West prepares to appoint 'proxy ruler' in Ukraine — intelligence director

Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey Naryshkin
© Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

The West prepares to establish the office of a "proxy ruler" in Ukraine with constant access to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin said in a statement.

"The West continues to strengthen the mechanisms of direct external management of Kiev-controlled territory," Naryshkin said. "According to the obtained information, the US and the UK try to convince other G7 states to establish the office of a ‘special representative’ for Ukraine."

"It is expected that this person will have constant access to President Zelensky and know about all his plans. The ‘special representative’ will also have to block Ukrainian leadership’s steps that were not negotiated with Washington and London, instead proposing solutions that are considered correct from the Anglo-Saxons’ standpoint," the statement reads.

According to Naryshkin, "a wide range of Russophobic-minded American and European politicians claim the role of such a de facto ‘proxy ruler’ of the West in Ukraine. Among them stands out NATO's Jens Stoltenberg, who wants to go to monitor order in Kiev immediately after the end of the current mandate in Brussels."

Cases of defection to Russian side

"Washington and London are now wary of betrayal of mane representatives of the Kiev elite, who may try to play proactively, defecting to the winning side in advance," Naryshkin underscored. "And such concerns are justified - the first cases have already happened."

During the discussion of the topic of the "special envoy" to Ukraine, "it was taken into account that, amid the deteriorating situation at the frontline, complications with the mobilizations and difficulties with obtaining Western military aid, many Ukrainians have started comprehending the inevitability of achievement of the special military operation goals by Moscow."

"Of course, another rude Western attempt to tighten the enslavement of our neighborly Ukrainian people cannot but raise concern," he pointed out. "At the same time, chances are high that the implementation of the idea of appointment of a ‘viceroy’ in Ukraine will not lead to results, desired by the UK and the US."

"Whomever may assume this office, the Western ‘special envoy’ is unlikely to remain afloat in the Kiev swamp of mutual hatred, scheming, lies, flattery and betrayal for long. Submerging to the bottom, they will find themselves in a warm company of G7 envoys to Ukraine, who, as it is now apparent, failed the role of a ‘collective viceroy’ on Ukrainian land," Naryshkin stated.

Russia imposes sanctions against 18 British citizens — Foreign Ministry

In response to the UK’s confrontational course, Russia imposed sanctions against 18 UK citizens, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced.

"In response to London’s continued confrontational course, which includes efforts to demonize our country, active fabrication of anti-Russian narratives in a bid to weaken Russia’s influence on the international arena, and further pumping of the neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine with weapons, a decision was made to include a number of British military and political establishment figures and representatives of British academic community to the Russian stop list," the Ministry said.

Russia imposed sanctions against Royal Navy Director of Submarines Simon Asquith, National Cyber Force Commander Tim Neal-Hopes, Prime Minister’s special envoy for the Western Balkans Stuart Peace and Minister of State for Defense Procurement James Cartlidge. The expanded sanctions list also includes a number of British officials, including Deputy Chief of the Defense Staff Roland Walker, Deputy National Security Adviser Sarah MacIntosh, Members of the House of Lords Daniel John Hannan, Michael Ashcroft and Ray Collins.

The Ministry also underscored that the largest Western educational institutions significantly contribute to London’s sabotage operations on the Russian track.

"We have to state that Russophobic-minded British representatives do not shy away from participating in actions, aimed at discrediting the constitutional order and socio-political processes in our country," the Ministry added.

In addition, the ministry noted that the British strategy on the Ukrainian track, which leads to further escalation and casualties, "regularly gets reflected in cheeky remarks, filled with the sense of impunity, by British politicians and military establishment."

"Pushing the Zelensky regime to further bloodshed, the British must comprehend that, together with the Ukrainian neo-Nazis, they are responsible for crimes against civilians," the Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out.

"The work on expansion of the Russian ‘stop list’ in response to the hostile actions of the British will continue," the Ministry concluded.

Appeals court orders Netherlands to stop delivering F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel

Demonstrators hold flags during a protest outside the court building, amid a case of human rights groups seeking to block the Dutch government from exporting F-35 parts to Israel, The Hague, Netherlands, February 12, 2024 [Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters]

The Netherlands must stop exporting F-35 parts to Isreal, the court of appeal in The Hague ruled on Monday. “There is a clear risk that Israel’s F-35 fighter jets might be used in the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian law,” the court ruled.

Human rights organizations Oxfam Novib, PAX Nederland, and The Rights Forum had taken the Dutch State to court to stop the export. They argued that the Netherlands knows Israel is using the F-35 fighter jets to bomb the Gaza Strip, and the Dutch State is, therefore, violating the laws of war by enabling these attacks on civilian populations.

Previously, the court in The Hague ruled that the deliveries could continue. The court of appeals felt differently.

“Israel does not take sufficient account of the consequences of its attacks for the civilian population. Israel’s attacks on Gaza have resulted in a disproportionate number of civilian casualties, including thousands of children,” the judges wrote. “ The Netherlands is a party to several international regulations which stipulate that if a clear risk of serious violations of international humanitarian law exists, the Netherlands has the obligation to prevent the export of military equipment.” The deliveries must stop within seven days.

Outgoing Minister Geoffrey van Leeuwen for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation is currently in Brussels. He told NOS that he is studying the verdict.

However, in response to Monday’s ruling, the Dutch government said it would appeal the order at the Supreme Court, arguing the weapons parts were crucial to Israel’s ability to protect itself from “threats in the region, for example from Iran, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon”.

The ruling followed an appeal by Amnesty International and Oxfam against a lower court decision last year that rejected their argument that supplying the parts contributed to alleged “contributing to wide-scale and serious violations of humanitarian law by Israel in Gaza”.

Human rights organisations have accused the government of being complicit in war crimes by maintaining the deliveries.

In December, a court dismissed the case. It said the government had a large degree of freedom in weighing political and policy issues on arms exports.

However, that was dismissed by the appeals court, which said political and economic concerns did not trump the clear risk of violations of the laws of war.

The appeals court instead ordered the government to block all exports of the fighter jet parts to Israel within seven days.

“It is undeniable that there is a clear risk that the exported F-35 parts are used in serious violations of international humanitarian law,” Judge Bas Boele said in the ruling, eliciting cheers from several people in the courtroom.

Dutch authorities said last year that it was unclear whether they had the power to intervene in the deliveries.

The Netherlands houses one of several regional warehouses from which US-made aircraft parts are distributed to countries on request. The Dutch facility has supplied Israel with at least one shipment since the start of the war.

Government lawyers also argued that Israel could easily procure parts for its F-35s elsewhere if the Dutch facility did not supply them.

The court ruling ordering the government to halt the exports can be appealed by the Dutch authorities.

Israel strikes Rafah refugee camp, 48 killed, local health officials say

Displaced members of Palestinian Abu Mustafa family, who fled their house due to Israeli strikes, prepare food as they shelter at the border with Egypt, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, February 10, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

Heavy bombing caused widespread panic in Rafah as many people were asleep when the strikes started

The death toll from the massive Israeli Defense Forces strike on the city of Rafah, located in the southern Gaza Strip near the border with Egypt, has risen to 100, the Lebanese TV channel Al Mayadeen reported.

More than 230 people were injured. Most of the victims of the attack are women and children, the TV channel said.

It was reported earlier that Israeli Air Force planes were carrying out targeted strikes on the Al-Huda and Al-Rahma mosques, where many refugees are located. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported bombing of residential buildings in the surrounding area and the organization's headquarters.

Predawn Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza city of Rafah killed 48 people on Monday and wounded dozens, Gaza health ministry spokesman Al-Qidra told reuters.

Israel launched a special forces operation that freed two Israeli hostages in Rafah amid air strikes early on Monday.

A joint operation by the Israel Defense Force (IDF), Israel’s domestic Shin Bet security service and the Special Police Unit in Rafah freed Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Hare, 70, the Israeli military said.

The two men were kidnapped by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on Oct. 7, the military said.

“It was a very complex operation,” Israeli military spokesman Lt Col. Richard Hecht said. “We’ve been working a long time on this operation. We were waiting for the right conditions.”

The hostages were being held on the second floor of a building that was breached with an explosive charge during the raid, which saw heavy exchanges of gunfire with surrounding buildings, Hecht said.

“I’m very happy to announce that this night two released hostages landed here at Sheba medical center, Israel’s largest hospital,” said Prof Arnon Afek, director of Sheba general hospital. “They were received in our ER and initial examinations were conducted by our ER staff and they are in a stable condition and being tended to.”

Israeli military said the air strike on Rafah coincided with the raid to allow its forces to be extracted.

The air strikes caused widespread panic in Rafah as many people were asleep when the strikes started, said residents contacted by Reuters using a chat app. Some feared Israel had begun its ground offensive into Rafah.

Israeli planes, tanks and ships took part in the strikes, with two mosques and several houses hit, according to residents.

Hamas said in a statement that the attack on Rafah was a continuation of a “genocidal war” and forced displacement attempts Israel has waged against the Palestinian people.

US President Joe Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday that Israel should not launch a military operation in Rafah without a credible plan to ensure the safety of the roughly 1 million people sheltering there, the White House said. Aid agencies say an assault on Rafah would be catastrophic. It is the last relatively safe place in an enclave devastated by Israel’s military offensive.

Biden and Netanyahu spoke for about 45 minutes, days after the US leader said Israel’s military response in the Gaza Strip had been “over the top” and expressed grave concern over the rising civilian death toll in the Palestinian enclave.

Netanyahu’s office has said that it had ordered the military to develop a plan to evacuate Rafah and destroy four Hamas battalions it says are deployed there.

Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and abducted at least 250 in their Oct. 7 incursion, according to Israeli tallies. Israel has responded with a military assault on the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 28,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Netanyahu said in an interview aired on Sunday that “enough” of the 132 remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza were alive to justify Israel’s war in the region. Hamas-run Aqsa Television on Sunday quoted a senior Hamas leader as saying any Israeli ground offensive in Rafah would “blow up” the hostage-exchange negotiations.

Egypt warned on Sunday of “dire consequences” of a potential Israeli military assault on Rafah, which lies near its border. “Egypt called for the necessity of uniting all international and regional efforts to prevent the targeting of the Palestinian city of Rafah,” its foreign ministry added in a statement.

Donate for Palestine

BANK	Account Number
BANK BRI:	001201247978508
BANK BCA :	0952397051
BANK BNI :	1791507534
BANK RAYA :	001001424796315
HANA's BANK :	14755057480
Bank Mandiri :	1330027242122
DIGIBANK : Foreign Currency A.N	2074864818
Confirm :	ahahanafiah5@gmail.com

Attack on ship south of Yemen’s Al Mukha reports UKMTO

TEHRAN, Feb. 12 (MNA) – A merchant vessel was attacked in the Red Sea, 40 nautical miles south of the Yemeni port city of Al-Mukha, the UK navy's maritime coordination center, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), reported.

UKMTO (The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations) agency said early on Monday it had received a report of an incident 40 nautical miles (74 km) south of Yemen’s Al Mukha.

The ship reported it had been attacked by two missiles, but the crew were safe and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call, UKMTO added in an updated advisory note.

British maritime security firm Ambrey said that the ship is a Marshall Islands-flagged, Greece-owned bulk carrier and was targeted by missiles in two separate incidents within two minutes while transiting through the Bab Al-Mandab Strait.

The bulker was reportedly hit and sustained physical damage on the starboard side, Ambrey added.

Ambrey had first reported that the carrier had sighted a projectile near the vessel 23 nautical miles northeast of Djibouti’s Khor Angar and 40 nautical miles southwest of Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Mokha

The ship reported it had been attacked by two missiles, but the crew was safe, and the vessel proceeded to its next port of call. UKMTO added an updated advisory note.

Iran-aligned Houthi in Yemen, who control the country's most densely populated regions, have repeatedly dispatched drones and fired missiles at commercial ships since mid-November.

They say the attacks are a response to Israel's military actions in Gaza. The campaign has rocked global shipping, leading several companies to halt Red Sea journeys and opt for a longer and more expensive route around Africa.

Tidak Punya Undangan Tetap Bisa Mencoblos di TPS

Illustrasi

MENUJU PEMILU SERENTAK 2024 Lihat update berita pemilu terkini di sini >>

Pemilu 2024 akan digelar serentak pada hari Rabu, 14 Februari 2024. Pemilih yang namanya tercatat di daftar pemilih tetap (DPT) akan mendapatkan undangan mencoblos atau formulir C6.

Apabila sampai hari pemungutan suara pemilih belum mendapatkan undangan mencoblos, Anda masih bisa pencoblos, selama nama pemilih terdaftar di tempat pemungutan suara (TPS).

Untuk mengetahui TPS yang dimaksud, pemilih dapat melakukan pengecekan melalui link https://cekdptonline.kpu.go.id/, dengan mengetik no NIK atau Papor untuk pemilih luar negeri, lalu klik tombol pencarian.

Jika namanya terdaftar di DPT maka situs tersebut akan menampilkan TPS tempat pemilih dapat mencoblos.

“Cek DPT online itu sejak kami memutakhirkan data pemilih, itu sudah kami fasilitasi ke pemilih, untuk bisa lihat sudah terdaftar belum di DPT,” kata Koordinator Divisi Data dan Informasi Komisi Pemilihan Umum (KPU) RI Betty Epsilon Idroos pada hari Minggu, 11/02/2024.

“Nah, sekarang tetap bisa digunakan nih cek DPT online gunanya untuk mengecek ada di TPS berapa di DPT kita," lanjutnya.

Pemilih yang tidak mendapatkan undangan mencoblos akan tetap dilayani di TPS tempat pemilih terdaftar. Syaratnya, pemilih datang membawa dokumen kependudukan.

“Anda tetap dapat dilayani, bawa dokumen kependudukan, yang menunjukkan bahwa betul saya yang namanya A misalnya. Ini e-KTP saya, nanti dilayani oleh KPPS-nya," jelas Betty.

Sebagaimana bunyi Peraturan KPU (PKPU), Betty menyebutkan, formulir C6 atau undangan mencoblos mestinya disampaikan Kelompok Penyelenggara Pemungutan Suara (KPPS) ke pemilih paling lambat tiga hari sebelum pencoblosan atau Minggu, 11 Februari 2024.

Jika sampai waktu yang dimaksud undangan tersebut belum sampai, pemilih dapat menanyakan ke ketua RT atau ketua RW setempat.

Jika sampai waktu yang dimaksud undangan tersebut belum sampai, pemilih dapat menanyakan ke ketua RT atau ketua RW setempat.

“Lalu kemudian, kalau misal tidak sampai undangannya, misal pemilih saat KPPS datang ke rumahnya itu lagi kerja, lagi ke pasar, lagi antar anak, atau rumahnya enggak bisa dibuka pintunya, atau karena berbagai hal lain, maka pemilih bisa mendatangi ketua RT atau ketua RW masing-masing," terang Betty.

Menurut Betty, ketua RT atau ketua RW biasanya menjadi petugas KPPS sehingga pemilih bisa langsung menanyakan atau meminta formulir pemberitahuan C6 kepada mereka.

“Pemilih bisa bertanya, ‘Minta dong surat pemberitahuan (memilih) saya’, misalnya begitu," lanjut Betty.

Adapun saat ini tahapan kampanye Pemilu 2024 memasuki masa tenang. Sebelumnya, telah digelar masa kampanye selama 75 hari, terhitung sejak 28 November 2023 hingga 10 Februari 2024.

Masa tenang pemilu akan berlangsung selama tiga hari, yakni 11-13 Februari 2024. Selanjutnya, pada 14 Februari 2024 akan digelar pemungutan suara serentak di seluruh Indonesia.

Tak hanya untuk memilih presiden dan wakil presiden, tetapi juga anggota Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (DPD), Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR), Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah (DPRD) Provinsi, dan DPRD Kabupaten/Kota.

Gunung Semeru meletus pagi ini

Gunung Semeru meletus lagi mengeluarkan abu vulkanik setinggi 800 meter dari pusat kawah, laporan Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG) di Kabupaten Malang dan Kabupaten Lumajang, Provinsi Jawa Timur.

Yadi Yuliadi, petugas Pos Pengamatan Gunung Semeru, mengatakan bahwa letusan itu terjadi pukul 06.02 WIB dengan kolom abu intensitas sedang berwarna putih hingga kelabu mengarah ke tenggara.

"Amplitudo maksimum 22 milimeter dan durasi 131 detik," kata Yadi dalam laporan yang diterima di Jakarta, pada hari Senin, 12/02/2024.

PVMBG mengimbau masyarakat untuk tidak melakukan aktivitas apapun di sektor tenggara di sepanjang Besuk Kobokan sejauh 13 kilometer dari pusat erupsi.

Di luar jarak tersebut, masyarakat juga tidak diperbolehkan melakukan aktivitas pada jarak 500 meter dari tepi sungai (sempadan sungai) di sepanjang Besuk Kobokan karena berpotensi terlanda perluasan awan panas dan aliran lahar hingga jarak 17 kilometer dari puncak.

PVMBG juga mengimbau masyarakat untuk tidak beraktivitas dalam radius lima kilometer dari puncak Gunung Semeru karena rawan terhadap bahaya lontaran batu.

Pada 11 Februari 2024 periode pukul 00.00 hingga 24.00 WIB Gunung Semeru tercatat mengalami 88 kali gempa letusan, delapan kali gempa guguran, 19 kali gempa hembusan, 22 kali gempa harmonik, dan 3 kali gempa tektonik jauh.

Sedangkan 12 Februari 2024 dalam periode 00.00 hingga 06.00 WIB, Gunung Semeru telah mengalami 19 kali gempa letusan, satu kali gempa guguran, dan 11 kali gempa hembusan.

Gunung Semeru merupakan gunung api paling aktif di Indonesia. Sepanjang tahun lalu, tertinggi di Pulau Jawa itu mengalami 29.131 kali erupsi.

PVMBG terus memantau secara visual dan instrumental Gunung Semeru dari dua pos pengamatan gunung api yang berada di Desa Sumber Wuluh Kecamatan Candipuro Kabupaten Lumajang; serta di Desa Argosuko, Kecamatan Ampelgading, Kabupaten Malang.