ЦЕНЗОРА.NET

Top U.S. and Russian diplomats began meetings Tuesday in Saudi Arabia about relations between their countries and a potential end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. 

Both sides have tempered expectations, describing the talks as an initial step that could lay the framework for direct talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading the U.S. delegation, which also includes national security adviser Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Wikoff.

Russia’s side includes Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and senior Putin aide Yuri Ushakov.

Ukrainian leaders said they were not invited to participate. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to host U.S. envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg for talks on Wednesday.

The U.S.-Russia engagement sparked concern among European leaders who in recent days have highlighted the need for Ukraine to be involved in discussions about its own future, and for European nations to play a role in what they also see as a key development in their own security.

French President Emmanuel Macron convened a group of European leaders for a Monday session in Paris where they discussed boosting defense spending and potential security guarantees for Ukraine.

There was division on the idea of deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine as part of a potential end to the war, with governments such as Britain and Sweden expressing openness to the idea while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that discussion was premature.

“We seek a strong and lasting peace in Ukraine. To achieve this, Russia must end its aggression, and this must be accompanied by strong and credible security guarantees for the Ukrainians,” Macron said on X.

The French leader said he had spoken with Trump and Zelenskyy after the Paris talks, and that it is important for Europeans, Americans and Ukrainians to work together.

Zelenskyy expressed a need for “robust and reliable” security guarantees, saying that otherwise Russia will just start another war with Ukraine or other nations in Europe.
…

A Russian drone hit an apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Dolynska, officials said Tuesday, injuring at least three people.

Andriy Raikovych, governor of the Kirovohrad region where the attack took place, said on Telegram that authorities evacuated dozens of people from the building and that those injured included a mother and two children.

The attack was part of a widespread Russian aerial assault overnight, which the Ukrainian military said included 176 drones.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 103 of the drones, with intercepts taking place over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy, Vinnytsia and Zhytomyr regions, the military said Tuesday.

Cherkasy Governor Ihor Taburets said on Telegram that debris from a destroyed drone damaged four houses in his region.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday it destroyed five Ukrainian drones, including four over the Voronezh region and one over Belgorod.

Both regions are located along the Russia-Ukraine border and are frequent targets of Ukrainian drone attacks.

Voronezh Governor Alexander Gusev said on Telegram there were no reports of casualties or damage.

Some information for this story was provided by Reuters
…

NEW YORK — Four top deputies to New York City Mayor Eric Adams are resigning in the latest fallout from the Justice Department’s push to end a corruption case against Adams and ensure his cooperation in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown — a bargain that has raised questions about the mayor’s political independence and ability to lead the city.

In a statement Monday, Adams confirmed the departures of First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Chauncey Parker.

“I am disappointed to see them go, but given the current challenges, I understand their decision and wish them nothing but success in the future,” said Adams, who faces several challengers in June’s Democratic primary. “But let me be crystal clear: New York City will keep moving forward, just as it does every day.”

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams became the latest Democrat to call on the mayor to resign, saying that with the deputy mayor resignations it’s clear he “has now lost the confidence and trust of his own staff, his colleagues in government and New Yorkers.”

Speaker Adams is not related to the mayor.

Torres-Springer, Joshi and Williams-Isom told agency heads and staff in a memo that they were exiting because of “the extraordinary events of the last few weeks.”

They did not give a date for their departures, but Adams said they and Parker will remain “for the time being to ensure a seamless transition.”

Adams has faced increasing scrutiny since the Justice Department’s second-in-command ordered federal prosecutors in Manhattan last week to drop the mayor’s corruption case. Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove wrote that the case had “unduly restricted Mayor Adams’ ability to devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime.”

That directive touched off firestorms within the Justice Department and New York political circles, with seven federal prosecutors quitting in protest — including the interim U.S. attorney for Manhattan — and fellow Democrats calling on Adams to resign.

On Friday, after a week of recriminations and resignations, Bove and a pair of Justice Department officials from Washington stepped in and filed paperwork asking Manhattan federal Judge Dale E. Ho to dismiss the case. Ho has yet to take action on the request.

Adams, a former police captain, pleaded not guilty last September to charges that he accepted more than $100,000 in illegal campaign contributions and lavish travel perks from foreign nationals looking to buy his influence while he was Brooklyn borough president campaigning to be mayor.

The Justice Department said in its filing Friday that it was seeking to dismiss Adams’ charges with the option of refiling them later, which critics see as a carrot to ensure his compliance on the Republican president’s objectives. In his memo ordering prosecutors to ditch the case, Bove said the new, permanent U.S. attorney would review the matter after the November election.

“It certainly sounds like President Trump is holding the mayor hostage,” Reverend Al Sharpton, an Adams ally, said Tuesday. “I have supported the mayor, but he has been put in an unfair position — even for him — of essentially political blackmail.”

Political leaders, including Democratic Representatives Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Nydia Velázquez, and Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado have called on Adams to step down. But Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul has said she’s taking a more deliberative approach.

“The allegations are extremely concerning and serious, but I cannot as the governor of this state have a knee-jerk, politically motivated reaction like a lot of other people are saying right now,” she told MSNBC on Thursday. “I’ve got to do it smart, what’s right, and I’m consulting with other leaders in government right now.”

The drama over Adams’ legal case played out as the mayor met with Trump’s border czar in New York on Thursday and announced increased cooperation on the Trump administration’s efforts to remove immigrants, including reestablishing an office for immigration authorities at the city’s notorious Rikers Island jail.

In their memo to staff announcing their exits, Torres-Springer, Joshi and Williams-Isom wrote, “Due to the extraordinary events of the last few weeks and to stay faithful to the oaths we swore to New Yorkers and our families, we have come to the difficult decision to step down from our roles.”
…

San Jose, Costa Rica — Costa Rica announced Monday it would receive migrants from other countries who were deported by the United States, following in the footsteps of Panama and Guatemala.

“The Government of Costa Rica agreed to collaborate with the United States in the repatriation of 200 illegal immigrants to their country,” the Costa Rican president’s office said in a statement, adding that “these are people originating from … Central Asia and India.”

Costa Rica is the third country in Central America to collaborate on repatriating deported migrants from the United States since President Donald Trump assumed office in Washington on Jan. 20. 

The first set of deportees will arrive in Costa Rica on Wednesday aboard a commercial flight, according to the statement, whereupon they will be transported to a Temporary Migrant Care Center near the border with Panama. 

The statement specified that “the process will be completely financed” by the U.S. government under the supervision of the International Organization for Migration. 

Panama and Guatemala had previously agreed to a similar arrangement when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited on a recent tour of Latin America. 

Panama received its first repatriation flight with 119 migrants aboard last week, originating from China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere, according to Panamanian officials. None have arrived yet in Guatemala.

Latin America is the original home of most of the United States’ estimated 11 million undocumented migrants.

Many had made dangerous journeys, braving treacherous terrain, wild animals and criminal gangs for a chance at a better life.

Trump, however, took a hard line against undocumented migrants during last year’s U.S. election campaign, describing some as “monsters” and “animals.”

On his first day in office last month, Trump declared a national emergency at the southern U.S. border and vowed to deport “millions and millions” of migrants.

 
…

Lawmakers in the U.S. state of Oklahoma are looking at a plan to start collecting information on the immigration status of students and parents in public schools. It’s a proposed rule that some local school officials are already saying they will refuse to enforce. Scott Stearns narrates this story from Daria Vershylenko in Oklahoma.
…

Washington — The Trump administration has begun firing several hundred Federal Aviation Administration employees, upending staff on a busy air travel weekend and just weeks after a January fatal mid-air collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Probationary workers were targeted in late night emails Friday notifying them they had been fired, David Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union, said in a statement.

The affected workers include personnel hired for FAA radar, landing and navigational aid maintenance, one air traffic controller told the Associated Press. The air traffic controller was not authorized to talk to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said in a brief statement Monday it was “analyzing the effect of the reported federal employee terminations on aviation safety, the national airspace system and our members.”

Other FAA employees who were fired were working on an urgent and classified early warning radar system the Air Force had announced in 2023 for Hawaii to detect incoming cruise missiles, through a program that was in part funded by the Department of Defense. It’s one of several programs that the FAA’s National Defense Program manages that involve radars providing longer-range detection around the country’s borders.

Due to the nature of their work, staff in that office typically provide an extensive knowledge transfer before retiring to make sure no institutional knowledge is lost, said Charles Spitzer-Stadtlander, one of the employees in that branch who was terminated.

The Hawaii radar and the FAA National Defense Program office working on it “is about protecting national security,” Spitzer-Stadtlander said. “I don’t think they even knew what NDP does, they just thought, ‘oh no big deal, he just works for the FAA.’”

Spero said messages began arriving after 7 p.m. on Friday and continued late into the night. More might be notified over the long weekend or barred from entering FAA buildings on Tuesday, he said.

The firings hit the FAA when it faces a shortfall in controllers. Federal officials have been raising concerns about an overtaxed and understaffed air traffic control system for years, especially after a series of close calls between planes at U.S. airports. Among the reasons they have cited for staffing shortages are uncompetitive pay, long shifts, intensive training and mandatory retirements.

In the Jan. 29 fatal crash between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines passenger jet, which is still under investigation, one controller was handing both commercial airline and helicopter traffic at the busy airport.

Just days before the collision, President Donald Trump had already fired all the members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, a panel mandated by Congress after the 1988 PanAm 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. The committee is charged with examining safety issues at airlines and airports.

Spitzer-Stadtlander said he was supposed to be exempted from the probationary firings because the FAA office he worked in focused on national security threats such as attacks on the national airspace by drones.

The Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The firings were first reported by CNN.
…

Russia has freed a U.S. citizen arrested earlier this month on drug smuggling charges, according to Russian media reports and a U.S. official. 

The move appears to be an effort to ease tensions between Moscow and Washington ahead of talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. 

Kalob Byers, 28, was detained on Feb. 7 at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport after customs officials allegedly found cannabis-laced marmalade in his baggage. According to media reports, Byers had traveled from Istanbul with his Russian fiancee, who was also detained. The authorities said he had attempted to smuggle a “significant amount” of drugs into the country and put him in custody on the charges of drug smuggling, punishable by a prison term of up to 10 years. 

Byers has been released from custody and is in the U.S. Embassy in Moscow where he is awaiting a flight home, Russian independent news outlet Meduza reported Monday, citing a Facebook post by his parents. A U.S. official confirmed to The Associated Press that Byers was released to the embassy late Sunday evening. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss sensitive matters. 

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday in response to a question about Byers that Moscow expects “to discuss restoring the entire complex of Russian-American relations” at the talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, “so certain events can be viewed in this context.” 

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Byers’ fiancee was also released. Russian media reports identified her as Naida Mambetova and said she was placed in pre-trial detention on the same charges. 

Arrests of American nationals in Russia have become increasingly common in recent years, with relations between Moscow and Washington sinking to Cold War lows over the war in Ukraine. Some have been released in prisoner exchanges. The most recent one included Marc Fogel, a teacher from Pennsylvania imprisoned in Russia on charges similar to those Byers had faced. 

Fogel was detained in 2021 when traveling to Russia to work at a school and handed a 14-year sentence for having what his family and supporters said was medically prescribed marijuana. He was released and brought back to the U.S. earlier this month in a swap that saw Alexander Vinnik, a Russian cryptocurrency expert who faced Bitcoin fraud charges in the U.S., returned to Russia. 

The release of Fogel and Byers come as tensions between Russia and the U.S. appear to ease. 

President Donald Trump on Wednesday upended three years of U.S. policy toward Ukraine and Russia, saying he and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the conflict following a lengthy direct phone call.
…

Постраждали жінки 36, 57, 60, 71 років та 62-річний чоловік
…

In central California, it is harvesting season for strawberries and citrus fruits. But some farm workers who aren’t legal U.S. residents are staying away from work, following migrant roundups that are part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Genia Dulot has our story.
…

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Saudi Arabia on Monday as part of a tour of the region that includes a focus on the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Rubio was expected to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid objections from Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations about U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to move Palestinians out of Gaza.

Trump has suggested the Palestinians would go to neighboring countries, with the United States taking over Gaza and redeveloping the territory.

Such a plan would seemingly eliminate Trump’s hopes of getting Saudi Arabia to normalize ties with Israel, a move Saudi officials have said will not happen unless there is a pathway for a Palestinian state.

The United States fully endorsed Israel’s war aims in Gaza on Sunday, with Rubio saying that Hamas “must be eradicated” and “cannot continue as a military or government force.”

With the first phase of the ceasefire set to expire in two weeks, Rubio told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a stop in Jerusalem that “as long as [Hamas] stands as a force that can govern or as a force that can administer or as a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible.”

Echoing Trump, the Israeli leader said “the gates of hell would be open” if Hamas does not release dozens of remaining hostages abducted in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war.

Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, freed three hostages Saturday in exchange for nearly 400 Palestinians who had been jailed in Israel. But the militants continue to hold dozens of hostages they captured in the terror attack that killed 1,200 people.

Israel’s counteroffensive during 15 months of fighting in Gaza has killed more than 48,200 Palestinians, according to the territory’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants.

The tentative second phase of the ceasefire plan calls for Hamas to release dozens of remaining hostages in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, drafting of a permanent truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. But the detailed terms of the deal have yet to be negotiated.

During his tour of the region, Rubio was not scheduled to meet with any Palestinian officials.

Egypt says it is hosting an Arab summit on February 27, and is working with other countries on a counterproposal that would allow for Gaza to be rebuilt without removing its population. Human rights groups say the expulsion of Palestinians would likely violate international law.

Arab nations have long called for creation of an independent Palestinian state to exist alongside Israel, which the U.S. has also supported. But Netanyahu opposes a two-state solution and U.S. ownership of Gaza also would likely end the possibility of a Palestinian state encompassing Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Egypt has warned that any mass influx of Palestinians from Gaza would undermine its nearly half-century-old peace treaty with Israel, a cornerstone of American influence in the region.

Some material in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
…

«Державна міграційна служба передає інформацію про таких осіб Міністерству оборони України»
…

Триває процес заживлення знеструмлених споживачів
…

“Saturday Night Live” has been a staple of American television comedy for 50 years, launching stars and shaping culture. On Sunday night, fans and famous alumni gathered in New York City to celebrate this milestone. Aron Ranen reports from the Big Apple.
…

BEIJING/TAIPEI — China on Monday urged the United States to “correct its mistakes” after the U.S. State Department removed previous wording on its website about not supporting Taiwan independence, which it said was part of a routine update.

The fact sheet on Taiwan, updated last week, retains Washington’s opposition to unilateral change from either Taiwan or from China, which claims the democratically governed island as its own.

But as well as dropping the phrase “we do not support Taiwan independence,” the page added a reference to Taiwan’s cooperation with a Pentagon technology and semiconductor development project and says the U.S. will support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations “where applicable.”

Beijing regularly denounces any international recognition of Taiwan or contact between Taiwanese and foreign officials, viewing it as encouraging Taiwan’s separate status from China.

The update to the website came roughly three weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in to his second term in the White House.

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the revisions for Taiwan on the U.S. State Department’s website were a big step backwards and “sends a seriously wrong message to Taiwan independence separatist forces.”

“This is yet another example of the United States’ stubborn adherence to the erroneous policy of ‘using Taiwan to suppress China’. We urge the United States side to immediately rectify its mistakes,” Guo said.

The United States, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is its strongest international backer, bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.

“As is routine, the fact sheet was updated to inform the general public about our unofficial relationship with Taiwan,” a State Department spokesperson said in an email sent late Sunday Taiwan time responding to questions on the updated website wording.

“The United States remains committed to its one China policy,” the spokesperson said, referring to Washington officially taking no position on Taiwan’s sovereignty and only acknowledging China’s position on the subject.

“The United States is committed to preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” the spokesperson said.

“We oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side. We support cross-Strait dialog, and we expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to people on both sides of the Strait.”

On Sunday, Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung expressed his appreciation for what he called the “support and positive stance on U.S.-Taiwan relations.”

Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying that only the island’s people can decide their future.

Taiwan says it is already an independent country called the Republic of China, its official name. The Republican government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists, who set up the People’s Republic of China.
…

NEW YORK — Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter opened the 50th anniversary special celebrating “Saturday Night Live” with a duet of his song “Homeward Bound.”

The 83-year-old Simon has been a constant on “SNL” since its earliest episodes in 1975 and performed on the first show after the 9/11 attack. He was joined by the 25-year-old pop sensation of the moment, Carpenter.

“I sang this song with George Harrison on ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 1976,” Simon said.

“I was not born then,” Carpenter said, getting a laugh. “And neither were my parents,” she added, getting a bigger laugh.

Fifty seasons of “Saturday Night Live” sketches, songs and special guests are being celebrated for the special’s landmark anniversary in a Sunday night special.

The pop culture juggernaut has launched the careers of generations of comedians, from Bill Murray to Eddie Murphy and Tina Fey to Kristen Wiig.

Many of those stars were on hand for “SNL50: The Anniversary Celebration,” airing live from New York, of course.

“I grew up with the show, you know, and I was born in 1971, and it’s lived with me my whole life,” Amy Poehler, who was a cast member from 2001 to 2008,” said on Sunday ahead of the show’s start. “We have a show to do in just under two hours, and being back is an amazing privilege.”

The three-hour extravaganza comes after months of celebrations of “Saturday Night Live,” which premiered Oct. 11, 1975, with an original cast that included John Belushi, Chevy Chase and Gilda Radner.

“After the original cast, we were just going, Those guys just did it all for us,” Adam Sandler, a cast member from 1990-1995, said before the show. “They crushed it. We watched them at home. They made their movies. We worshiped their movies. And that’s all. What we wanted to do is just kind of continue that sort of stuff.”

It’s become appointment television over the years as the show has skewered presidents, politics and pop culture and been a platform for the biggest musical stars of the moment. As streaming has altered television viewing, “SNL” sketches, host monologues and short comedy films remain popular on social media and routinely rack up millions of views on YouTube.

While NBC has revealed some of the stars expected to appear, many of the special’s moments, cameos and music performances remain a surprise.

On Sunday, NBC announced more guest appearances including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Leslie Jones, Billy Crystal, Cher, Mike Myers and Alec Baldwin, who holds the title of the person who’s hosted “SNL” the most times.

 
…

President Donald Trump’s administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in its bid to fire the head of an independent U.S. agency that protects government whistleblowers, bringing its first legal battle involving Trump’s actions to the nation’s highest judicial body since he took office in January.

The Justice Department asked the court to immediately lift a federal judge’s Feb. 12 order that temporarily blocked Trump’s removal of Hampton Dellinger as the head of the Office of Special Counsel while litigation continues in the dispute, according to a copy of the filing reviewed by Reuters. The case has not yet been docketed by the court.

The federal judge’s action blocking the termination is an “unprecedented assault on the separation of powers,” Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris said in the filing.

“This court should not allow lower courts to seize executive power by dictating to the President how long he must continue employing an agency head against his will,” Harris wrote.

Appointed by former President Joe Biden, Dellinger’s five-year term was set to expire in 2029. He sued after receiving an email on Feb. 7 informing him that Trump had fired him from the watchdog role, “effective immediately.”

Dellinger’s lawsuit said Trump exceeded his power in purporting to fire him, given that federal law permits removal only for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”

The Special Counsel’s “ability to protect the civil service and investigate alleged misconduct is needed now more than ever,” Dellinger’s lawsuit said. “Over the preceding three weeks, an unprecedented number of federal employees with civil service protections have been terminated without cause.”

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington, D.C. issued a temporary restraining order on Feb. 12, restoring Dellinger to his position pending a further, preliminary order.

Jackson said Dellinger was likely to prevail in the suit given that the effort to fire him without identifying any cause “plainly contravenes” the Special Counsel’s job protections under federal law.

“This language expresses Congress’s clear intent to ensure the independence of the Special Counsel and insulate his work from being buffeted by the winds of political change,” Jackson wrote in the order.

The District of Columbia U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the administration’s appeal in a 2-1 decision on Saturday, saying it was premature, given that Jackson’s order was only temporary.

The Special Counsel Office allows whistleblowers to make disclosures about alleged misconduct within federal agencies and investigates complaints of retaliation. It also enforces a U.S. law known as the Hatch Act that limits political participation by federal employees.

The move to fire Dellinger was the latest by the Trump administration to expel officials who investigate wrongdoing within the federal government. Trump last month fired 17 inspectors general who serve as independent watchdogs within their agencies, without providing a reason.
…