Hoplite Group

#Ukraine / #Russia - War Update - Ukraine's Zelenskiy urges allies to stop watching, start acting on North Korea - from Reuters News Agency: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Ukraine's allies to stop "watching" and take action to tackle the presence of North Korean troops in Russia before they start confronting his country in combat. Zelenskiy, in a video posted on Telegram, said North Korea had made progress in its military capability, missile deployment and weapons production and "now unfortunately they will learn modern warfare". "The first thousands of soldiers from North Korea are near the Ukrainian border. Ukrainians will be forced to defend themselves against them," he said. "And the world will watch again." Zelenskiy said Ukraine had pinpointed every location where North Korean soldiers were posted in Russia. But Kyiv's Western allies, he said, had not supplied the long-range weapons needed to strike them. "But instead of such necessary long-range capability, America watches, Britain watches, Germany watches...," he said. "Everyone in the world who truly wants the Russian war against Ukraine not to expand....must not just watch. They must act. Words about the inadmissibility of escalation and expansion of war must be matched with actions." The slick three-minute video interspersed his comments with images of North Korea's soldiers and missile launches as well as images of the war and the United Nations. The video follows an interview with South Korea's KBS television on Thursday in which Zelenskiy blasted what he described as his allies' "zero" response to Russia's deployment of North Korean troops. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday there were 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia, including as many as 8,000 in the southern Kursk region where Ukrainian forces launched an incursion in August. North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Friday that his country would back Russia until it achieved victory in the Ukraine war. https://lnkd.in/enxTHn-x

#Kosovo - Kosovo Liberation Army’s (KLA) Saw Outsiders as ‘Traitors’, Witness Tell Kosovo War Crime Trial - from Balkan Insight: If you were not part of the Kosovo Liberation Army’s (KLA) inner circle you were viewed as a traitor who should be punished, revealed a witness at the war crime trial of former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci. Haxhi Mazreku, a former KLA unit commander told the trial against Thaci and three others at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in the Hague, that the KLA considered that anyone not close to key members of ethnic Albanian militia would be considered a traitor. “If you were not close to them [certain KLA members] or were unsuitable [someone who did not fit in], then you were either a traitor, a spy, or a collaborator [working for the Serbian regime or Yugoslavian forces]. This is what the KLA did,” said Mazreku, the 102nd witness at the trial, where the defendants are also accused of crimes against humanity. Mazreku said that someone would be considered a traitor even if they met an ethnic Serb. According to the indictment, Thaci and his three co-defendants, as members of a joint criminal enterprise, “shared the common purpose to gain and exercise control over all of Kosovo by means including unlawfully intimidating, mistreating, committing violence against, and removing those deemed to be opponents”. Opponents included people who were collaborators or were perceived as collaborating with Yugoslavian forces or Serbian authorities, or who did not support the goals of the KLA. This included members of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), alongside ethnic Serbs, Roma and other ethnic minorities. “Every victim was said [by the KLA] to be a collaborator,” Mazreku told the court, He explained the case of a forest guard allegedly “killed and exposed” by the KLA in the village of Opterushe in Rahovec/Orahovac, in order to induce fear in the local population. Mazreku told the court that members of the KLA thought his cousin, Nezir Mazreku was a collaborator, because he was the head of the Socialist Party of Serbia in their local village. According to Mazreku, his cousin tried wholeheartedly to help the village. “This was some type of propaganda, a type of threat and I tried, together with my group, not to go to the point of conflict, to the point of bloodshed.” This led to him also to be seen negatively by other members of the KLA, he told the court. Mazreku told the court that after the killing by the Yugoslav army of 59 family members of KLA founder Adem Jashari in March 1998, he formed his own KLA unit and had appointed himself a commander. However, the difference between him and the rest of the KLA was that he tried to save people rather than create more victims. “As KLA, we were against the Serbian regime, the Serbian uniform, not against civilians,” he said. Story continues: https://lnkd.in/eEzip5yw

#Iran - Iran says it has the capacity to make nuclear weapons; supreme leader threatens U.S. and Israel. An adviser to the supreme leader said Iran is prepared to change its policies on using nuclear weapons if faced with an existential threat. From NBC News: Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed a "a tooth-breaking response" against Israel and the United States on Saturday "for what they are doing against Iran" and its proxies. The comments came a day after Kamal Kharrazi, an adviser to Khamenei, said Iran has the capacity to produce nuclear weapons and is prepared to change its policies on using them if faced with an existential threat, as the the country engages in a high-stakes tit-for-tat with Israel. Kharrazi also said the country is likely to increase the range of its ballistic missiles. “If an existential threat arises, Iran will modify its nuclear doctrine, we have the capability to build weapons and have no issue in this regard,” Kharrazi told the Lebanese broadcaster Al Mayadeen Friday. Kharrazi added that "the only thing currently prohibiting this is the leader’s fatwa." Khamenei issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, against nuclear weapons in 2003. In a statemnet on Saturday, General Mohammad Naeini, a spokesperson for Iran's Revolutionary Guard, added to a rising chorous of escalatory remarks from Iranian officials, saying “a decisive and strong response will be given to the enemy’s new aggression. The response will be beyond the enemy’s comprehension, strategic, and powerful.” “The enemy must learn its lesson that it cannot engage in any act of hostility without receiving a crushing response in return,” he said, referring to Israel. CIA Director William Burns said earlier in October that the United States had no evidence that Iran has decided to build a nuclear weapon, but that Iran could quickly — within a week or so — secure enough fissile material for an atomic bomb if it chose to, and there would be less time for the world to respond. A State Department spokesperson told NBC News Friday that the U.S. remains very concerned with Iran’s nuclear activities. “The President has made clear: We are committed to never letting Iran obtain a nuclear weapon—and we are prepared to use all elements of national power to ensure that outcome,” the spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that the U.S. intelligence community continues to assess that the supreme leader has not made a decision to resume its nuclear weapons program. “That said,” the spokesperson added, “we take any nuclear escalation by Iran incredibly seriously and will respond accordingly.” On Friday, the Pentagon said it will deploy B-52 bombers, fighter jets, refueling aircraft and Navy destroyers to the Middle East in a readjustment of military assets as the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group prepares to leave the region. Story continues: https://lnkd.in/eUU-Cs6C

#Israel - New scandal engulfs Netanyahu after close aide arrested for alleged intel leak - (excerpts) from Axios: An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is one of several suspects arrested for an alleged security breach that involved leaking top secret intelligence, Israeli officials said. Why it matters: The arrests are at the center of what is likely to be the biggest scandal inside the Israeli government since the beginning of the war in Gaza. Netanyahu denied his office was involved. "No one from the Prime Minister's Office was questioned or arrested," he said in a statement. He added that there was no leak from the Prime Minister's Office and accused other government bodies, which he didn't name, of leaking classified information. For full story: https://lnkd.in/eG4JTxJH

North Korea, Russia reaffirm commitment to partnership accord - from Reuters News Agency: The foreign ministers of North Korea and Russia reaffirmed their commitment to implement provisions agreed in June between the leaders of the two nations, North Korean state media KCNA reported on Saturday. North Korea Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and her Russian counterpart Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov met in Moscow, amid rising concerns about Pyongyang's involvement in Moscow's war in Ukraine. NATO has joined the governments of South Korea, the U.S. and Ukraine in confirming Pyongyang's dispatch of troops to Russia, saying that North Korean military units had been deployed to Russia's Kursk region on the border with Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June agreed that the two countries would provide military and other assistance if either were attacked, as part of a strategic partnership accord. https://lnkd.in/eugzia_d

#India / #Canada - Canada-India tensions could escalate cyber threats, hinder immigration - from Voice of America: Canada's deepening dispute with India over its alleged campaign of violence against Sikhs in Canada could intensify Indian-based cyber espionage and hold back immigration, but analysts and experts see no immediate impact on trade. Concern about a widening rift between the two countries comes after a senior Canadian official told a parliamentary national security committee on Tuesday that Indian Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah, a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was the mastermind behind the alleged plots. While Indian officials dismissed the official's statement, the disclosure might worsen a dispute that started a year ago when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cited credible evidence linking Indian agents to the June 2023 shooting of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. In response, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats earlier this month, accusing them of involvement. Four men have been charged with his murder. The Canadian signals intelligence agency that monitors foreign-based cyber threats said New Delhi was most likely already conducting threatening cyber activity against Canadian networks for spying purposes. "As Canada and India potentially may have some tensions, it is possible that we may see India want to flex those cyber threat actions against Canadians," Caroline Xavier, head of the agency, known as Communications Security Establishment Canada, told a Wednesday news conference. The agency has previously described India as an emerging threat. On the diplomatic front, Ottawa is unlikely to take more punitive steps until more details of the Nijjar case emerge, said Vina Nadjibulla, vice president of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada think tank. Cabinet ministers are due to testify about the matter to the national security committee and the murder trial of the four men has yet to start, she noted. "If there are charges laid in the process on individuals that are living in India at whatever level, then it would trigger an extradition process which could take years. And of course, India is unlikely to cooperate," she said. Officials working for Trudeau and Foreign Minister Melanie Joly did not respond to requests for comment about what steps Ottawa might take next. India is the top source for temporary foreign workers and international students coming to Canada, but a backlog of applications has built since Trudeau's allegations last year. Canada only has four immigration officials left in India, down from 27 in October 2023. This affects Canada's ability to process visas on-site, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said. Story continues: https://lnkd.in/etWjuGuB

#Iran / #Israel - Iran’s supreme leader on Saturday threatened Israel and the U.S. with “a crushing response” over attacks on Iran and its allies. From The Associated Press: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke as Iranian officials are increasingly threatening to launch yet another strike against Israel after its Oct. 26 attack on the Islamic Republic that targeted military bases and other locations and killed at least five people. Any further attacks from either side could engulf the wider Middle East, already teetering over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and Israel’s ground invasion of Lebanon, into a wider regional conflict just ahead of the U.S. presidential election this Tuesday. “The enemies, whether the Zionist regime or the United States of America, will definitely receive a crushing response to what they are doing to Iran and the Iranian nation and to the resistance front,” Khamenei said in video released by Iranian state media. The supreme leader did not elaborate on the timing of the threatened attack, nor the scope. The U.S. military operates on bases throughout the Middle East, with some troops now manning a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, battery in Israel. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier likely is in the Arabian Sea, while Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Friday that more destroyers, fighter squadrons, tankers and B-52 long-range bombers would be coming to the region to deter Iran and its militant allies. The 85-year-old Khamenei had struck a more cautious approach in earlier remarks, saying officials would weigh Iran’s response and that Israel’s attack “should not be exaggerated nor downplayed.” Iran has launched two major direct attacks on Israel, in April and October. But efforts by Iran to downplay the Israeli attack faltered as satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press showed damage to military bases near Tehran linked to the country’s ballistic missile program, as well as at a Revolutionary Guard base used in satellite launches. Iran’s allies, called the “Axis of Resistance” by Tehran, also have been severely hurt by ongoing Israeli attacks, particularly Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Iran long has used those groups as both an asymmetrical way to attack Israel and as a shield against a direct assault. Some analysts believe those groups want Iran to do more to back them militarily. https://lnkd.in/ejPX_AEZ

#Afghanistan - Afghan Journalists Fear Losing 'Last Remaining' Freedoms - from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Barna’s working day begins early in the morning, hours before she enters her office at a private media outlet in Kabul’s trendy Karte-e Char area. Barna, a 26-year-old Afghan reporter whose name has been changed for security reasons, says she carefully chooses stories to pitch to her editors via WhatsApp messages while she is still riding on a packed minibus in an hour-long journey to work. “By the time I reach the Pol-e Sorkh crossroad, which is about 15 minutes from the office, the editors and I go through several topics to make sure we pick a story that is important and interesting but at the same time is safe enough not to anger the authorities,” Barna says in describing her daily work. “We have many red lines. We have to avoid certain topics, and we have to tone down our criticism in order to survive under the Taliban,” she told RFE/RL by phone from Kabul. “Our work and lives are full of restrictions and the government continues to impose even more.” Afghan journalists fear that they will soon lose what Barna described as their “last remaining freedoms” after the hard-line, Taliban-led government recently banned the publication of human and animal images as part of new “morality laws.” Unveiled in August, the laws also say that a woman’s voice should not be heard in public. Several Afghan provinces -- including Kandahar, Helmand, and Takhar -- shut down most television stations to comply with the ban. Television channels in these provinces have effectively been turned into radio stations, leaving dozens of cameramen, photographers, video editors, and others out of work. The radio stations, meanwhile, were prohibited from airing a woman’s voice. Afghan media reported last week that all other television networks in the country have been given two months to follow suit. But a high-ranking government source denied those reports on October 29. The source told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi that authorities will “address the issues that some visual media outlets are facing in some provinces,” but did not elaborate. A cameraman in Takhar who lost his job because of the ban said the latest restrictions on the media will plunge Afghanistan into the dark ages. “It feels like we live in a backward society that does not care about progress and development,” the cameraman told Radio Azadi, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Media without photography and video is like a body without a head.” Another Afghan journalist condemned the ban as “irrational” and “extremist” and said the government would not be able to implement the policy throughout the country. A 27-year-old reporter in Kabul said Afghan media “would lose thousands of media workers” if the Taliban tries to enforce the ban. Story continues: https://lnkd.in/ejj55j7u

#Iran - Iran braces for Trump victory, fearing more Israeli strikes, Western sanctions - from Reuters News Agency: Summary: - Iran faces diminished leverage if Trump wins Nov. 5 - US electionTrump could grant Israel green light to hit Iran nuclear sites - Possible US-Saudi defense pact to shift balance of power - Tehran recognies 'new architecture' in making in Middle East - Iran's accelerated nuclear enrichment program raising alarm Opinion polls suggest the Republican Trump and Democratic VP Kamala Harris remain locked in a close contest. But Iranian leaders and their regional allies in Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen are concerned that Trump could well triumph on Nov. 5 and this could spell more trouble for them. Iran's main concern is the potential for Trump to empower Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to strike Iran's nuclear sites, conduct targeted assassinations and reimpose his "maximum pressure policy" through heightened sanctions on their oil industry, according to Iranian, Arab and Western officials. They anticipate that Trump, who was president in 2017-21, will exert utmost pressure on Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to cave in by accepting a nuclear containment deal on terms set by himself and Israel. This potential change in U.S. leadership could have far-reaching implications for the Middle East balance of power, and might reshape Iran's foreign policy and economic prospects. Analysts argue that whether the next U.S. administration is led by Harris or Trump, Iran will lack the leverage it once held - largely due to Israel's year-old military campaign aimed at degrading Iran's armed proxies, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. However, Trump's stance is perceived as more detrimental to Iran due to his more automatic support for Israel, they added. "Trump will either put very tough conditions on Iran or let Israel carry out targeted strikes on its nuclear facilities. He is fully endorsing a military action against Iran," Abdelaziz al-Sagher, head of the Gulf Research Center think-tank. "It's Netanyahu's dream day to have Trump back in the White House," he told Reuters. A senior Iranian official who declined to be named told Reuters Tehran was "prepared for all scenarios. We have (for decades) consistently found ways to export oil, bypassing harsh U.S. sanctions..., and have strengthened our ties with the rest of the world no matter who was in the White House." But another Iranian official said a Trump victory would be "a nightmare. He will raise pressure on Iran to please Israel..., make sure oil sanctions are fully enforced. If so, (our) establishment will be economically paralysed.” In an election speech in October, Trump stated his unwillingness to go to war with Iran, but said Israel should "hit the Iranian nuclear first and worry about the rest later", in response to Iran's missile attack on Israel on Oct. 1. For full report click below

#Afghanistan - Afghan women are forbidden from praying loudly or reciting the Quran in front of other women, according to a Taliban government minister. From The Associated Press: It’s the latest restriction on women following morality laws that ban them from raising their voice and baring their faces outside the home. They are already excluded from education after sixth grade, many public spaces and most jobs. Nobody from the Vice and Virtue Ministry was immediately available Wednesday to clarify the official’s remarks or confirm if the prohibition would also become part of the morality laws. Audio of Hanafi’s remarks was shared on the ministry’s social media platforms but was later deleted. The ministry said Tuesday that a nationwide awareness program about the laws is underway involving ministry officials at provincial and district levels. “Organising such programs will contribute to shaping public perception and increasing awareness of divine rulings,” the ministry added. Afghan provinces are already barring the media from showing images of living things, another controversial and widely criticized feature of the morality laws.  The Taliban set up the ministry for the " propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice” after seizing power in 2021. Since then, the ministry has enforced decrees issued by the Taliban leadership that have a disproportionate impact on women and girls, like dress codes, segregated education and employment, and having a male guardian when they travel. During an event in eastern Logar province on Sunday, Vice and Virtue Minister Khalid Hanafi said: “It is prohibited for a grown woman to recite Quranic verses or perform recitations in front of another grown woman. Even chants of takbir (Allahu Akbar) are not permitted.” He said that uttering similar expressions like “subhanallah,” another word central to the Islamic faith, was also not allowed. A woman was not permitted to perform the call to prayer, he told the gathering. “So, there is certainly no permission for singing.” https://lnkd.in/eZMDx3Fr