Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 762
As the war enters its 762nd day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Wednesday, March 27, 2024. Fighting Ukraine’s navy said it damaged four Russian naval ships in a weekend missile attack on Crimea. Among those hit was the Konstantin Olshanskya large landing warship that Moscow captured from Kyiv when it annexed the peninsula in 2014. Ukraine also struck the Ivan Khurs, a Russian naval reconnaissance vessel. There was no comment from Moscow. Ukraine’s navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk told the Associated Press news agency that Ukrainian forces had sunk or disabled a third of all Russian warships in the Black Sea. Belgorod regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said five people, including two firefighters, were injured in Ukrainian shelling of two villages in the border region. Russia’s Ministry of Defence said air defence systems shot down 13 Ukrainian rockets. Ukraine shot down 12 Iranian-made Russian attack drones over the southern Mykolaiv and eastern Kharkiv regions. No injuries or damage were reported. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it arrested two people suspected of acting on behalf of Russia as they tried to blow up a railway line used to supply weapons to the east of the country. Politics and diplomacy Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy named 51-year-old Oleksandr Lytvynenko to head the National Security and Defence Council. Lytvynenko takes over from Oleksiy Danilov who had been in the job since October 2019. A Russian court extended the pre-trial detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by a further three months. The 32-year-old US journalist was arrested and accused of espionage nearly a year ago. Gershkovich, the Journal and the United States government deny he is a spy. Ukraine beat Iceland 2-1 to qualify for the Euro 2024 finals starting in June, their fourth successive appearance in Europe’s top international football tournament. Weapons French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said France will soon be able to deliver 78 Caesar howitzers to Ukraine and will boost its supply of shells to meet Kyiv’s urgent needs for ammunition. Lecornu also said he was prepared to use his powers to requisition industrial capacities or order manufacturers to prioritise military over civilian orders to speed up the production of arms and shells needed on the battlefield in Ukraine and elsewhere. Adblock test (Why?)
Jordanian forces violently break up protests outside Israel embassy
NewsFeed Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the Israeli embassy in Jordan’s capital for a second day, demanding an end to Jordan’s peace agreement with Israel. Security forces broke up demonstrations with tear gas and arrests, leaving several people injured. Published On 26 Mar 202426 Mar 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Who is election disrupter Robert F Kennedy Jr?
Robert F Kennedy Jr, scion of the most famous United States political dynasty, will announce his running mate on Tuesday as he competes as an independent candidate in the 2024 US presidential election. The odds are stacked against him as no third-party candidate has won the presidency in more than a century and a half. But the longtime environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist has been able to create a media buzz, thanks to his strong brand recognition: His uncle was former President John F Kennedy, and his father was Robert F Kennedy, a former US attorney general and senator. He ditched the Democratic Party after failing to secure its presidential nomination and is playing to both far-left and far-right elements in his long-shot bid for the White House. His campaign appears to be resonating among so-called double haters, who dread the prospect of a rematch between incumbent Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, who is the frontrunner to win the Republican Party’s nomination despite his legal woes. Recent opinion polls indicated that while he might take voters from both candidates, it is Biden whom he could hurt the most. The committee in the US House of Representatives that investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters shows footage of a 2020 presidential election debate between Trump, left, and Biden. The two men are set for a rematch in November [File: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters] Amid a climate of political disenchantment, Kennedy has projected himself as a political outsider and blasts “corporate kleptocracy” while touting his environmental credentials. A longtime vaccine sceptic, he has been accused of spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine on alternative media outlets, such as conservative host Joe Rogan’s popular podcast. Rogan has also been accused of spreading falsehoods about COVID-19 vaccines on The Joe Rogan Experience. While Kennedy’s detractors have branded him a conspiracy theorist, his supporters hail him as a truth teller. So who is this political freewheeler? Where does he come from? What does he think, and does he really stand a chance of winning? What is Kennedy’s background? Kennedy’s family name evokes privilege and tragedy in equal measure. He was just nine years old when President John F Kennedy was shot dead in November 1963. His father, Robert, suffered the same fate while mounting his own presidential bid five years later. Senator Robert F Kennedy addresses a throng of supporters in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, after winning California’s presidential primary election. A moment later, he was fatally shot [Dick Strobel/AP Photo] Grief-stricken, RFK Jr turned to heroin to “fill an empty space inside of me”, finally getting clean after an arrest for possession. His second wife, Mary, mother of four of his six children, also battled addiction and died by suicide. He is now married to Cheryl Hines, famous for her role on the sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm. Kennedy suffers from a speech impediment called spasmodic dysphonia, which causes muscles in the larynx to spasm, although the condition has not seemed to have dented his performance on shows hosted by the likes of Rogan and conservative Canadian best-selling author Jordan Peterson, where his shoot-from-the-hip style plays well. His controversial views have led his own family to disavow him. “Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment,” his siblings said in a statement posted on X. “We denounce his candidacy and believe it to be perilous for our country.” Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment. Today’s announcement is deeply saddening for us. We denounce his candidacy and believe it to be perilous for our country. @roryekennedy @joekennedy @KKT_Kennedy pic.twitter.com/WJfGwSxN1z — Kerry Kennedy (@KerryKennedyRFK) October 9, 2023 What does he stand for? Not one for sticking to a script, Kennedy holds a mixed bag record of often contradictory views that make him difficult to pigeonhole. Take the environment. Once named a “Hero of the Planet” by Time magazine, the former environmental lawyer is known for his campaigns to clean up the nation’s waterways, reduce the use of toxic pesticides and promote renewables. Yet his calls for “freedom and free markets” as a solution to climate change have raised fears that he would let industry set the pace for curbing fossil fuel use. He has also threatened to repeal Biden’s signature climate legislation, which pushes for a transition to a green economy. His libertarian streak came to the fore during the COVID-19 pandemic when he accused the US government’s then-chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, of “a historic coup d’etat against Western democracy”. He also claimed the virus was engineered to attack Caucasians and Black people, sparing Chinese people and Ashkenazi Jews. His views on the Israel-Palestine conflict are typically contradictory. Kennedy supported Roger Waters last year amid mass outrage over a gig that saw the Pink Floyd co-founder donning Nazi attire and projecting the logo of an Israeli arms firm on a giant inflated pig. Yet, months later, the politician staunchly defended Israel’s no-limits war on Gaza, which has killed more than 32,000 people and pushed the besieged enclave to the verge of famine. Isolationist by nature, he opposes aid to Ukraine, blaming the US and NATO for creating a “proxy war” with Russia. In a recent interview, he said the billions in funding to the war-torn country could be used for “healing farms” for people in the throes of addiction and depression as he highlighted the fentanyl crisis. “His task will be to straddle the huge chasm between RFK Jr, the very liberal, progressive environmentalist and the anti-vaccination crusader,” said Steffen Schmidt, professor emeritus in the Department of Political Science at Iowa State University. On immigration, RFK Jr opposes Trump’s plan to erect a wall on the US border with Mexico. He has also been critical of Biden’s handling of the border crisis. He has promised to secure the border with the
What does the UN resolution on Gaza ceasefire mean?
NewsFeed The UN Security Council has passed its first resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after nearly six months of war. Here are some of the key takeaways. Published On 26 Mar 202426 Mar 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
‘Not enough’: Why the US did not veto a Gaza ceasefire resolution at the UN
Washington, DC – On three separate occasions, the United States has used its veto power to scuttle United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions aimed at bringing a ceasefire to war-torn Gaza. That streak ended on Monday, when the administration of President Joe Biden decided not to veto the latest ceasefire resolution, allowing it to pass by abstaining from the vote instead. The US move garnered widespread attention as a sign of Biden’s growing frustration with Israeli leadership, which is pressing on with its deadly military campaign in Gaza. But Palestinian rights advocates argue that what is needed is a fundamental rethinking in Washington’s support for Israel — beyond symbolism and rhetoric. “It’s a shift. However, it hasn’t stopped arms transfers from being made. And that’s ultimately what really matters,” said Adam Shapiro, a political analyst. Washington played down the resolution as “non-binding”, but the change in stance was enough to prompt a fiery response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who lashed out at the US for failing to block the motion. His office issued a statement accusing Washington of harming Israel’s war efforts, underscoring the growing tensions with Biden. ‘A dance’ between leaders Advocates say the question is now whether the Biden administration will use its leverage to pressure Israel to end its abuses against Palestinians in Gaza. Biden officials have urged the Israeli government to protect civilians and allow more aid to Gaza, but they have so far declined to place conditions on aid to Israel to further those goals. Tariq Kenney-Shawa, a US policy fellow at Al-Shabaka, a Palestinian think tank, said the true test of where the US stands is whether it will grant the “wish list” of arms Israel is expected to ask for. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant is on a visit to Washington, DC, and US and Israeli media outlets have reported that he will request specific weapons for the ongoing war. “The policy of providing Israel and Netanyahu in particular with all the tools he needs to continue the assault on Gaza has continued uninterrupted since October,” Kenney-Shawa said in an email to Al Jazeera. “In many ways, I see this as a dance. The Biden administration is taking what it sees as the necessary public steps to make it look like they’re doing everything they can to hold Israel’s feet to the fire, when in reality, they’re facilitating and enabling Israel to no end. Israel has yet to face any concrete consequences from the US for its war crimes and genocide.” The war started on October 7, after an attack on southern Israel killed 1,139 people. Since then, Israel’s military offensive on Gaza has killed more than more than 32,000 Palestinians and displaced hundreds of thousands more. Its blockade of Gaza has also brought the territory to the verge of famine. Monday’s resolution, which was adopted in a 14-0 vote, called for a “lasting” ceasefire as well as the release of Israeli captives in Gaza and a surge of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory. “Our vote does not — and I repeat that, does not — represent a shift in our policy,” White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Monday. “We’ve been very clear, we’ve been very consistent in our support for a ceasefire as part of a hostage deal.” ‘Slap in the face’ That is not how Netanyahu saw it, though. The Israeli prime minister said the abstention “constitutes a clear departure from the consistent US position in the Security Council since the beginning of the war”. In response, Netanyahu cancelled an Israeli delegation’s visit to Washington, DC. The group was meant to discuss ways to avert an Israeli assault on the crowded city of Rafah in southern Gaza. Israel had previously threatened to call off the trip if the US did not veto the resolution. The Biden administration has been urging Israel not to launch a full-scale offensive in Rafah, warning that such an invasion would harm civilians trapped in the city and further isolate Israel on the world stage. Against that backdrop, multiple US officials had talked up the delegation’s now-cancelled visit as an example of Washington’s efforts to contain the war. On Monday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller described Netanyahu’s move to nix the trip as “surprising and unfortunate”. Shapiro, the analyst, told Al Jazeera that it was a “slap in the face” to Biden. He questioned why the US — a global superpower — is failing to advance its priorities with Israel, a much smaller ally dependent on US aid. “At this point, the United States is not reacting in accordance with its complete failure to get its policy objectives met, in the current context of what Israel is doing in Gaza or the larger picture in terms of what Israel is doing overall on the occupied territories,” he said. Nancy Okail, the president of the Center for International Policy, a US-based think tank, said this is far from the first time Netanyahu has openly flouted US demands. Last week, for example, Israel announced the illegal seizure of 800 hectares (1,977 acres) in the occupied West Bank, defying US policy. ‘Significant’ vote Still, Okail said Monday’s vote on the ceasefire resolution is “significant” because it brought the US policy closer to its rhetoric on stopping the war and came against Netanyahu’s threats. “However, it’s still very late and still not enough,” Okail told Al Jazeera. “It also needs to be followed with concrete steps to show how serious the US administration is about support for ceasefire and lasting peace and about making sure that humanitarian assistance is delivered adequately and in time for the Palestinian people. “And that means taking steps towards assessing whether the US should continue sending arms to Israel.” So far, US officials have ruled out placing conditions on aid to Israel, often reasserting their commitment to Israel’s security. As the war on Gaza rages on, Israel’s public disregard for the US policy agenda is intensifying calls for
‘Fighting spirit’: How Myanmar’s armed resistance is taking new ground
Shan and Kayah States, Myanmar – The truck rocked violently as the driver attempted to manoeuvre the rough terrain of Shan State’s dirt roads. As the wheels spun, trying to find traction, the Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLA) soldiers inside exchanged glances, nervous about the battle to come, but composed and determined. The platoon was part of a convoy of vehicles making its way towards a small village, high in the mountains, ahead of a new offensive against Myanmar’s armed forces and an armed group aligned with the military government that seized power in a coup in 2021. Armed with AK-47s, M-16s, and rocket launchers, they planned to retake multiple outposts near Hopong Township in Shan State, in the east of the country. “We cannot attack directly, we have to check the area first and then attack slowly,” a PLNA soldier named Kyaw Zin explained at a ridge a few kilometres away from the front line. Further to the north, a key road was under the control of the Myanmar military preventing vital resources from being funnelled to the PNLA and other armed resistance groups further south. Amid the constant threat of weaponised drones and air strikes from military fighter jets, the PNLA said they expected the fight to last at least 30 days. As the sound of gunfire and mortar shelling ricocheted around the amber-coloured hills, the fighters said they were confident they would win. The Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLA) is one of several ethnic armed groups fighting to remove the military regime [Caleb Quinley/Al Jazeera] The PNLA is riding the momentum of a series of victories for anticoup fighters in northern Shan State since the Three Brotherhood Alliance launched “Operation 1027” towards the end of last year. The coalition of three powerful ethnic armed organisations has taken control of hundreds of military outposts and dozens of towns in Shan and Rakhine States since the offensive began, and reinvigorated the campaign against the military in other parts of the country. Fighting has also escalated in Kayah State (Karenni), just south of Shan State. The Karenni National Defence Forces (KNDF) launched its own offensive on November 11, 2023, “Operation 1111”, aiming to take control of the state capital of Loikaw. About half the city, controlled by the military since the coup, is now in the hands of the Karenni resistance. The KNDF has also taken control of Demoso, Mese and Ywar Thit as well as the strategically important township of Shadaw. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 761
As the war enters its 761st day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. Fighting Ten people, including a teenage girl, were injured after Russia hit Kyiv with missiles in the third bombardment in five days. Air defence shot down the missiles but people were hurt when the debris crashed to the ground in several central districts. Almost a dozen people were injured after Russia attacked the southern region of Mykolaiv and Odesa with drones. The authorities said eight of nine drones were shot down but that a fire at a plant in Odesa forced an emergency power shutdown. Authorities in the northeastern Kharkiv region said a 65-year-old man was killed in the courtyard of his home during Russian shelling. Oleg Kalashnikov, a press officer for Ukraine’s 26th Artillery Brigade, said the eastern city of Chasiv Yar was facing a “difficult and tense” situation, with Russian forces trying to “push through” Ukrainian defences. Kalashnikov said Moscow was dropping powerful guided bombs “on populated areas and on our fortified positions”. A fire broke out at a major Russian power plant in the southwestern Rostov region after a Ukrainian drone attack. Two power units at the Novocherkassk power station, one of the largest in the region, were shut down while the blaze was brought under control. Politics and diplomacy Russian President Vladimir Putin said “radical Islamists” were behind Friday night’s attack on the Crocus City Hall but added, without evidence, that Ukraine had a role. The Afghan branch of ISIL, also known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province or ISKP, has said it was responsible for the attack, which killed 139 people and injured 182. Speaking in his nightly video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again dismissed Putin’s claim. Ukraine has denied any role in the attack and Zelenskyy has accused Putin of seeking to divert blame. Poland’s Foreign Ministry said that Sergey Andreev, the Russian ambassador in Warsaw, failed to show up for a diplomatic summons issued after a Russian missile breached Polish airspace over the weekend. The wife of jailed Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza said she was in favour of prisoner exchanges to rescue him and other political detainees in Russia. Kara-Murza, who also has United Kingdom citizenship, was jailed for 25 years last year after saying Russia had committed “war crimes” against Ukraine. Russia’s Foreign Ministry summoned Australia’s chargé d’affaires in Moscow to complain about a social media post that said Russia’s staging of presidential elections in occupied parts of Ukraine, which Moscow claims to have annexed, was a “flagrant violation of international law”. Weapons Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba reiterated his call for international allies to supply more air defences, particularly Patriot systems and missiles, after Russia’s latest attack on Kyiv. Adblock test (Why?)
Palestinian boy assaulted by Israeli forces over ‘gun’ shirt
NewsFeed Video has been shared online of a Palestinian boy being assaulted and made to remove his shirt by an Israeli soldier because it had images of guns on it. After the video was published, the store was raided by the army in an attempt to confiscate the original video. Published On 25 Mar 202425 Mar 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Warnings against normalising conflict as Yemen marks decade of war
About four and a half million children are not in education in Yemen, while half of the country is in desperate need of medical aid, NGOs have warned. Reports released on Monday said two in five Yemeni children are not attending school while more than 17 million people – half of them children – require health assistance. The statistics underline the uncertainty of daily life following a decade of brutal war, the NGOs noted, pointing to mounting difficulties in funding and supplies as the number of emergency situations spread across the Middle East and other global locations. A Save the Children publication [PDF], Hanging in the Balance: Yemeni Children’s Struggle for Education, details the continuing issues in the country, where a United Nations-negotiated ceasefire has restored relative calm, but humanitarian needs still remain dire amid low-intensity violence. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government and Iran-aligned Houthis in Saudi Arabia have been fighting since 2014. A UN-brokered truce that took effect in April 2022 brought a sharp reduction in hostilities. The truce expired in October last year, and fighting largely remains on hold following a renewed peace process reached in December. PRESS RELEASE: After 9 years of conflict in #Yemen:▪️ 4.5 million children are out of school▪️ Displaced children are twice as likely to drop out▪️ 76% of students reported that their sense of safety has not increased.New report and press release 👇https://t.co/pAfi85JTmz — Save the Children MENA & Eastern Europe (MENAEE) (@scmenaee) March 25, 2024 “Nine years into this forgotten conflict, we are confronting an education emergency like never before,” Save the Children’s Mohamed Mannaa said in a statement. “While the truce reduced some violence, it hasn’t ever brought the stability families desperately need to rebuild their lives. Above everything else, families in Yemen need an official ceasefire; without one, families are left in limbo.” ‘Normalized’ The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that as the conflict in Yemen enters its 10th year, over half of the country’s population is in desperate need of aid. An estimated 17.8 million people require health assistance, 50 percent of them children, the NGO said in a statement. “It’s almost as if ongoing conflicts have become an accepted part of the everyday realities of life in the region. It’s important to step back and remember that hungry children, disease outbreaks, hospitals shutting down … these are not to be normalized,” said Hanan Balkhy, WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean. Amid the escalating emergencies in the Middle East and elsewhere, WHO is finding it harder to secure the necessary emergency funding for war-torn spots like Yemen. In the last five years, it warned, WHO funding for the country has declined by 45 percent. In 2024, WHO needs $77m to provide essential health assistance, it insisted. Other aid agencies are also experiencing increasing difficulties in providing urgently needed help to Yemen. In December, the World Food Programme suspended food aid to northern parts of the country citing limited funding and a disagreement with the authorities over how to distribute supplies Survival trumps education At least one child has dropped out of school in the past two years in one-third of the families surveyed for the Save the Children report. Displaced children are twice as likely to drop out than their peers, the researchers found. Economic hardships and insecurity were the main drivers of absenteeism. More than 44 percent of guardians and children surveyed said they were more interested in supporting their family’s income. Children as young as 12 told the researchers they have had to leave education in order to work. About a quarter of the families said they could not afford monthly fees and school books. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has labelled the conflict in Yemen as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Thousands have died and millions have been displaced. Two-thirds of Yemen’s 33 million inhabitants have fallen below the poverty line, Save the Children said, with about 4.5 million people displaced. Over 3,700 schools have been damaged or repurposed. Persisting violence Fourteen percent of families interviewed pointed to insecurity as the reason for children dropping out, with three-quarters of students – 76 percent – reporting that they feel no safer since the truce. The ripple effects of Israel’s war on Gaza have dragged the country into further warfare, and threaten further destabilisation. The Houthis, who control much of the country, have attacked ships in the Red Sea in support of Palestinians. In turn, the United States and other military forces, have fired at Houthi targets in Yemen. Meanwhile, on Sunday, al-Qaeda launched an attack against troops from the secessionist Southern Transitional Council. Although at odds with the internationally-recognised government, the council – backed by the United Arab Emirates and controlling much of Yemen’s south – is its ally in the war against the Iranian-backed Houthi. Adblock test (Why?)
EU to investigate Apple, Google, Meta under new digital law
Antitrust regulators will probe the Big Tech companies for potential breaches of the Digital Markets Act. European Union regulators have opened investigations into Apple, Alphabet’s Google and Meta, in the first cases under a sweeping digital law designed to stop Big Tech companies from cornering digital markets. The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive, said on Monday that it was investigating the companies for “non-compliance” with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which took effect on March 7. The law requires six gatekeepers – which provide services such as search engines, social networks and chat apps used by other businesses – to comply with guidance to ensure a level playing field for their rivals and to give users more choices. Violations could result in fines of as much as 10 percent of the companies’ global annual turnover. The rules have the broad but vague goal of making digital markets “fairer” and “more contestable” by breaking up closed tech ecosystems that lock consumers into a single company’s products or services. The commission said in a statement that it “suspects that the measures put in place by these gatekeepers fall short of effective compliance of their obligations under the DMA”. It is looking into whether Google and Apple are fully complying with the DMA’s rules requiring tech companies to allow app developers to direct users to offers available outside their app stores. The commission said it is concerned the two companies are imposing “various restrictions and limitations” including charging fees that prevent apps from freely promoting offers. Asked if the commission was rushing the process, EU industry chief Thierry Breton said the investigations should not be a surprise. “The law is the law. We can’t just sit around and wait,” he told a press conference. He said Meta, which introduced a no-ads subscription service in Europe last November that has triggered criticism from rivals and users, should offer free alternative options. Google and Apple have similarly introduced new fees for some services. Earlier this month the EU issued Apple an antitrust fine of more than 1.8 billion euros ($1.95bn) following a complaint by music streaming service Spotify. It was the first-ever antitrust fine slapped on the company by the bloc. The commission said the charge was triggered after Spotify complained in 2019 that Apple had prevented music-streaming services from informing users of payment options outside its App Store. Apple criticised the EU decision, saying it would challenge it in court. Google is facing scrutiny for not complying with DMA provisions that prevent tech giants from giving preference to their own services over those of rivals. The commission said it was concerned that Google’s measures would result in third-party services listed on its own search results page not being treated “in a fair and non-discriminatory manner”. The commission is investigating whether Apple is doing enough to allow iPhone users to easily change web browsers. It is also looking into Meta’s option for users to pay a monthly fee for ad-free versions of Facebook or Instagram so they can avoid having their personal data used to target them with online ads. “The Commission is concerned that the binary choice imposed by Meta’s ‘pay or consent’ model may not provide a real alternative in case users do not consent, thereby not achieving the objective of preventing the accumulation of personal data by gatekeepers,” it said. The EU has sought to crack down on Big Tech companies, handing out a series of multibillion-dollar fines for Google and charging Meta with distorting the online classified advertising market. Apple’s fine is about a quarter of the 8.25 billion euro ($8.95bn) the EU regulator fined Google in three cases in the last decade. Adblock test (Why?)