Bolivian President Evo Morales stated on Thursday in an interview with RIA Novosti that Russia can count on his country's support for recognizing Crimea. Responding to the question as to whether it should be expected that Sucre will take additional steps towards a Bolivian recognition of Crimea as part of Russia, Morales said: "We are together with Russia in the case of any American aggression against Russia. Whether we are dealing with aggression of a political, economic, geographic, or military character, let Russia count on Bolivia and our support."

According to the president, Bolivia has deep disagreements with the policies which the US is pursuing in Latin America. "Thanks to the unity of the Bolivian people as a result of which we are politically liberated from the US Embassy and economically liberated from the International Monetary Fund, things are better for us now. And the people support this. We are here as anti-imperialists, and we strongly support anti-imperialist countries," Morales said. "And above all, we respect Russia and admire her," the head of state added.

The road to Raqqa, capital of the phony ISIS/ISIL/Daesh "Caliphate", will continue to be a riddle wrapped inside an enigma at least until the US Presidential elections. Let's examine why.

The loose combo known as Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by the Kurdish YPG alongside its women's brigade, the YPJ, are trying to advance against Daesh north and now also west of Raqqa.

The key target is Tabqa, west of Raqqa. Tabqa is crucial because it links Raqqa with Daesh positions near Aleppo — where an embryonic Mother of All Battles is gearing up. Conquering Taqba itself will be no mean feat as it implies the SDF forces crossing the Euphrates River, which happens to be a red line imposed by Turkey's Sultan Erdogan.

German businesses and the governors of Russia's Kaluga and Kaliningrad regions and the Republic of Bashkortostan have signed deals and memorandums worth €600 million in Munich on Wednesday, according to a source quoted by Lenta.ru.

A €200 million deal was sealed between international wood-processer Kronospan and the governor of Russia's Kaluga region. The company plans to invest in the construction of a wood fiber board plant in the region.

Since 2007 German firms have invested over €2 billion in Kaluga's production facilities, said the region's governor Anatoly Artamonov.

According to Artamonov, twenty German manufacturers have plants in the region, ten Russian-German joint ventures have been established and nearly 7,500 jobs have been created. Germany has invested in agriculture and logistics as well as the automotive and pharmaceutical industries.

Russia and China have strengthened their cooperation and proved their partnership is vital despite Western sanctions and Washington's disapproval of their strategic alliance, participants of the Russia-China forum in Moscow told RT. The conference titled "Russia and China: Taking on New Quality of Bilateral Relations" took place on May 30 and May 31. It was organized by the Russian International Affairs Council. "Together we can become a center that can influence global processes," Boris Titov, co-chairman of the Russian-Chinese Friendship committee and Russia's ombudsman for entrepreneurs' rights, told RT on the sidelines of the conference on Tuesday.

While securing funding in the West has become more difficult, the sanctions themselves do not pose a great challenge for Russia-China cooperation, as they do not affect mutual projects involving mid-sized and small businesses, according to Titov. "We view sanctions as of little importance to the economy," stressed the ombudsman. Huge markets for Russian goods have been created in China, especially environment-friendly products, which are high in demand.
"Politics always contradicts economic interests, business is far away from politics, we need honest and direct relations," the co-chairman noted, adding that one of the main obstacles to closer cooperation is the sprawling red tape afflicting both countries. Taking into account China's vast experience living under sanctions, Russia and China "will be able to go through this period significantly better together."

For Russia, the expansion of economic activities into Asia, and East Asia in particular, is of crucial importance, as the region provides "significant opportunities" in terms of investment and trade, Yaroslav Lisovolik, chief economist at the Eurasian Development Bank, said. Lisovolik said, given the West's apparent reluctance to remedy relations with Russia and Beijing, it will "simply start to lose investment and trade flows" to sanctions, seriously calling their long-term effectiveness into question.

Countries imposing indiscriminate restrictive measures that hurt mostly the broad masses, and not targeted at elites, "should be ready to take the price of sanctions" on their own economies, said Nandan Unnikrishnan, Vice President and Senior Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. "If you sanction me you cannot be my partner," the researcher stressed, adding that he thinks that sanctions remain "an impediment to the growth of closer economic ties" between China and Russia.

The intertwined nature of US-China economic relations is forcing Chinese leaders to carefully examine all of the consequences before "the strategic embrace takes place between China and Russia," he observed. Despite the complexity of relations in the US-China-Russia triangle, the potential for China-Russia cooperation is still "huge," as they share a common multipolar approach to international relations.

An editorial published by North Korean state media is singing the praises of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, singling him out as a key figure in helping to unify the Korean peninsula. The DPRK Today article by Han Yong Mook, a self-described Chinese North Korean scholar, labels Trump as a "wise politician" and a "far-sighted presidential candidate".

The article simultaneously slams Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton and urges the US electorate not to vote for her: "The president that US citizens must vote for is not that dull Hillary - who claimed to adapt the Iranian model to resolve nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula - but Trump, who spoke of holding a direct conversation with North Korea." The article is optimistic that Trump can bring about the realization of North Korea's "Yankee Go Home" slogan.

Han writes: "Trump said he will 'not get involved in the war between the South and the North,' isn't this fortunate from North Korean's perspective?" The editorial also welcomed Trump's statement in March that he would consider withdrawing US military forces from Seoul if South Korea does not contribute more to its own defense.


Analysts told North Korea News that although the endorsement didn't officially come from Pyongyang, it was likely reflective of government views. "This is very striking," Aidan Foster-Carter of the University of Leeds told NK News. "Admittedly it is not exactly Pyongyang speaking, or at least not the DPRK government in an official capacity. But it is certainly Pyongyang flying a kite, or testing the waters."

"For the rest of us, this is a timely reminder - if it were needed - of just how completely Trump plans to tear up established US policy in the region; and what an irresponsible, unthinking menace the man is," he added. John Feffer, director of Foreign Policy In Focus described Trump as the "Dennis Rodman of American politics — quirky, flamboyant, risk-taking" and Pyongyang is hopeful he will change the "political game in the United States" and change the perception of Korean issues.

Clashes have erupted in Brazil with police deploying tear gas and rubber bullets on protesters voicing their opposition to the country's new interim government. It follows the suspension of President Dilma Rousseff in a move that many are calling a coup.

Demonstrators hit the streets of Brazil's largest city, Sao Paolo, for a rally calling for the removal of acting president Michel Temer.

Footage from the streets showed police forcing protesters to the ground and officers using batons against demonstrators.

Some activists tried to occupy the building where the leader's regional office is situated.

The protesters are speaking out against the May suspension of President Dilma Rousseff, who now faces an impeachment trial. The move has been dubbed a coup by Rousseff's supporters, and many claim Temer plotted her downfall to stifle a corruption investigation into Petrobras, Brazil's state-owned oil enterprise.

Beijing is reportedly planning to launch an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the South China Sea, the timing of which will depend on US "provocations." Billions of dollars of trade passes annually through the area, which is subject to rival claims. A source close to China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) told the South China Morning Post daily that security conditions in the region, namely the US military presence, would define the timing of the ADIZ declaration.

"If the US military keeps making provocative moves to challenge China's sovereignty in the region, it will give Beijing a good opportunity to declare an ADIZ in the South China Sea," the source told the newspaper. The country's Defense Ministry told the South China Morning Post in a written statement that it was "the right of a sovereign state" to designate an ADIZ. "Regarding when to declare such a zone, it will depend on whether China is facing security threats from the air, and what the level of the air safety threat is," the ministry wrote. In November 2013, Beijing set up an ADIZ in the East China Sea, causing an immediate backlash from Tokyo, Seoul and Washington. It covered the Diaoyu Islands, which Tokyo controls and calls the Senkakus.

Tensions have run high between Washington and Beijing over a reclamation project in the South China Sea, where China has built artificial islands. Beijing has various territorial disputes in the area - which is rich in deposits of natural resources - with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

To bolster its claim over the disputed territory, Beijing has been rapidly setting up defense installations in the area. The US Navy is actively opposing the Chinese initiative, deploying additional warships to the disputed zone and conducting maneuvers near the Chinese artificial islands. It has also flown over them, using the "freedom of navigation" principle as justification. Beijing has called the US involvement in the dispute the "greatest" threat to the region.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has angered women's rights activists by suggesting "the first duty" of a woman is to increase the country's population. He also denounced their rights to contraception and family planning.

Saying that nobody can interfere in the work of God, the father of four stated that the nation needed "to increase the number of our descendants," stressing "the first duty belongs to mothers." While addressing the nation live on television this week, Erdogan said birth control and family planning were unacceptable for Muslim families.

The comments from the head of a country with a population of 78 million people have angered opposition politicians and human rights activists alike, not to mention medical professionals.

"The most natural right of women in Turkey, which is a democratic country, is reproductive rights. This encompasses a woman being able to choose when she wants children, and how many," the Turkish Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (TJOD) said in a statement, as quoted by Hurriyet Daily.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was unable to agree on a new production quota. However, Saudi Arabia promised it won't significantly boost production to corner more market share.

"We will be very gentle in our approach and make sure we don't shock the market in any way," Saudi Arabia's new energy minister Khalid al-Falih told reporters.

Saudi Arabia was backing a 32.5 million barrels per day (bpd) ceiling, which may be regarded as an attempt to repair relations with Nigeria, Algeria, Venezuela and other OPEC members. Some are reportedly angry with Riyadh for backing out of a production freeze deal between major crude exporters in April. Particularly, those countries whose economies were especially hard-hit by sliding crude prices.

Indicators for first quarter and for April point to a strengthening recovery.

Russia's economic indicators for the four months of the year and for April point to an end to the recession.

The GDP contraction in the period January to April was 1.1% compared to the same period last year. In April it was just 0.1%.

Industrial production in April actually grew 0.5% in annual terms. This is partly a reflection of the base effect, with industrial production appearing stronger by comparison with the sharp contraction in the second quarter of 2015. However there does appear to be a genuine industrial recovery underway. The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) elaborated by Markit improved from 48.0 in April to 49.6 in May, where a figure below 50 points to contraction and a figure above 50 points to expansion.

As might be expected in a recession driven principally by a collapse in demand caused by last year's inflation spike, the strongest indicators of recovery are in the services sector, reflecting the recovery in real incomes which is currently underway. Here the PMI points to strong expansion, climbing from 52.0 in March to 54.2 in April.