Monday, January 13, 2025
The Nordic Times

Polaris of Enlightenment

Monday, January 13, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

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https://nordictimes.com/world/over-100-killed-in-terrorist-attack-in-iran/

World

Over 100 killed in terrorist attack in Iran

Published 4 January 2024
– By Editorial Staff
A woman is treated by medical personnel after the bombings.
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Two explosions occurred within minutes of each other during a memorial ceremony for assassinated General Qassem Soleimani. At least 103 people are believed to have died in the attacks, and Iran’s president is now vowing to “take revenge on those behind the terrorist attacks”.

The bombings took place in the Iranian city of Kerman on the anniversary of the death of General Qassem Soleimani, and around 150 other people were reportedly injured in the attacks, which took place near the mosque where the general is buried.

– The incident is a terrorist attack, Rahman Jalali, deputy governor of Kerman province, told Iranian state television.

– We will definitely take revenge on those behind the terrorist attack in Kerman, declared President Ebrahim Raisi.

Several of those killed were reportedly children, and no one has yet officially claimed responsibility for the attacks – although many have pointed the finger at Israel, which killed an Iranian brigadier general in an airstrike on Christmas Day.

Fears of war

General Qassem Soleimani served in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and was commander of its elite Quds Force, where he played a key role in strengthening the country’s military presence in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

He was assassinated in a US drone strike on January 3, 2020, in a joint operation with Israel.

There are now widespread fears that the war in Gaza will escalate further, drawing the entire region into a protracted and wider war.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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https://nordictimes.com/world/trump-plans-meeting-with-putin-we-are-setting-it-up/

World

Trump plans meeting with Putin: “We are setting it up”

The new cold war

Published today 12:16
– By Editorial Staff
Putin and Trump during their meeting in Helsinki in 2018.
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US President-elect Donald Trump has announced that a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin is now being arranged.

– He wants to meet, and we’re setting it up, Trump said at a meeting of Republican governors in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.

Trump described the war in Ukraine as “a bloody mess ” and expressed his intention to end the conflict. During his election campaign, he promised to end the war within 24 hours of taking office, but has recently conceded that a six-month period is a more realistic timeframe.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also confirms that the Russian president’s line has been firmly established that he is open to talks with Trump and that there are no preconditions for such a meeting.

– The president has repeatedly stated his openness to contact with international leaders, including the U.S. president, including Donald Trump, said Peskov.

Trump’s planned meeting with Putin has raised concerns in Kiev, where there are fears that US military support could be reduced and Ukraine could be pushed into an unfavorable peace deal.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/world/slovakias-leader-on-zelensky-a-beggar-and-blackmailer/

World

Slovakia’s leader on Zelensky: “A beggar and blackmailer”

The war in Ukraine

Published today 8:03
– By Editorial Staff
Robert Fico and Volodymyr Zelensky have, to say the least, a frosty relationship today.
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Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico launched a scathing attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing him of roaming Europe and engaging in “begging and blackmailing” – something that must stop.

– I’m not here to hold hands with Zelensky, and I’ll admit, I’m sick of him sometimes. He roams Europe begging and blackmailing, asking others for money… This needs to stop, the Slovak declared in Parliament’s foreign affairs committee on Friday.

The outspoken Fico has long been highly critical of the West’s almost unlimited support for Kiev, pointing out that Ukraine is not capable of defeating Russia on the battlefield and must instead seek a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

Shortly after taking office in 2023, Fico also halted military aid to Ukraine and promised to veto the country’s potential accession to NATO, and he has also offered to host peace talks between Moscow and Kiev.

“Slovakia is not at war”

Slovak-Ukrainian relations deteriorated sharply when Kiev refused to extend its transit agreement with Russia’s Gazprom after it expired at the end of the year, effectively cutting off the flow of Russian natural gas to EU countries such as Austria, Italy and Slovakia.

Slovakia, which has no coastline of its own, is said to be particularly dependent on Russian gas, which has previously met around 60% of its total demand. Fico has demanded compensation from Kiev and promised countermeasures, possibly by cutting off electricity supplies and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

– Neither Slovakia nor the EU is at war, we have no reason to tolerate Zelensky’s adventures, especially looking at the aid Slovakia and the EU are providing to Ukraine, the Prime Minister said in a speech earlier this week.

Warned of World War III

On Thursday, Fico also met with EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen to discuss the situation and how to resolve it.

– We have a bloody serious problem, the Slovak leader stated before the meeting.

The Nordic Times has previously reported how Robert Fico warned that the war in Ukraine risks escalating into a third world war.

– In reality, Ukraine is only being used for geopolitical purposes to weaken Russia both economically and internationally. I fear that, in the name of these geopolitical goals, the West will continue to fight with Russia until the last Ukrainian soldier, and we are not far from that, he said.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/world/mcdonalds-abandons-diversity-initiative/

World

McDonald’s abandons “diversity initiative”

Published 11 January 2025
– By Editorial Staff
McDonald's has 37,000 restaurants in 118 countries and serves 70 million customers every day.
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Four years after launching a major initiative to increase so-called diversity in the company’s various sectors, McDonald’s management suddenly announces that it is ending several of its politically correct initiatives.

Citing a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that banned affirmative action at the nation’s universities, management says the “shifting legal landscape“ is behind the decision.

The alleged diversity measures have mainly involved McDonald’s itself and its suppliers and partners placing quotas on members of ethnic, religious and sexual minorities in various management positions. However, critics say the real aim has been to remove white people in general – and white men in particular – from positions of power and influence.

The fast-food chain is just the latest in a series of large companies that have recently revised or completely stopped their DEI (diversity, equality and inclusion) initiatives. Harley-Davidson and Toyota, among others, have made similar decisions.

In the case of the motorcycle manufacturer, the change took place after a large number of customers and motorcycle enthusiasts got tired of the company management’s “politically correct transformation” and left-wing political activism and threatened to boycott the company completely.

Although several DEI initiatives are now disappearing, McDonald’s management is careful to point out that the company’s “commitment to inclusion is steadfast“.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/world/north-korea-tests-hypersonic-missiles-cannot-be-countered/

World

North Korea tests hypersonic missiles: “Cannot be countered”

Published 11 January 2025
– By Editorial Staff
“This is clearly a plan and effort for self-defense, not an offensive plan and action", said Kim Jong-un.
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North Korea has successfully tested a newly developed hypersonic missile – the country’s state media reports.

Hypersonic weapons are a necessity “to deal with the various security threats currently posed by the hostile forces against our state”, according to the country’s leader Kim Jong-un.

The state-run KCNA news agency, which still uses http protocol, reports that a test firing of a new type of medium-range hypersonic missile was conducted at the beginning of the week.

– Just like the intentional purpose of all military powers, the development of new-type hypersonic missile is mainly aimed to steadily put the country’s nuclear war deterrent on an advanced basis by making the means of changing the war situation, the weapon system to which no one can respond, the linchpin of strategic deterrence, the leader himself states.

– This is clearly a plan and effort for self-defense, not an offensive plan and action, he adds.

Wants to become a “military power”

According to the state news agency, the new missile was fired in a northeasterly direction from a suburb of Pyongyang and hit a simulated target on the high seas about 1.500 kilometers away. The missile reached a peak altitude of 99.8 kilometers and a second peak of 42.5 kilometers, indicating that it can change course mid-flight rather than following a fixed ballistic trajectory.

– The performance of our latest intermediate-range hypersonic missile system can not be ignored worldwide, and the system can deal a serious military strike to a rival while effectively breaking any dense defensive barrier, Jong-un continued.

– The development of the defense capabilities of the DPRK aiming to be a military power will be further accelerated, he concludes.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com