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German industry slams Trump over efforts to influence EU energy policy


RT
Mon, 24 Sep 2018 17:57 UTC
trump merkel
© Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
The European Union and companies within the bloc have the right to decide on energy policy independently of "third parties," according to Dieter Kempf, head of the Federation of German Industries (BDI).

"I have a big problem when a third state interferes in our energy supply," Kempf told the German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung.

The comment follows Donald Trump's repeated criticism of Germany for its alleged dependency on natural gas from Russia. The US president has accused Berlin of being a "captive" of Russia.

He has urged Germany to halt work on the $11-billion Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which will be built in the Baltic Sea and will double the existing pipeline's annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters. In an attempt to force-feed American liquefied natural gas (LNG) to German consumers, Washington threatened to sanction European companies for funding the Russia-led gas pipeline project.
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Wall Street

Iran will continue exporting crude despite a new batch of US sanctions


RT
Mon, 24 Sep 2018 16:57 UTC
Tehran
© Bardia Kiasat / Getty Images
Tehran
Iran will keep on selling oil in defiance of US attempts to prevent Tehran from reaping profits from its major export earner, according to the head of the Iranian delegation at Sunday's meeting of oil producers in Algiers.

"Market is still open for us, and we are currently exporting oil. And we expect to go on exporting," Hossein Kazempour Ardebili said after the meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of members from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) non-cartel oil producers.

Iranian oil exports have been in jeopardy since Washington announced re-imposing unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic after US President Donald Trump in May pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and a broad alliance of world powers. The White House also threatened secondary sanctions on any countries or companies that conduct transactions with Iran.

Comment: While the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee was holding its meeting a deadly terror attack struck a military parade in an oil-rich part of Iran. CNBC reports:
Oil market attention was focused on an OPEC meeting in Algeria this weekend, but it was Saturday's terrorist attack in an oil-rich part of Iran that "could have serious security implications for the world's most important oil production region," according to a closely-watched oil analyst.

"We believe that Saturday's terrorist attack in Iran could prove to be the weekend's more consequential event as it will likely exacerbate the already dangerous Middle East antagonisms," Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note Sunday evening. [...]

Gunmen attacked an annual Iranian military parade in Ahvaz, a city in the oil-rich southwest of the country on Saturday, killing 25 people and wounding 60 others. There is confusion over the identity of the perpetrators of the attack; Islamic State claimed responsibility, but some media reports said the attack was the work of an Arab separatist group.
Iran pointed out, quite rightly, that this attack was likely the work of US and its allies, with Rouhani stating that "It is Americans who instigate [these mercenaries] and provide them with necessary means to commit these crimes." Bingo. And don't forget, it wasn't that long ago that Pompeo (then head of the CIA) bragged to a gathering of neocons that covert ops in Iran were about to get 'much more vicious'.

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Bad Guys

EU gives Britain two months to pay nearly €3bn fine for 'China customs fraud'


RT
Mon, 24 Sep 2018 16:57 UTC
EU European Union flags
© Yves Herman / Reuters
The European Union said on Monday that Britain has two months to recover €2.7 billion ($3.2 billion) in lost customs duties or risk referral to the EU's top court after London allegedly ignored a scam by Chinese importers.

"The United Kingdom now has two months to act; otherwise the Commission may refer the case to the Court of Justice of the EU," said a statement by the EU's executive arm.

Financial sanctions could follow if the court upholds the Commission's view. The move is the second step in the EU's legal procedure against the bloc's states who do not respect its rules.
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Bullseye

'Totally political': Trump defends Kavanaugh's character amid sexual assault allegations


RT
Mon, 24 Sep 2018 17:21 UTC
Brett Kavanaugh and President Donald Trump
© Jim Bourg / Reuters
US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and President Donald Trump.
President Trump called allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh "totally political," and defended the judge's character, as more conveniently-timed assault accusations continue to surface.

"Judge Kavanaugh is an outstanding person and I am with him all the way," Trump told reporters ahead of a meeting at the United Nations in New York on Monday. "I think it could be - chance that this could be one of the single most unfair, unjust things to happen to a candidate for anything."

Kavanaugh has been accused of forcing himself on Christine Blasey Ford, when the two were at a high school party in the early 1980s. Ford, now a college professor in California, does not remember when or where the incident took place, and her claim was only made public two weeks ago by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California), a lawmaker opposed to Kavanaugh's confirmation from the beginning.

"For people to come out of the woodwork from 36 years ago and 30 years ago and never mention it - all of a sudden it happens. In my opinion, it's totally political," he said.
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Rocket

India successfully launches first anti-ballistic missile paving the way for its two-layer defense system


RT
Mon, 24 Sep 2018 16:04 UTC
India anti-ballistic missile test sept 2018

India’s BDM system puts it in an exclusive group with the US, Russia, France, Israel and China as the only countries with developed missile defence systems.
India has successfully launched its first anti-ballistic missile, a milestone in the development of a two-layer missile defense system, military sources said.

The successful test followed a failed attempt in February last year. It was carried out at Abdul Kalam Island on Sunday, officials from the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) said.

The exo-atmospheric Prithvi Defense Vehicle (PDV) missiles are intended to intercept any incoming projectile from outside the atmosphere. The targets can be intercepted at 50km above Earth's atmosphere.

"Both the PDV interceptor and the target missile were successfully engaged," DRDO sources said about the operation, which took place at India's Integrated Test Range (ITR) facility.

Comment: India continues to beef up its military arsenal:

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Propaganda

The Guardian: Purveyor of extraordinary and deliberate lies

Craig Murray
craigmurray.org.uk
Sun, 23 Sep 2018 16:31 UTC
Julian Assange
© Getty Images
Julian Assange
I am just back from a family funeral - one of a succession - and a combination of circumstances had left me feeling pretty down lately, and not blogging much. But I have to drag myself to the keyboard to denounce a quite extraordinary set of deliberate lies published in the Guardian about a Russian plot to spring Julian Assange last December.

I was closely involved with Julian and with Fidel Narvaez of the Ecuadorean Embassy at the end of last year in discussing possible future destinations for Julian. It is not only the case that Russia did not figure in those plans, it is a fact that Julian directly ruled out the possibility of going to Russia as undesirable. Fidel Narvaez told the Guardian that there was no truth in their story, but the Guardian has instead chosen to run with "four anonymous sources" - about which sources it tells you no more than that.

Comment: Luke Harding and the Guardian appear willing to lend a hand to every psy-op and disinformation campaign going. A small sample:

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Info

New intelligence report reveals US will be 'defenseless' against new Russian nuclear sub equipped with hypersonic missiles

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Mon, 24 Sep 2018 18:45 UTC
Members of Russian Navy
The Soviet-era arms race between the US and Russia is officially back on.

To wit, Moscow is reportedly building a fleet of nuclear submarines armed with hypersonic ICBMs capable of delivering a nuclear payload ten times larger than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, according to CNBC, which cited a US intelligence report on the new weapons. Russian President Vladimir Putin hinted at six new super weapons during a speech back in March where he also revealed that Russia is working on a nuclear missile capable of evading NATO's ring of ABM defenses.

The new Borei II submarine, also known as the Borei-A, is a fourth-generation nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine that will reportedly join the Russian Navy's Northern and Pacific Fleets once it's completed in 2024, according to the report. Each sub can carry up to 20 Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles, which can deliver a nuclear payload of 100 to 150 kilotons. The sub will be the first new Russian sub developed in the post-Soviet era.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

Coalition compromise: Germany's troubled security chief gets newly established post in Interior Ministry


RT
Mon, 24 Sep 2018 05:28 UTC
Hans-Georg Maassene former presidentl BfV
© Bernd von Jutrczenka / Global Look Press
Hans-Georg Maassen, the former president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV)
The German domestic security chief, who got in hot water for expressing skepticism over media reports of violence against migrants, is to get a newly established post, a remedy for disagreements within the ruling coalition.

Hans-Georg Maassen, the former head of the German domestic security agency, the BfV, will be transferred to the position of special adviser to the interior minister, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer announced, following his meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leader of the Social Democrats, Andrea Nahles. He will be responsible for "European and international affairs," according to the minister.

Maassen's tasks would reportedly include negotiation of repatriation agreements and agreements with the African states on refugee issues, as well as matters related to European security policy. Nahles, meanwhile, emphasized that his future responsibilities would have "nothing to do" with domestic security issues.

The move is the latest compromise on the troubled security chief's fate, which has recently become a source of controversy for the coalition. The decision would be implemented "swiftly and promptly," according to the government's spokesman, Steffen Seibert.

Comment: See also:

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Dollar

'We can't get paid': Volvo Trucks terminates partnership agreement with Iran due to US sanctions


RT
Mon, 24 Sep 2018 15:50 UTC
Volvo trucks Iran sanctions
© Ludovic Marin / AFP
Volvo has joined a list of European companies such as Total, Adidas and Daimler, who have been forced to reconsider their investments in Iran. The firms said they will scale back or abandon all operations in Iran due to Washington’s sanctions.
Swedish truckmaker Volvo has stopped assembling trucks in Iran because of Washington's sanctions, spokesman for the company, Fredrik Ivarsson, told Reuters.

According to him, the group could no longer get paid for parts it shipped and had therefore decided not to operate in Iran.

"With all these sanctions and everything that the United States put (in place)... the bank system doesn't work in Iran. We can't get paid... So for now we don't have any business (in Iran)," Ivarsson said.

Volvo was working with Saipa Diesel (part of Iran's second-largest automaker Saipa) which was assembling the Swedish firm's heavy-duty trucks from kits shipped to Iran. The company had plans to become Iran's main export hub for the Gulf region and North Africa markets.

Comment:

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Caesar

Caring for his citizens: Duma committee backs Putin's amendments to pension reform bill


RT
Mon, 24 Sep 2018 15:42 UTC
Russian Duma
© Vladimir Fedorenko / Sputnik
Russian State Duma's plenary session
The Russian Lower House Committee for Labor and Social Policy has backed amendments from President Putin to offer additional protection for older citizens on the bill to increase the national retirement age.

The news was announced on Monday afternoon by the chairman of the committee, MP Oleg Nilov (Fair Russia). Nilov also told reporters that the State Duma can have the second reading into the bill on raising the retirement age already on Wednesday, September 26.

In mid-June the State Duma approved the controversial bill in the first reading. The original draft of the motion ordered a gradual increase in the retirement age from 60 to 65 years for men, and from 55 to 63 for women with planned completion of the transition set at 2028 for men, and 2034 for women.

Comment: Putin was open with the Russian people about the issues facing the pension system. Through patient dialogue, a bill that will address the problems while mitigating the negative impacts on ordinary people was worked out. Would the US would take a page from Putin's approach.

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