in 2021, Biden Administration officials repeatedly pressured Meta's teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content.
The Meta CEO revealed that he regrets making certain COVID-19-related changes due to the pressure from the US government.
US billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk said Meta's actions appear to be a First Amendment violation, which includes Americans' rights to freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
*Meta is banned in Russia as an extremist organization.
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg in a letter to US House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan admitted that the Hunter Biden laptop story was not Russian disinformation and should not have been demoted on the social media company's platform while it was under review.
"In a separate situation, the FBI warned us about a potential Russian disinformation operation about the Biden family and Burisma in the lead up to the 2020 election... It's since been made clear that the reporting was not Russian disinformation, and in retrospect, we shouldn't have demoted the story," Zuckerberg said in the letter.
Moreover, Zuckerberg mentioned that in 2021, Biden Administration officials repeatedly pressured Meta's teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content.
The Meta CEO revealed that he regrets making certain COVID-19-related changes due to the pressure from the US government.
"I believe the government pressure was wrong and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it," Zuckerberg said. "I also think we made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn't make today."
US billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk said Meta's actions appear to be a First Amendment violation, which includes Americans' rights to freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
*Meta is banned in Russia as an extremist organization.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
👍43💩22🤔7🌚6❤3😁3🔥2👌2
Media is too big
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
🤐 RFK Jr. reveals the intricate peculiarities of American political censorship
“And they had to invent a new word, which is called ‘malinformation,’ which is information that is factually true, but nevertheless inconvenient for the government. And that became ‘disinformation,’ ‘misinformation’ and ‘malinformation,'” RFK Jr. said. Carlson responded by suggesting the action is "illegal".
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
“Thirty-seven hours after he took the Oval Office, President Biden's White House opened a portal for the FBI to begin to have access to social media posts on all the different social media sites. And the FBI then invited in the CIA, DHS, the IRS, and CISA. CISA is this new agency that is the center of the censorship industrial complex that is in charge of making sure Americans don't hear things that their government doesn't want them to hear," independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in an interview with Tucker Carlson.
“And they had to invent a new word, which is called ‘malinformation,’ which is information that is factually true, but nevertheless inconvenient for the government. And that became ‘disinformation,’ ‘misinformation’ and ‘malinformation,'” RFK Jr. said. Carlson responded by suggesting the action is "illegal".
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
👍51🔥9❤5🤬3😁2👌2👎1
'US defense lobbyists need war': Middle East regional war could spiral as US fails to intervene
Israel and Hezbollah launched a heavy exchange of fire against one-another on Sunday morning which threatened to trigger a broader regional war that could negatively affect cease-fire negotiations, a US news outlet reported. Both sides said they were only aiming for military targets, which resulted in the death of three people in Lebanon and an Israeli soldier.
It was first reported on Sunday that Israel had informed the US of their plans to strike Lebanon overnight. Hezbollah fired over 320 rockets and dozens of drones toward Israel in retaliation for the killing of Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander who was killed in Beirut. The Israeli military said about 100 of their warplanes struck more than 1,000 Hezbollah projectiles aimed at northern and central Israel.
👉 Follow the link for more details
Israel and Hezbollah launched a heavy exchange of fire against one-another on Sunday morning which threatened to trigger a broader regional war that could negatively affect cease-fire negotiations, a US news outlet reported. Both sides said they were only aiming for military targets, which resulted in the death of three people in Lebanon and an Israeli soldier.
“But if they want to go ahead and undertake efforts against Hezbollah, they're going to be meeting a force ten times as strong in Hezbollah because they've got more personnel, they've got more rockets, more high precision missiles,” Michael Maloof, a former senior security policy analyst in the Office of the Secretary of Defense told Sputnik’s The Final Countdown.
It was first reported on Sunday that Israel had informed the US of their plans to strike Lebanon overnight. Hezbollah fired over 320 rockets and dozens of drones toward Israel in retaliation for the killing of Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander who was killed in Beirut. The Israeli military said about 100 of their warplanes struck more than 1,000 Hezbollah projectiles aimed at northern and central Israel.
“...also if they want to deal with Iran, that's going to be yet another layer of contention. I think the fact that there has been restraint basically shown by Hezbollah and Iran is really a shrewd tactical effort on their part to, basically, bring about a death by a thousand cuts, if you will, on Israel itself as an entity,” he added.
👉 Follow the link for more details
🤬24👍10😁2🤔2🔥1💩1🫡1
Poland is clueless as to how many of its mercenaries are fighting in Ukraine for Kiev – source
The Polish authorities cannot provide even an approximate number of Polish mercenaries fighting for Zelensky, an anonymous source in the Polish Foreign Ministry told Sputnik.
Polish law, in fact, allows its citizens to serve in a foreign army or other foreign paramilitary formation, the source explained.
The violator could face a punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to five years if these requirements are not met, for cases of participation in military operations as part of a foreign armed formation.
In March, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that 13,387 mercenaries had arrived in Ukraine since the beginning of the special military operation, including 2,960 Polish citizens. At that time, 5,962 mercenaries have been confirmed killed, most of them Poles (1,497).
In February, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the largest number of mercenaries in Ukraine were from Poland.
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
The Polish authorities cannot provide even an approximate number of Polish mercenaries fighting for Zelensky, an anonymous source in the Polish Foreign Ministry told Sputnik.
Polish law, in fact, allows its citizens to serve in a foreign army or other foreign paramilitary formation, the source explained.
"To do this, it is necessary to obtain the permission of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration, and as for former military personnel, [they would need to get] the permission of the Minister of National Defense. At the same time, it is necessary to meet a number of other requirements, for example, to have no criminal record, not have tax arrears and other debts, not to be an active military personnel," the source said.
The violator could face a punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to five years if these requirements are not met, for cases of participation in military operations as part of a foreign armed formation.
"In practice, the overwhelming majority of Polish citizens who are fighting in Ukraine, of course, did not receive any permission, but simply went there at their own peril and risk," the source said.
In March, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that 13,387 mercenaries had arrived in Ukraine since the beginning of the special military operation, including 2,960 Polish citizens. At that time, 5,962 mercenaries have been confirmed killed, most of them Poles (1,497).
In February, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the largest number of mercenaries in Ukraine were from Poland.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
🤬44👍6🤔4💩2🔥1
Telegram founder’s detention shows 'dangerous trend' of online surveillance (Part 1 / Part 2)
This weekend’s arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov can be seen as the latest development in the trend of Western governments controlling online discourse after Durov provoked the ire of officials earlier this year by revealing the FBI’s attempts to install a backdoor in the popular messaging application.
Western authorities have long resented Telegram, which is resistant to the kind of surveillance and content moderation imposed on other online platforms like Facebook*, Instagram*, or X. Telegram’s relative freedom allows dissidents to thrive and users to share information from alternative perspectives, but authorities have accused the platform of being used to facilitate myriad crimes and abuses.
Recent years have seen Western governments take increasing steps to shape the flow of information online through the implementation of moderation regimes and, more recently, the banning of TikTok. Figures such as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and X CEO Elon Musk have become amenable to authorities’ attempts to exert control, but Jackman argued Durov has continued to chart his own course.
*Meta (Facebook and Instagram) is banned in Russia as an extremist organization.
👉 Follow the link for more details
This weekend’s arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov can be seen as the latest development in the trend of Western governments controlling online discourse after Durov provoked the ire of officials earlier this year by revealing the FBI’s attempts to install a backdoor in the popular messaging application.
“This attempt to break down communications and free speech around the world… is a dangerous trend,” warned host Steve Gill on Sputnik’s The Final Countdown program. “We just saw the CEO of Rumble… fled to avoid prosecution on whatever trumped up charges they may come after him. So this is a big issue. It is a big story.”
“It's notable that, of course, Durov was arrested on allegations and is still being held, though he hasn't been convicted for any crimes,” noted independent journalist John Jackman.
Western authorities have long resented Telegram, which is resistant to the kind of surveillance and content moderation imposed on other online platforms like Facebook*, Instagram*, or X. Telegram’s relative freedom allows dissidents to thrive and users to share information from alternative perspectives, but authorities have accused the platform of being used to facilitate myriad crimes and abuses.
Recent years have seen Western governments take increasing steps to shape the flow of information online through the implementation of moderation regimes and, more recently, the banning of TikTok. Figures such as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and X CEO Elon Musk have become amenable to authorities’ attempts to exert control, but Jackman argued Durov has continued to chart his own course.
*Meta (Facebook and Instagram) is banned in Russia as an extremist organization.
👉 Follow the link for more details
👍39❤4🤬3👌2👎1🔥1
Sputnik International
Telegram founder’s detention shows 'dangerous trend' of online surveillance (Part 1 / Part 2) This weekend’s arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov can be seen as the latest development in the trend of Western governments controlling online discourse after…
Telegram founder’s detention shows 'dangerous trend' of online surveillance (Part 2 / Part 1)
“One of the striking aspects of [Telegram founder Pavel] Durov’s arrest is that the French authorities actually waited until he landed to even file a warrant,” Jackman said, noting that French officials did not make the Telegram founder aware that he was wanted until he was already en route to France. “He had absolutely no indication that anything was coming. This was actually the same thing that happened with [Venezuelan businessman] Alex Saab, and it's clear that France wanted to get their man and ensure that there was absolutely no chance of him evading the dragnet.”
Jackman called the tactic “draconian” and lamented Western governments’ attempts to repress their own citizens.
👉 Follow the link for more details
“Is Elon in trouble?” asked journalist John Jackman on Sputnik’s The Final Countdown program. “If he stays on the right side of US foreign policy then he should be fine and continues to advocate for things like overthrowing the government of Venezuela, staying on the right side of the conflict in Ukraine, not cozying up to Russia too much, and so on.”
“One of the striking aspects of [Telegram founder Pavel] Durov’s arrest is that the French authorities actually waited until he landed to even file a warrant,” Jackman said, noting that French officials did not make the Telegram founder aware that he was wanted until he was already en route to France. “He had absolutely no indication that anything was coming. This was actually the same thing that happened with [Venezuelan businessman] Alex Saab, and it's clear that France wanted to get their man and ensure that there was absolutely no chance of him evading the dragnet.”
Jackman called the tactic “draconian” and lamented Western governments’ attempts to repress their own citizens.
“What [censorship] means is that you're weak, basically,” he claimed. “When you have to censor speech, when you have to be able to have the power to limit what people can say, then that means that you're operating in a world where you're scared of the facts, where you're scared of truth.”
“When great governments, empires, or nations start to lose their ability to actually govern effectively… you see these crackdowns on speech to start to try to limit the fact that the people can point out that the emperor has no clothes.”
👉 Follow the link for more details
👍36🤬9🌚9🔥3❤1
US containment strategy against Russia is failing amid emergence of multipolar world
The US and its Western partners have sought to pursue a containment strategy against the emergent counter-hegemonic bloc anchored by Russia, but with far less success than during the Cold War, argues political science professor Nicolai Petro.
The modern economic situation for the US is also far more challenging, Petro acknowledged. The United States emerged from World War II almost unscathed, leaving it in a position to benefit from the reconstruction of Europe. But “the halcyon days of the 1950s and 60s” are long gone, he noted.
👉 Follow the link for more details
The US and its Western partners have sought to pursue a containment strategy against the emergent counter-hegemonic bloc anchored by Russia, but with far less success than during the Cold War, argues political science professor Nicolai Petro.
“My co-author and I argue that containment doesn't match the challenges that the United States is facing in the future,” said Petro on Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program. “It's just an old way of thinking about the world's problems based on strengths that the United States no longer has in the world.”
“And the old containment had its problems, but it held together because it was limited in scope,” he continued. “It didn't actually seek to confront the Soviet Union everywhere at the same time. And, very importantly, it also sought to separate China from the Soviet Union and it would never have worked – Henry Kissinger spoke about this – it would never have been implementable had China and Russia been united against the United States. And, of course, that's the situation we're facing today.”
The modern economic situation for the US is also far more challenging, Petro acknowledged. The United States emerged from World War II almost unscathed, leaving it in a position to benefit from the reconstruction of Europe. But “the halcyon days of the 1950s and 60s” are long gone, he noted.
“Any new containment policy involves an arms race,” said Petro. “Can we afford an arms race now? I mean, we are a country that has a $35 trillion deficit and no prospect of reducing that significantly in the future.”
👉 Follow the link for more details
👍58❤4😁3🥴2👎1🤔1💩1👌1
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
👍56🔥17❤6👌3🫡2🌚1
Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa are concerned that Western countries are continuously easing the conditions for Ukraine to use Western weapons to strike Russian territory and see the conflict "being manipulated by certain military-industrial complexes," Li Hui, China's special representative for Eurasian affairs, said on Tuesday.
From July 28 to August 7, Li visited Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia, where he held talks with officials on the Ukrainian crisis settlement.
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
From July 28 to August 7, Li visited Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia, where he held talks with officials on the Ukrainian crisis settlement.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
👍88🫡5💩2🥴2❤1🔥1🌚1
Beijing opposes Canada's decision to impose a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese electric vehicles and will do everything to protect the legitimate rights of its business, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa told Sputnik.
China rejects production overcapacity claims as groundless and expects Canada to abide by WTO rules, they said.
📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt
China rejects production overcapacity claims as groundless and expects Canada to abide by WTO rules, they said.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
👍64❤20👌6💩4🔥3