Day: July 16, 2022

‘EU may cut financial aid to Ukraine’

Ms. Cat1 Comment

The funds promised to Ukraine by the EU have been delayed due to concerns over the bloc’s own economic troubles and infighting in Brussels, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the discussions.

‘EU may cut financial aid to Ukraine’

H/T: THE NEW DARK AGE

Related:

EU Stalls on Ukraine Aid as Fears Spike of Gas Crisis at Home

The European Commission also committed in May to finance the bulk of the reconstruction of the country, which could amount to $750 billion, according to Ukrainian government estimates. That could prove an even thornier debate for the EU as there’s no agreement over how to raise the funds. The commission’s offer scared some member states, wary of the massive effort required to rebuild the country and potential corruption issues, people familiar with the discussion said.

…

EU economy commissioner Paolo Gentiloni told ministers during the closed-door meeting that national governments need to ensure that the economic response to the war’s fallout is strong enough to avoid the risk of fatigue among Europeans, an EU official said. Gentiloni told reporters on Thursday that governments have a “duty” to mitigate the impact of higher prices, in particular of the energy bills, on the poor.

Trying to ward off any more protests, huh?! 🤷🏼‍♀️

China’s COVID tests at police gunpoint: a lesson in spotting propaganda

Ms. Cat

A video started circulating on Twitter this week claiming to show ordinary Chinese citizens being handcuffed and forced to take COVID tests at gunpoint. At the time of making this report, it had already racked up 600,000 views, with thousands of people sharing it to their networks. The video, in actual fact, shows a group of workers from an illicit pornography ring who had just been busted, making this a perfect example of how malicious rumors about China spread like wildfire on Western social media. Let’s get reporting!

Follow me on Twitter: @AndyBxxx

Over the past few days, several people on Twitter have sent me a video purporting to show ordinary Chinese citizens being forced to take a COVID test by SWAT police at gunpoint.

The original video, posted by a Twitter user who constantly spreads misinformation about China, said the following: “Chinese citizens, handcuffed, lining up under the SWAT team’s watch to take their daily mandatory COVID test to keep their QR code Covid pass valid to keep their life going on. Is this what you want for the rest of your life?”

Even without watching the video I could smell bullshit, since no one in China would ever be handcuffed and forced to take a COVID test. When I watched the video it was instantly clear that the people featured in the video had just been arrested for an alleged crime that left them feeling ashamed. You can see some of those handcuffed have their heads down in shame. My first guess was they were members of a company undertaking some kind of fraud or scam.

Reports on China