CHANDANA POKUNA, Sri Lanka — Every day after 4 p.m., residents in this quiet, leafy village listen for the putt-putting of motorbikes on the sandy road next to their homes. When they hear it, they know to shut their doors and turn off their lights. Their children are instructed to run inside and not let anyone in.
A motorbike is the vehicle of choice for local debt collectors, who fan out through places like Chandana Pokuna, some 500 brick-faced, rundown houses in Sri Lanka’s rice-farming north central district of Polonnaruwa. The motorcycle men, agents of microlending companies, start work in the late afternoon, when they know residents will be at home.
A man uses an iPad device in a coffee shop in Hanoi, Vietnam May 18, 2018. REUTERS/Kham/File Photo
SINGAPORE/HANOI, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Vietnam is preparing new rules to limit which social media accounts can post news-related content, three people familiar with the matter said, as authorities tighten their control over news and information sources in the country.
The rules, expected to be announced by the year-end and with details yet to be hammered out, would establish a legal basis for controlling news dissemination on platforms like Facebook and YouTube while placing a significant moderation burden on platform providers, two of the sources added.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg press point at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, 30 September 2022
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg condemned Russia’s attempts to annex four regions of Ukraine as “illegal and illegitimate.” Speaking to press on Friday (20 September 2022), he underlined that NATO Allies do not and will not recognise any of this territory as part of Russia. “We call on all states to reject Russia’s blatant attempts at territorial conquest,” he said.
Good evening.
President Putin has now claimed four more regions of Ukraine as part of Russia.
This is the largest attempted annexation of European territory by force since the Second World War.
Another 15 percent of Ukraine’s territory. An area roughly the size of Portugal. Illegally seized by Russia at gunpoint.
The sham referendums were engineered in Moscow. And imposed on Ukraine. In total violation of international law. This land grab is illegal and illegitimate.
NATO Allies do not, and will not, recognise any of this territory as part of Russia.
We call on all states to reject Russia’s blatant attempts at territorial conquest. These lands are Ukraine. Donetsk is Ukraine. Luhansk is Ukraine. Kherson is Ukraine. Zaporizhzhia is Ukraine. Just like Crimea is Ukraine.
This is the second time Russia has taken Ukrainian territory by force. But it does not change the nature of the conflict. This remains Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine.
And it does not change our commitment to support Ukraine. NATO is not party to the conflict. But we provide support to Ukraine so it can uphold its right for self-defence, enshrined in the UN Charter. Ours is a defensive Alliance.
We stand united and determined to defend and protect every NATO Ally. And every inch of Allied territory. This is a pivotal moment. Putin has mobilised hundreds of thousands of more troops. Engaged in irresponsible nuclear sabre-rattling. And now illegally annexed more Ukrainian territory. Together, this represents the most serious escalation since the start of the war. None of this shows strength. It shows weakness. It is an admission that the war is not going to plan. And that Putin has utterly failed in his strategic objectives.
Putin bears full responsibility for this war. And it is his responsibility to end it. To end the immense suffering of the brave Ukrainian people. To end the energy and food crisis that is affecting so many around the world.
If Russia stops fighting, there will be peace. If Ukraine stops fighting, it will cease to exist as an independent sovereign nation in Europe.
NATO reaffirms our unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. We remain resolute in providing support to Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against Russia’s aggression. For as long as it takes.
We firmly reject and unequivocally condemn the illegal annexation by Russia of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. By wilfully undermining the rules-based international order and blatantly violating the fundamental rights of Ukraine to independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, core principles as enshrined in the UN Charter and international law, Russia is putting global security at risk.
The text of the following statement was released by the G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union.
Begin Text
We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, are united in our condemnation in the strongest possible terms of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its continued violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and Independence.
President Putin’s efforts to incorporate Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions into the territory of the Russian Federation constitute a new low point in Russia’s blatant flouting of international law, and yet another example of Russia’s unacceptable violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, the UN Charter, and the commonly agreed principles and commitments of the Helsinki Final Act and the Paris Charter.
A member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps waves the Iranian flag during a rally in downtown Tehran. Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesThe Islamic Republic of Iran may be on an accelerated schedule for revolutionary decay, at least if compared to the USSR. Read the opinion
CVD 