Sepia

cross-posted from: mander.xyz/post/50630116 Under the public prosecution of the prosecutors of the Specialised Environmental Prosecutor’s Office of the Kherson Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the court found the so-called “director” of the “Askania-Nova” biosphere reserve guilty. The court convicted him of collaboration and violation of the laws and customs of war, committed in conspiracy by a group of individuals. A total of seven reserve-protected animals were removed from Askania-Nova as a result of the illegal transfer. Following the Russian occupation of Askania-Nova, a UNESCO-protected biosphere reserve was unlawfully re-registered under Russian law, and the legitimate Ukrainian administration was replaced. On 1 December 2023, the new administration illegally transferred the reserve’s animals, including rare and endangered animals (which remain Ukrainian property despite the illegal re-registration), to Russian-controlled zoos. Among the animals at issue were Chapman’s zebras, American bison, Przewalski’s horses, and one of David’s deer, the last of which died during the transfer. The court found the accused Dmytro Mesheryakov guilty, who was the Russia-appointed head of Askania-Nova, and was responsible for organising the transfer of protected animals in violation of international law. He was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property. He was also banned from holding positions in government bodies local self-government, and working in the field of public services for 15 years. “This is a landmark development: for the first time, a court has clearly signalled that environmental war crimes will not go unpunished and accountability for environmental damage is inevitable” – mentioned Nataliia Pavlovych, Deputy Lead of the Environmental Mobile Justice Team. … Web Archive link

cross-posted from: mander.xyz/post/48944487

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre issued a joint statement during NATO’s Exercise Cold Response in Bardufoss, Norway.

The leaders argued that easing restrictions undermines Western efforts to pressure Russia into negotiations and to end the war in Ukraine.

“Canada’s position is to maintain sanctions on Russia … including on the shadow fleet, which is moving this oil,” Carney said at a press conference. Threats to European security

The Canadian prime minister emphasized that cooperation between Russia and Iran poses a direct threat to European security. He added that such interactions come at a high cost to the Ukrainian people, meaning pressure on Russia must only increase.

Carney noted that Canada, together with European partners, will continue acting within the Coalition of the Willing to counter Russian energy revenues that finance the war.

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Web Archive link

cross-posted from: mander.xyz/post/47194045 … Worldwide sovereign cloud infrastructure as a service (IaaS) spending is forecast to total $80 billion in 2026, a 35.6% increase from 2025, according to Gartner, Inc. a business and technology insights company. “As geopolitical tensions rise, organizations outside the U.S. and China are investing more in sovereign cloud IaaS to gain digital and technological independence,” said Rene Buest, Sr Director Analyst at Gartner. “The goal is to keep wealth generation within their own borders to strengthen the local economy.” “Governments will remain the main buyers to meet digital sovereignty needs, followed by regulated industries and critical infrastructure organizations, such as energy and utilities and telecommunications,” said Buest. … Regionally, Middle East and Africa (89%), Mature Asia/Pacific (87%) and Europe (83%) are projected to record the highest growth in sovereign cloud IaaS spending in 2026. While China and North America are forecast to be No 1 and No 2. in spending in 2026 at $47 billion and $16 billion respectively, growth for both will be in the 20 percent range. Europe is forecast to surpass North America in sovereign cloud IaaS spending in 2027 (see Table 1). Web archive link