© Axel Schmidt / Reuters
A Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft
A Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft
Puppet Masters
© AP
"Chipping away" British Arctic Convoy, 1943, H.M.S. Vansittart.
"Chipping away" British Arctic Convoy, 1943, H.M.S. Vansittart.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has announced in the interview to the Sunday Telegragh that the UK is planning to open a new military base in the northern part of Norway and deploy 800 Royal Marine and Army troopers to the country every winter for 10 years from 2019. They are to operate with the US and Dutch troopers there. Together with 3,000 commandos, sent to take part in the NATO drills, the total number of the deployed troops will top 40,000.
As Williamson told the Telegraph, the Cabinet was drawing a "defence Arctic strategy" to boost the country's military presence while concerns about Russian increasing activity "in our back yard" are growing.
"If we want to be protecting our interests in what is effectively our own back yard, this is something we need to be doing. Britain will make it clear that the Royal Navy not only has the skills and the capabilities to operate under the ice shelf but a willingness to do it," he claimed, adding it's about "demonstrating we're there to uphold the international rules based order."He pointed out that Russia had re-opened its bases, which were shut down after the collapse of the USSR, and stepped up submarine activity in the Arctic, which is "very close to the level that it was at the Cold War."
Comment: Perhaps the Brits should just 'chill out' at home.
Update 10/2/2018 from RFE/RL:
The Russian Embassy in London is objecting to Britain's reported plans to boost its military presence in the Arctic next year to counter what London has called increasing Russian aggression.
The objections were raised on October 1 after British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson told The Sunday Telegraph that the government is preparing a "defense Arctic strategy" that would deploy 800 army and marine commandos to Norway in 2019 and establish a new military base there.
The newspaper said Britain's actions come amid signs that Russia is expanding its military and industrial presence in the Arctic, in particular to exploit the region's large untapped reserves of oil as climate change melts polar ice and makes navigation and habitation in the region more feasible.
"We see Russian submarine activity very close to the level that it was at the Cold War, and it's right that we start responding to that," Williamson told the newspaper.
Williamson separately at a ruling party conference on September 30 called Russia "one of the greatest threats we face today," and said: "We will not let the Kremlin rewrite the outcome of the Cold War."
Williamson's remarks prompted a warning from the Russian Embassy against posting troops in the Arctic.
"We call on British authorities, who have recently been actively promoting the concept of Global Britain, to pursue their ambitions in other fields," the embassy's press secretary said in a statement quoted by the Russian state-run news agency TASS.
"The unjustified British plans to build up its military presence in close proximity to Russia's borders will only result in creating unnecessary tensions," he said. "Russia and other Arctic countries consider this region to be a space for constructive cooperation... There is no potential for conflict, nor should there be."
© NASA via AP
The International Space Station in an undated picture.
The International Space Station in an undated picture.
Russian investigators looking into the origin of a hole that caused an oxygen leak on the International Space Station have said it was caused deliberately, the space agency chief said.
A first commission had delivered its report, Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the Russian space agency Roskosmos, said in televised remarks late on Monday.
"It concluded that a manufacturing defect had been ruled out which is important to establish the truth."
Comment:
- Space detectives: Russian cosmonauts prepare for spacewalk to inspect mysterious Soyuz module hole
- Drill hole blunder not meteorite caused depressurization on Soyuz spacecraft
- ISS hole saga's newest twist: More drill scratches found on outside hull
- Rumors surrounding the ISS hole undermine crew relations
Hillary Clinton meeting former Queen's Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Gregson during a previous visit
She will be awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws for her exceptional public service in the US and globally, and her outstanding contribution to peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland.
The ceremony will take place on October 10 during which Secretary Clinton will deliver an address.
Comment: When a woman who should be tried for crimes against humanity is awarded with an honorary degree, you know something is terribly wrong with humanity. Anyone with two firing neurons would want to be associated with anyone other than Hillary Clinton. Queen's University Belfast may live to regret this decision.
See also:
- Pics emerge of Hillary and Bill dining with Harvey Weinstein 5 weeks after her humiliating election failure
- Bombshell! Putin reveals Bill Browder sent $400 million to Hillary Clinton campaign from Russia without paying taxes with help of US intel officers (UPDATE)
- Hillary proves she is uncivil, says "give me a break, really" in response to Trump officials asking to be treated civilly in public
- Hillary trashes America's electoral college during Oxford speech
- Outspoken fmr Secret Service agent Gary Byrne files civil RICO suit against Hillary and Bill, Clinton Foundation, Podesta and Soros
- 'Before' and 'after' Hillary Clinton: Libya photos go viral
"36 years ago, this happened," Trump said at the rally in Mississippi, referring to the party in 1982 where Ford alleges Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her.
Trump then launched into a mocking imitation of Ford as she testified at last week's hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, prompting applause and laughter from the audience.
Comment: See also:
- Trump spars with 'loco' media over trade, Kavanaugh - comments 'I know you're not thinking, you never do'
- Trump to FBI: Reopen investigation into SC nominee Kavanaugh, you have one week
- The case against Kavanaugh is collapsing
- Turncoat Flake: 'Not a chance' he'd ask for FBI probe into Kavanaugh if seeking re-election
© Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
Saudi Arabia's King Salman presents Donald Trump with state medal at the Royal Court in Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia's King Salman presents Donald Trump with state medal at the Royal Court in Riyadh,
"We protect Saudi Arabia," Trump proclaimed at a rally in Southaven, Mississippi. "And I love the King, King Salman. But I said 'King, we're protecting you, you might not be there for two weeks without us. You have to pay for your military.'"
While Trump failed to mention when the undiplomatic remarks were made to King Salman, it is known that the two leaders held a phone conversation on Saturday to discuss global oil supplies.
© AFP
From left, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Britain's former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson after a meeting in Brussels, on May 15, 2018.
From left, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Britain's former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson after a meeting in Brussels, on May 15, 2018.
Last week, EU foreign policy head Federica Mogherini and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, announced at the UN a "special purpose vehicle" (SPV) to deal with the Trump administration's sanctions on Iran after the US unilaterally pulled out of the JCPOA, also known as the Iran nuclear deal.
Mogherini crucially emphasized, "in practical terms, this will mean that EU member states will set up a legal entity to facilitate legitimate financial transactions with Iran and this will allow European companies to continue to trade with Iran in accordance with European Union law and could be open to other partners in the world."
© Yuri Kadobnov / Reuters
Vladimir Putin (R) with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic, Moscow, Russia, October 2, 2018.
Vladimir Putin (R) with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic, Moscow, Russia, October 2, 2018.
The latest regional tensions surrounding Serbia and its renegade province of Kosovo were discussed in detail in Moscow between President Vladimir Putin and his Serbian counterpart. And, while the specifics of the talks were not shared with the public, Vucic seemed happy with the outcome and support he said he'd received from the Russian president amid the crisis in the region.
"We received everything we were looking for. We agreed on everything," Vucic told reporters, following his meeting with Putin at the Kremlin.
© US Navy Handout / Reuters
A Tomahawk missile launch.
A Tomahawk missile launch.
The study, which was commissioned by President Donald Trump in July 2017 and is now set to be published following long delays, was described to Foreign Policy by two anonymous sources. It will accuse China of "underhanded trade practices" intended to hurt US national security.
For example, China controls much of the world's supply of ammonium perchlorate, a compound used to make rocket fuel, while the US has only one supplier. The study says China sells the chemical at artificially low prices, which makes it hard for the American company to stay in business.
Comment: But it's ok when the US and its allies supplies terrorists with arms, vehicles and medicine, and for free:
- Syrian army finds ISIS warehouses full of US-made lethal weapons
- Syrian army photos expose Israeli and Jordanian pharmaceuticals found in terrorist hospital
- Who gave all those Toyota trucks to ISIS?
- U.S. continues to airdrop weapons and aid to ISIS - a group they're allegedly fighting
© Ilya Naymushin / Reuters
The country's production rose to 11.36 million barrels per day (bpd) in September and exceeded the record high 11.247 million bpd hit in October 2016, Russian Energy Ministry said. The previous record served as Russia's baseline for a deal with OPEC to reduce production.
But in June, OPEC+ countries at a meeting in Vienna decided to increase production from July by about 1 million bpd. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that Russia's share in the total increase in oil production could be about 200,000 bpd.
Comment: See also:
- The Duran vidcast: Why Russia will not fall victim to financial terrorism
- Putin, Xi & Abe: Greater Eurasia Coming Together in Russian Far East
- Saudi Arabia defies Trump's request to boost oil production to offset Iran sanctions
- Putin supports plan to de-dollarize Russian economy
- Russia taking steps to prepare for "perfect storm" in global economy
Comment: More on LM's publicity debacles: