Good morning, I will list sources at the end of the letter if you wish to link to main stream news sources.
Happy St. George’s day! Saint George was a soldier of Greek and Palestinian origins, member of the Praetorian Guard for Roman emperor Diocletian, who was sentenced to death for refusing to recant his Christian faith. He became one of the most venerated saints and in Christianity, and he has been especially venerated as a military saint since the Crusades.
Missing Submarine
Time is running out for an Indonesian Submarine missing since Wednesday when it was last heard from taking a deep dive with 53 sailors on board near Bali. The KRI Nanggala-402 submarine vanished in 2,300ft waters and is said to have only enough oxygen on board to last until 3am Saturday local time.
Rescuers have found an oil spill at the site and the sub is likely well below the maximum depth is could survive the pressure on the hull. The submarine was “torpedo drilling” when is disappeared.
Jerusalem Riots
A right wing Jewish organization provoked East Jerusalem Palestinians last night by holding a march through Damascus Gate, chanting death to Arabs. Palestinians responded throwing bottles and rocks and police were called in to separate the two sides, but not before dozens were hurt.
East Jerusalem is largely the home to Palestinians and used to be under the control of Jordan before the war in 1967, when Jerusalem was united under Israeli rule. But it is a place of high tension especially now during Ramadan, and explosive clashes over Jewish seizures of Arab homes and Israeli closures of the Dome of The Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque have been routine.
The protest which sparked this riot was organized by Lehava a Jewish extremist group which even opposes Christian presence in Israel. It members were labelled by Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin as "rodents gnawing under the shared democratic and Jewish foundation of Israel"
Ukraine-Russia
All eyes on the Ukraine-Russia border today, as Russian forces are supposed to be withdrawing from bases near Ukraine according to Russian Defense Minister Shoigu.
In recent weeks Russia placed more than a hundred thousand forces near Ukraine, and Ukraines leaders said Russia appeared ready to invade Eastern Ukraine and push north from the Crimea, and also possibly seize more cities along the black sea. Alarm bells have sounded in Europe and in Washington. The withdrawl of Russian forces today will bring a huge sigh of relief.
Czech Expulsions of Russian Spies
The Czech republic has now kicked out 69 Russian diplomats accusing Russia of being behind a 2014 explosion at a munitions warehouse. As usual Russia has responded by asking 20 Czech diplomats to leave Moscow, and will likely increase that demand.
This is a spiral in relations with Russia and yet another NATO country, and the explosion at the munitions warehouse appears to involve the same Russian military intelligence agency known as GRU and the same 2 GRU officers who also were alleged to have poisoned Sergei Skripal in Salisbury England in 2018.
India
India has set new records for Covid cases and the stories coming from hospitals are catastrophic because they have run out of oxygen and simply can’t treat the sick. People are desperate and increasingly angry with the Governments management of the pandemic. Here’s the larger concern, the virus thrives in large outbreaks and mutates if it has more hosts. India’s lack of vaccines and inability to slow the virus has already lead to new variants that are spreading around the world.
The UK for instance has now banned India’s travellers from entering because of Covid concerns, and anyone who comes will have to enter Government run hotels for 2 weeks of isolation and testing.
Canada Climate
The World’s leaders are pledging to reduce green house emissions and the U.S. in particular has promised to half emissions by 2030, so why is Canada being criticized for falling behind? Canada which used to be a leader in climate, is the only G7 Nation which has actually increased dangerous gas emissions since the Paris accord was signed 6 years ago.
The reason is the oil sands in Alberta, which are expending and require huge amounts of energy to extract oil from. The tar sands, are a huge employer and it’s a political power keg for the Trudeau Government which is unlikely to reduce oil production from this area, and without a reduction Canada is unlikely to reduce its polluting emissions which help warm the climate and create environmental mayhem.
If Canada lags too far behind the United States in reducing emissions, it could face repercussions, including the imposition of U.S. carbon tariffs on Canadian goods crossing the border, said Jake Schmidt of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group.
“It’ll be quite obvious to the world who’s really serious about climate change and who’s taking half measures,” he added.
Afghanistan
In this edition of Back Story Dana Lewis podcast, I speak to Retired U.S. Major General Jeffrey Schloesser who has written a book on his time in Afghanistan called 'Marathon War'.
General Schloesser predicts America may come to regret its decision to leave Afghanistan because, in less than a generation, it could still become a launch pad to attack the U.S.
And he speaks about the challenges for U.S. forces in Afghanistan and why in the end he thought it was worth the sacrifice.
Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1016881/8376339
Have a good weekend everyone! Please share this news letter.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9503155/Missing-Indonesian-submarine-hours-oxygen-left-rescue-teams-hone-radar-contact.html
https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/breaking-russia-declares-troop-withdrawal-from-ukraines-borders.html
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/india-travel-restrictions-uk-coronavirus-red-list-b931266.html
https://tass.com/world/1281417
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/21/world/canada/trudeau-climate-oil-sands.html
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/police-gearing-up-for-far-right-protest-in-jerusalem-666057