Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Russia ‘meddling’ cost less than combat jet – US
WASHINGTON: Russia’s alleged meddling in elections in the US and France, and the UK’s Brexit referendum cost less than a US F-35 combat jet, said the vice-chairman of the US Senate Select Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner.
“So, if you add up what they (Russia) spent in American, French and British elections combined, it was less than the cost of one new F-35 airplane,” the senator said during his speech at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington late on Thursday.
In 2016, the cost of the cheapest modification of the F-35 jet was estimated at $94 million (R1.3 billion).
Warner also said that Congress still had much work to do in relation to the Russia probe.
“I’m very proud of our bipartisan investigation and we still have more work to do, more witnesses to see.” The senator expressed hope that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe would yield new results soon and he stressed that it was all the more important to protect the integrity of the investigation, given the results of the recent midterm elections in the US.
“We need to make sure, particularly post-midterms, particularly when the president seems more and more unleashed, we protect the integrity of the Mueller investigation and allow it to finish its work,” Warner said.
Washington has accused Russia of meddling in the 2016 presidential election in order to influence the results of the vote in favour of then-Republican candidate Donald Trump. The US has claimed that Russia colluded with the Trump campaign to help its candidate win and tried to influence voters via social media. Washington has also accused Russian hackers of allegedly targeting the email accounts of the US Democratic Party.
Russia has repeatedly refuted the allegations, arguing that they had never been substantiated and insisting that Moscow does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. Trump and the White House have also repeatedly denied allegations of collusion. | CZECH Prime Minister Andrej Babis vowed yesterday never to step down, in the wake of corruption and kidnapping allegations.
Thousands demonstrated in Prague on Thursday against the prime minister and called for him to resign after reports this week cited Babis’ son saying his father’s associates had taken him by force to the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula last year.
“I will never step down, never. You should all know that,” the prime minister told Czech news agency CTK.
His son said his father had threatened to lock him up in a psychiatric institution. The prime minister has said his son is mentally ill and left the country voluntarily.
The 64-year-old founder of the populist ANO Party, who became prime minister last year, spoke of an attempt to overthrow him. The billionaire is also under investigation for subsidy fraud but, as a member of parliament, has immunity from prosecution.
Babis thanked President Milos Zeman for his support. The head of state told television station Barrandov on Thursday he would again ask Babis to form a government if he loses a vote of no confidence in parliament scheduled for the end of next week.
Opposition politicians, including leader of the Civic Democrats Petr Fiala, again called on the prime minister to step down until the allegations are investigated. |