Mainstream news/discussion: Russia's invasion of Ukraine

[King Salvo]

Another one added to the list of convenient demises in Putin's Authoritarian and Totalitarian Russian Federation.

Comrade Paddo will no doubt say the Big Bad Capitalist West was behind it

[ism22]

Happy wear it purple day BTW. Noting that such relationships and celebrations are banned in Russia (punishable by death/violence/torture). It's a good time to reflect on the freedoms we sometimes take for granted.

[ism22]

Another issue that Menadue's son seems to have missed on his 'opinions' blog...

---

Jailed Australian Yang Hengjun fears he will die in Chinese prison following grim medical diagnosis

Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-...osis/102782926

Detained Australian democracy activist Yang Hengjun fears he will die a political prisoner in China after being told he has a large cyst on one of his kidneys.

Fresh concerns have been raised about the plight of the jailed writer just weeks before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is due to meet China's President Xi Jinping and ahead of a possible official visit to Beijing by the end of the year.

After experiencing months of discomfort, Dr Yang was told last week by Chinese Ministry of State Security personnel that he had a 10-centimetre cyst on a kidney, but no immediate options for treatment were presented to him.

...

Supporters who have been briefed on Dr Yang's condition in recent days said the writer was fearful he would be denied medical treatment and would die in jail.

"Unfortunately, this is not an irrational fear. This was the fate of Yang's friend, Nobel prize winner Liu Xiaobo," one said.

...

Defence Minister Richard Marles told the ABC the federal government was "constantly" raising the plight of the detained Australian with Chinese officials, along with similar consular cases.

"Proper consular access to people who are in prison is a critical part of the rights our citizens have in any given country. We always seek to assert those rights with the governments concerned, and certainly with the Chinese government in this case."

Earlier this month Mr Albanese told parliament he might meet President Xi Jinping during the G20 Leaders' Summit in India next month, just as the pair did at the same forum last year.

[ism22]

Kim Jong Un arrives in Russia on his luxury armoured train

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-...ssia/102835558

Kim Jong Un's trip to Russia by rail has drawn attention to the traditional method of travel for North Korean leaders — luxury, armoured trains that have long been a part of the dynasty's lore.

Mr Kim left Pyongyang on Sunday afternoon via his private train, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday.

Photos released by state media showed military honour guards and crowds of people in dark suits and colourful dresses waving flowers and flags as he boarded the dark green train, which is believed to be armoured and carry other specialised equipment.

Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday, citing an unnamed Russian official source, that a train carrying Kim had arrived at Khasan station, the main rail gateway to Russia's Far East from North Korea.

The trip to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin will be a full-scale visit, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

US officials have said the leaders will likely discuss North Korean arms sales to refill Russian reserves drained by its war on Ukraine.

According to US reports, the two will meet in the eastern city of Vladivostok, where they previously met in April 2019.

The trip comes at a time when the leaders' interests are aligning in the face of their deepening, separate confrontations with the United States.

Whether Mr Kim would again make the rattling 20-hour journey by rail has been a focus of media attention, as is the reportedly luxurious train, which stands in sharp contrast to the grinding poverty of daily life for most North Koreans.

...

[King Salvo]

Kim Jong Un arrives in Russia on his luxury armoured train

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-...ssia/102835558

Kim Jong Un's trip to Russia by rail has drawn attention to the traditional method of travel for North Korean leaders — luxury, armoured trains that have long been a part of the dynasty's lore.

Mr Kim left Pyongyang on Sunday afternoon via his private train, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday.

Photos released by state media showed military honour guards and crowds of people in dark suits and colourful dresses waving flowers and flags as he boarded the dark green train, which is believed to be armoured and carry other specialised equipment.

Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday, citing an unnamed Russian official source, that a train carrying Kim had arrived at Khasan station, the main rail gateway to Russia's Far East from North Korea.

The trip to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin will be a full-scale visit, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

US officials have said the leaders will likely discuss North Korean arms sales to refill Russian reserves drained by its war on Ukraine.

According to US reports, the two will meet in the eastern city of Vladivostok, where they previously met in April 2019.

The trip comes at a time when the leaders' interests are aligning in the face of their deepening, separate confrontations with the United States.

Whether Mr Kim would again make the rattling 20-hour journey by rail has been a focus of media attention, as is the reportedly luxurious train, which stands in sharp contrast to the grinding poverty of daily life for most North Koreans.

...

There will be a swirls and deviations article about this on the Menadue Malarkey site that Comrade Paddo will undoubtedly post a link to.