About time that I posted this one, eh?

(KPL) President Thongloun Sisoulith received in Vientiane on Feb 23 letters of credence from foreign ambassadors to the Lao PDR. The ambassadors included Jonathan Kings of New Zealand whose office is based in Bangkok, Thailand; Pedro Zwahlen of Swiss whose office is located in Bangkok, Thailand; Pavel Pitel of Czech whose office is located in Bangkok, Thailand; Nicolai Prytz of Denmark whose office is located in Hanoi, Vietnam; and Uladzimir Baravikou of Belarus whose office is located in Hanoi, Vietnam.

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(KPL) President Thongloun Sisoulith received in Vientiane on Feb 23 letters of credence from foreign ambassadors to the Lao PDR.

The ambassadors included Jonathan Kings of New Zealand whose office is based in Bangkok, Thailand; Pedro Zwahlen of Swiss whose office is located in Bangkok, Thailand; Pavel Pitel of Czech whose office is located in Bangkok, Thailand; Nicolai Prytz of Denmark whose office is located in Hanoi, Vietnam; and Uladzimir Baravikou of Belarus whose office is located in Hanoi, Vietnam.

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President Thongloun appreciated the foreign ambassadors for their appointment to serve as ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Lao PDR and expressed his hope that during their tenures in Laos they will serve as a bridge to enhance the relations and cooperation between Laos and their respective countries.

The President stated that the government and relevant authorities in Laos are ready to cooperate with and help them achieve their diplomatic tasks.

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He called on the foreign diplomats to continue to increase mutual exchange of visits of high ranking officials and people to people exchange between Laos and their motherlands and reaffirmed Laos’ unwavering foreign policy of Peace, Independence, Friendship and Cooperation noting that the Lao PDR is a peace loving country and willing to be friends with all countries, and ready to work with every countries based on principles of mutual respect and mutual benefit for the prosperity of the people, peace and sustainable development in the world.

The President also expressed gratitude to the cooperation, support and assistance the ambassadors’ countries have provided to the Lao PDR over the past years which has contributed significantly to its socio-economic development.

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He asked the ambassadors to continue to promote the cooperation on trade and investment between Laos and their respective countries.

He also expected that they will provide assistance and support and cooperation to Laos to help make its chairmanship of ASEAN a success in 2024.

In reply, the foreign diplomats expressed thanks to the President for his warm welcome and expressed their willingness to continue to make sure the sound relations and cooperation between their respective countries and the Lao PDR are better promoted and more successful in the future to bring prosperity to the countries and optimal benefits to their peoples.

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The first post here will be the ProleWiki article for Laos.

Pyongyang, December 31 (KCNA) -- Officials of the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of External Economic Relations of the DPRK and the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries visited the Cuban embassy here on Dec. 30 on the occasion of the 64th anniversary of the victory of the Cuban revolution.

Floral baskets in the names of the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of External Economic Relations and the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries were laid before the portraits of President Kim Il Sung, Chairman Kim Jong Il, Comrade Fidel Castro Ruz and Comrade Raul Castro Ruz at the embassy. -0-

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/429419

> ! > > Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he plans to personally address people’s concerns linked to the partial mobilization, by holding a public meeting. The gathering is expected to take place during his upcoming visit to the central Tverskaya Oblast. > > “I will also certainly meet with people, talk to them,” Putin told the regional governor, Igor Rudenya, on Monday, during a discussion about various issues linked to the recent mobilization. The people need “to be heard,” the president maintained, adding that he wants to “have feedback” on the mobilization efforts. > > The president also called on the governor to promptly collect all data on issues that may have arisen during the mobilization and to inform him “in advance.” He is expected to arrive in Tverskaya Oblast for a working trip later this week. > > Putin announced the end of the partial mobilization last week. Russia had fully met the target of calling up 300,000 troops that had been set out in the presidential decree, the defense ministry said at that time. On Monday, he said that 80,000 troops had already been sent to the combat zone, and 50,000 of them have taken part in military operations. > > The president ordered the partial mobilization of reservists in Russia on September 21. The Defense Ministry said at the time that it planned to boost the strength of the standing army by calling up reservists amid the military campaign in Ukraine, which Moscow launched in late February. > > People who were called to arms in various regions reported some issues linked to the mobilization campaign on a number of occasions, including a lack of equipment or supplies as well as payment delays. The Kremlin admitted the issues and created a special coordination committee to ensure better supplies for the newly drafted troops. “Measures are being taken, and all these issues are to be resolved,” the presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in late October. > > Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. In February 2022, the Kremlin recognized the Donbass republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. Kiev insists that the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked. > > In early October, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, officially became part of Russia following referendums that saw the majority of local residents vote in favor of the accession.

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/428989

> ! > > > Some eagle-eyed viewers caught the inconsistency. The same footage – but with the slogans clearly visible – can be seen, for example, in a Deutsche Welle report on the situation in Cuba. Demonstrators declaring that “the streets belong to the revolutionaries” are probably not the kind of Cuban protesters that Senator Cruz had in mind.