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Rocket

Russia shows cutting-edge Avangard hypersonic glider to US inspectors


RT
Wed, 27 Nov 2019 19:25 UTC
Avangard glider
© Sputnik / Russia's Defense MinistryAvangard glider
Moscow has showcased its top notch Avangard hypersonic missile system to a team of US military inspectors, saying the unprecedented move is an attempt to revitalize the key New START arms control treaty.

The US team became familiar with Avangard over the past two days, Russia's Defense Ministry said Tuesday. It was not immediately clear how close the US inspectors were able to get to the cutting-edge system and whether it was shown to them in action.

The Avangard is a hypersonic glider, launched by silo-based ballistic missiles, said to be able to penetrate any - both existing and prospective - defenses. It achieves extremely high speeds during its final approach while retaining the ability to maneuver.
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War Whore

Assistant Secretary of State says State Dept, Pentagon probing reports of US arms diversion in Yemen


Sputnik
Wed, 27 Nov 2019 19:09 UTC
military vehicles
© Wikipedia / U.S. Navy
The US State Department and Pentagon are investigating reports that American-made armored vehicles may have fallen into the hands of terrorist groups in Yemen via Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a newly published letter to a lawmaker showed.
"The Department of State takes these allegations very seriously and is working closely with partner nations to determine whether there were any such unauthorized transfers", Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs Mary Elizabeth Taylor wrote to Senator and presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren in a letter published on Tuesday.
Taylor said that since allegations were limited to Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, both the State and Defence Departments had already inspected MRAP inventories in the United Arab Emirates and were planning 'a similar oversight visit' to Saudi Arabia in November 2019.
"Once the Departments of State and Defence complete the visits and any necessary follow-up discussions with the two governments, the Department expects to have a full account of the circumstances related to the disposition of this equipment and any potential violation of the agreements", Taylor added.
The letter was sent to Warren in response to her query submitted to the State Department last month.

Yemen has been locked in a conflict between the government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and the Houthi rebels. A Saudi-led coalition has been conducting strikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015.
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Vader

Afraid Moscow might fix it? US dares complain about 'destabilizing RUSSIAN presence' in Libya wrecked by NATO regime change

Nebojsa Malic
RT
Wed, 27 Nov 2019 18:49 UTC
libya
© Reuters / Esam Al-Fetori
Having sponsored the 2011 'humanitarian' regime-change in Libya and reducing the North African country to chaos and civil war, the US is now protesting the alleged presence of Russian troops there as "incredibly destabilizing."

That was the claim on Tuesday by David Schenker, the assistant secretary for near eastern affairs at the State Department. He told reporters that Russian regulars were being sent to Libya "in significant numbers" to support the Libya National Army (LNA) and said that "raises the specter of large-scale casualties among the civilian population."

Schenker's concern for the lives and well-being of Libyan civilians is especially touching, given that the US was one of the driving forces behind the regime-change operation in 2011 targeting the government of Col. Moammar Gaddafi. Few can forget then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cackling ghoulishly when she was informed of Gaddafi's brutal murder at the hands of US-backed 'moderate' rebels.
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Attention

Flashback US has no evidence of Syrian use of sarin gas, Mattis says

Robert Burns
Associated Press
Wed, 27 Nov 2019 18:12 UTC
sarin gas syria
The U.S. has no evidence to confirm reports from aid groups and others that the Syrian government has used the deadly chemical sarin on its citizens, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Friday.

"We have other reports from the battlefield from people who claim it's been used," Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon. "We do not have evidence of it."

He said he was not rebutting the reports.

"We're looking for evidence of it, since clearly we are dealing with the Assad regime that has used denial and deceit to hide their outlaw actions," Mattis said.

Comment: The US government and its media knew all along there was no evidence of Assad using sarin gas against the Syrian people. But that did not stop the information war waged in the name of US dominance. Now that the truth has reached the mainstream, it still does not matter. Lies upon lies have led an hysterisized American population into a bizarre world where truth is the enemy.

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Bad Guys

Bolivia's parliament approves bill on snap presidential election, Anez rejects amnesty for Morales

Drago Bosnic
Fort Russ
Mon, 25 Nov 2019 18:04 UTC
Jeanine Áñez Bolivia
© REUTERS / Carlos Garcia Rawlins
The Bolivian parliament's Chamber of Deputies has voted in favor of holding new general elections, the lower house said in a Twitter post.

"The Chamber of Deputies unanimously voted to approve the bill on a special and transitional period for holding general elections," the tweet read, according to TASS.

The document was earlier approved by Bolivia's Senate. Now it will be sent to Interim President Jeanine Anez for signature. The bill said that new judges of Bolivia's Supreme Electoral Tribunal and regional commissions are to be appointed and the election should be held as soon as possible.

The presidential election in Bolivia was held on October 20. According to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Evo Morales who was the head of state at that time won in the first round. His main competitor, Carlos Mesa, stated that he does not recognize Morales' victory in the first round.
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Bad Guys

Swedish court rejects appeal by Russia's Gazprom in gas transit dispute with Ukraine's Naftogaz


RT
Wed, 27 Nov 2019 17:59 UTC
Gazprom
© Gazprom
Sweden's Svea Court of Appeal on Wednesday upheld an earlier arbitration decision forcing Russian energy major Gazprom to pay Ukraine's Naftogaz $2.56 billion in an ongoing gas transit dispute.

"Today's decision means that the court has rejected Gazprom's claim, and the decision of the arbitration cannot be canceled. Apart from that, the court has not detected any procedural violations," said the ruling. It has noted that the decision cannot be appealed.

The existing agreement for Russian gas transit through Ukraine to Europe expires next year, but the talks have stalled. Last week, Gazprom offered to extend the existing agreement or sign a new deal for one year, taking into consideration the forecast for the European Union's gas demand.
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Network

Russian-British trade growing, expected to reach $15 billion this year


RT
Wed, 27 Nov 2019 17:47 UTC
London bride
© Pixabay / E. Dichtl
The volume of trade between the UK and Russia may rise eight percent in 2019 compared to last year, the Russian Trade Representative to the UK announced at a business forum in London.

The growth of trade turnover between the two countries has been more rapid this year, Boris Abramov said on Wednesday, when the 5th Russian-British Business Forum (RBBF) opened at the Queen Elizabeth II Center.

"We expect the volume of trade to reach $15 billion by the end of 2019," he stated as cited by TASS. He added that in the first nine months of this year Russia's non-resource exports to the UK jumped 22 percent, while last year this figure stood at eight percent.

Comment: We can expect to see continuing economic growth between the two countries. The UK will be the first European country to integrate Russia's cross-border payment system MIR, which was created out of the sanctions imposed by the US.

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Stock Up

Russia's national payment system MIR to expand in Europe


RT
Wed, 27 Nov 2019 17:39 UTC

Comment: The IRONY if Russia's MIR - a 'forced innovation' due to US sanctions - winds up taking market share from VISA/Mastercard in Europe!


Russia MIR payment
© Sputnik / Mikhail Voskresenskiy
MIR payment system, developed by Russia in response to Western sanctions, is set to hit the European market. It will launch a pilot project at the Russian-British business forum in London on Wednesday.

PayXpert will become the unique acquirer of MIR cards in Europe, and the UK will be the first country where the system will operate, according to one of the organizers of the business event, the Roscongress Foundation.

"The launch of our joint project with PayXpert is the first and foremost step in the development of MIR acquiring in Europe, which will lay the foundation for new promising trends in the foreign expansion of Russian payment cards," said CEO of the MIR payment system Vladimir Komlev.
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Chess

Turkey won't support anti-Russia military plan until NATO recognizes Kurdish YPG as terrorists

Robin Emmott
Reuters
Tue, 26 Nov 2019 17:20 UTC
Turkey and NATO flags
© BELGA / AFP
Turkey is refusing to back a NATO defense plan for the Baltics and Poland until the alliance offers Ankara more political support for its fight against Kurdish YPG militia in northern Syria, four senior alliance sources said.

Ankara has told its NATO envoy not to sign off on the plan and is taking a tough line in meetings and in private conversations, demanding the alliance recognize the YPG as terrorists in the formal wording, the sources said.

Turkey's NATO delegation was not immediately available for comment. Turkey's defense and foreign ministries did not respond to requests for comment.
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Bulb

Schiff hits the fan: First House Democrat publicly opposes impeachment

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Tue, 26 Nov 2019 15:45 UTC
Rep. Brenda Lawrence
With public support for impeachment waning and the risk of a potentially disastrous Senate trial looming, House Democrats have suffered their first impeachment defection after Rep. Brenda Lawrence of Michigan said she no longer supports the effort.

"We are so close to an election. I will tell you, sitting here knowing how divided this country is, I don't see the value of taking him out of office," said Lawrence, who instead favors censuring President Trump over allegations that he withheld military aid in Ukraine for self-serving purposes, according to the Washington Examiner.
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