SNG Daily: Putin Said Russia Won’t Attack A NATO Country; Colombia Is Expelling Argentine Diplomats

Your one-stop destination for all the top international stories of the day.

Colombia Is Expelling Argentine Diplomats And It Has A Milei Connection

Argentina’s President Javier Milei isn’t new to controversies and now the latest one will see his diplomats being expelled from Colombia. In a recent interview with CNN, Milei called Colombian President Gustavo Petro a ‘terrorist’, ‘murderer’ and ‘communist’. Colombia’s foreign ministry said in a statement, “The Argentine president’s comments have deteriorated the trust of our nation, in addition to offending the dignity of President Petro, who was democratically elected.” This January, Colombia recalled its ambassador after similar remarks from Milei.

Russia Court Sentences Pussy Riot Singer Lyusya Shtein To 6 Years In Jail

A Russian court sentenced a member of the feminist opposition group and musical band Pussy Riot. Lyusya Shtein is a self-exiled member who was handed a six-year prison sentence for her online posts criticizing the Russian armed forces. She was convicted of spreading false information about the Russian army in a March 2022 post. She escaped house arrest in 2022 with her girlfriend and fellow Pussy Riot member Maria. The two escaped to Lithuania and finally settled in Iceland, where they were granted citizenship in 2023.

Putin: Russia Won’t Attack A NATO Country But…

President Vladimir Putin has said Russia has no plans to attack NATO countries like Poland, the Baltic states or the Czech Republic. But he also clarified that if the West supplied F-16s to Ukraine, then Moscow would shoot them down. Putin was quoted as telling the Russian air force pilots, “The idea that we will attack some other country is complete nonsense. It’s just drivel.” The transcript released by the Kremlin also said that Russia had no aggressive intentions against NATO nations, and that relations with the US have never been worse.

US State Department Officials Quits Over Biden’s Continued Support To Israel

Annelle Sheline, a human rights official at the US State Department has stepped down over Gaza, alleging that the Biden administration is violating US law by persisting in arming Israel and suppressing evidence of Israeli human rights violations that the US has witnessed. In a column for CNN, she wrote, “Whatever credibility the United States had as an advocate for human rights has almost entirely vanished since the war began.” She said she lost confidence that she could do anything to stop the supply of US arms to Israel. She is the second state dept official to quit over US’s policy on the Gaza war.

South Korean Companies Will Pay $75,000 To ‘Have Kids’

The South Korean government is getting support from an unlikely quarter to boost its population – corporates. South Korean companies like Ssangbangwool have offered to pay as much as $75,000 to employees who are expecting. The government has already called the country’s birth rate a national emergency. South Korea’s fertility rate currently stands at the lowest in the world. Cash incentives handed out in the past have made little difference.