by Admin Feb 17, 2025 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has offered his readiness to send British troops to Ukraine as part of a postwar peacekeeping mission, emphasizing that European nations should not be excluded from discussions on ending the conflict. In a statement on Sunday, the Prime Minister acknowledged the consequence of deploying British servicemen and women into danger zones but also stressed that securing a lasting peace in Ukraine is crucial to deterring further aggression from Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The end of Russia’s war with Ukraine, when it comes, cannot merely become a temporary pause before Putin attacks again,” Starmer said. His comments mark the first time he has explicitly stated that Britain is considering deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine. Previously, he had expressed the UK’s willingness to contribute to a negotiated peace settlement. Meanwhile, the United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed that Ukraine and Europe would be integral to any “real negotiations” to end Moscow’s war. His remarks came ahead of the United States-Russia talks this week, which he described as an opportunity to gauge Putin’s seriousness about peace. The Prime Minister further indicated that Britain would be prepared to provide security guarantees to Ukraine, including the possibility of stationing troops on the ground if necessary.
Italian Police Arrest 130 in Major Crackdown on Sicilian Mafia
by Admin Feb 15, 2025 Italian authorities detained 130 individuals on Feb. 11 as part of a large-scale operation targeting the Sicilian mafia in Palermo. The country’s top anti-mafia prosecutor indicated that high-security prison inmates were still issuing “criminal directives” to operatives outside. The Carabinieri, Italy’s national police force, reported that the operation resulted in restrictive measures against 183 individuals, including 36 who were already incarcerated. The Cosa Nostra, the notorious crime syndicate immortalized in films like The Godfather, held a brutal grip on Sicily for decades. At its peak in 1992, the organization assassinated two prominent anti-mafia prosecutors, Giovanni Falcone, and Paolo Borsellino, in retaliation for their efforts to dismantle the group using informants, known as pentiti. However, in recent years, the Sicilian mafia has been overshadowed by the ‘Ndrangheta, a powerful criminal network based in Calabria. The Carabinieri stated that those arrested on Feb. 11 face charges including criminal association of a mafia nature, attempted murder, extortion using mafia intimidation, and drug trafficking conspiracy. Italy’s national anti-mafia prosecutor, Giovanni Melillo, said the investigation reflected a broader pattern seen in other regions, where high-security prisons remain under the influence of organized crime groups, enabling incarcerated mafia bosses to communicate and issue orders. Palermo’s chief prosecutor, Maurizio de Lucia, echoed these concerns, warning that mobile devices and video calls in prisons have blurred the line between incarceration and freedom, allowing mafia leaders to continue coordinating their operations. “Two key points emerge,” de Lucia explained. “First, the organization understands that to regain strength, it needs a central command structure, which it has struggled to achieve. Second, it has adapted by using technology to link its mandamenti [territories controlled by mafia families].” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praised the operation, calling it a “very hard blow to Cosa Nostra.” Writing on the social media platform X, she emphasized that the arrests send a clear message: “The fight against the mafia has not stopped and will not stop.”
