© Reuters/David Moir
Scott Morrison
Scott Morrison
"It is unacceptable to treat the internet as an ungoverned space," Morrison wrote in a letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ahead of the upcoming G20 meeting in Osaka, Japan in June.
Puppet Masters
"It is unacceptable to treat the internet as an ungoverned space," Morrison wrote in a letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ahead of the upcoming G20 meeting in Osaka, Japan in June.
© Reuters / Gershon Peaks
Opposition leader Juan Guaido's diplomatic team replace the portrait of Venezuela's elected President Nicolas Maduro
Opposition leader Juan Guaido's diplomatic team replace the portrait of Venezuela's elected President Nicolas Maduro
Carlos Vecchio, appointed by Guaido to head the diplomatic offensive against President Nicolas Maduro in the US, made the comments as he and other representatives took over several Venezuelan diplomatic buildings on Monday.
Access was gained to two defense ministry buildings in Washington DC and one consular building in New York.
Comment: Well, he was given access by US officials, it's not like he broke in.
The buildings were vacated by diplomatic and consular staff in January after Maduro broke-off relations with Washington for its recognition of Guido as Venezuela's interim president.
Comment: See also:
- Trump regime's electricity war in Venezuela more serious than first believed
- Trump betrays MAGA over Venezuela
- BoE refuses to return Venezuela's $1.2 billion in gold, US intends to use it to fund illegitimate Guaido
- "Their future vassal": US meddling in Venezuela just like Iraq and Libya - Russian Foreign Ministry
- NewsReal #27: Coup-by-Media in Venezuela - French Yellow Vest Protesters 'Anti-Semites'?
- NewsReal: US Regime Change Operation in Venezuela - This Time It's Legit?
© BBC/culture.com
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey • CA GOP Rep. Devin Nunes
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey • CA GOP Rep. Devin Nunes
In a complaint filed in Virginia state court on Monday, obtained by Fox News, Nunes claimed Twitter wanted to derail his work on the House Intelligence Committee, which he chaired until 2019, as he looked into alleged and apparent surveillance abuses by the government. Nunes said Twitter was guilty of "knowingly hosting and monetizing content that is clearly abusive, hateful and defamatory - providing both a voice and financial incentive to the defamers - thereby facilitating defamation on its platform."
© AFP/Jim Bourg
Clinton-Trump Debate, October 9, 2016
Clinton-Trump Debate, October 9, 2016
As the end of Special Counsel Mueller's investigation into the alleged Trump-Russia "collusion" nears, new disclosures involving Democratic policy makers, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Department of Justice (DoJ) are continuing to surface.
Mueller's 'Pit Bull' Weissmann in a Heap of Trouble
On 14 March, it was reported that Andrew Weissmann, one of the prominent members of Mueller's "squad" was stepping down, which is seen by the US media as a clear sign that the special counsel has all but wrapped up his probe.
However, it appears that Republican lawmakers are unwilling to "let him go". On 1 March, Reps. Mark Meadows, R-NC, and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio wrote a letter to Attorney General William Barr urging him to look into Weissmann's "imparity and independence" as a senior member of the special counsel's team.
According to ex-Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr's testimony, before the Mueller probe was launched in May 2017 Weissmann and his counterpart Zainab Ahmad had been informed that the much-discussed dodgy "Trump dossier" compiled by former MI6 agent Christopher Steel was "biased" and not properly vetted.
© AM Post
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro • US President Donald Trump
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro • US President Donald Trump
Bolsonaro made an unusual trip to the CIA headquarters yesterday, the first day of his trip to the US during which he hopes to articulate a pro-US stance and to expand trade ties and diplomatic cooperation.
Brazil's president was one of the first to throw his support behind Venezuela's pro-US opposition leader Juan Guaido after Trump declared support for him in January.
Ahead of Bolsonaro's trip, a senior Trump administration official touted the "historic remaking" of the US-Brazil relationship to McClatchy.
Bolsonaro endorsed Trump's southern border wall and immigration policy in an interview with Fox News on Monday night and echoed Trump's own rhetoric, saying that the "vast majority" of potential immigrants "do not have good intentions.They do not intend to do the best or do good to the US people," he said.
© The Daily Signal
A summary of the proposed budget was placed on the website of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees broadcasting by RFE/RL, VOA, Radio Free Asia, and other entities, on March 18.
According to the budget request, RFE/RL's budget would be cut from $124 million in 2019 to $87 million in 2020. That drop envisages sweeping cost-cutting measures, including the proposed closure of RFE/RL's Georgian, Tatar-Bashkir, and North Caucasus language services during the fiscal year. RFE/RL would also cut its Balkans Service by "discontinuing operations in Montenegrin and Macedonian."
"Last year, RFE/RL reached a weekly audience of 34 million people across Internet, television, and radio -- a 30 percent increase from the previous year. This is testament to the growing need for objective journalism in Russia, Iran, Pakistan, and all of RFE/RL's target countries," said RFE/RL Acting President Daisy Sindelar. RFE/RL currently broadcasts to 22 countries in 26 languages. Its mission is to provide objective and professional news and information to countries with restricted media. VOA, Radio Free Asia, and other USAGM entities also saw substantial cuts in the 2020 budget proposal.
© Andrew Burton/Getty Images/AFP
King of Jordan Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein, United Nations General Assembly
King of Jordan Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein, United Nations General Assembly
Last Thursday, 500 Jordanians suddenly became employed when Israel and Jordan expanded an agreement allowing Jordanian citizens to work in Eilat hotels. The agreement also includes sleeping arrangements and commuting arrangements as the Jordanians are meant to enter Israel in the morning and return to Jordan in the evening, the deal will provide the Jordanian kingdom millions of dinars annually and thousands of job applications made their ways to the relevant job agencies.
The agreement, which largely went unreported, is one more example of the complexities of the Israeli-Jordanian peace agreement now marking its 25th year. On the one hand, the two countries are engaged in intense security cooperation, which is done behind closed doors, on the other hand, tensions and suspicions are increasing. On the same day the tourism visas were expanded envoy to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Meir Ben-Shabbat attempted to reach an agreement regarding recent tensions on Temple Mount and returned empty-handed.
Tzofar in southern Israel, halfway between Eilat and Rabat Amon, now faces the question of what is to happen to their agriculture lands. When the Israeli-Jordanian peace agreement was signed the then-king of Jordan agreed the lands will go on being cultivated by the Israelis despite being Jordanian lands for a period of 25 years, the time is now up and the Jordanians intend to annex their lands now.
© Sputnik/Vladimir Astapkovich
"We cannot go for destroying our 9M729 missile that Washington groundlessly believes to violate the treaty," the ministry said in a statement. It added that the US side didn't show "any readiness for dialogue," but had become "fixated on the unacceptable ultimatum" for Russia.
In February, the US announced its unilateral withdrawal from the INF Treaty. It claimed that Russia's testing of the 9M729 missile breached the terms of the landmark 1987 deal, which bans ground-based missiles with a range of between 500km and 5,500km. In response, Russia also suspended the country's participation in the treaty.
Russia's Foreign Ministry reiterated that the US was actively developing medium-range missile systems. The US abandoning the treaty opens the possibility of deploying these missiles in Europe. "We have to prepare ourselves for Washington's potential deployment of these systems," the statement read.
© Freedoms Phoenix
Venezuela's oil minister and president of state-run oil company PDVSA, Manuel Quevedo, told a meeting of OPEC and other oil ministers in Azerbaijan on Monday that Caracas is going to diversify its crude shipping routes. Reuters reported that Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft and China were seen as the destinations after the country halted its crude supplies to India.
"Russia and China are seen as the main destinations because of the suspension of oil exports to India," the Azerbaijani Energy Ministry said in a statement citing the minister.
India used to be the leading buyer of Venezuelan crude during the first half of February before facing US pressure for continuing to deal with the Latin American country after Washington slapped Caracas with heavy sanctions.
The US restrictions targeted the Venezuelan oil sector, which is crucial for Venezuela to keep the economy afloat as oil revenues account for about 98 percent of its export earnings.
© AFP/Gail Tibbon
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, wife and sons
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, wife and sons
Telephones belonging to the Israeli prime minister's wife and son, Sara and Yair Netanyahu, were allegedly breached by Iranian intelligence services in order to wiretap the Israeli head of government, Independent Arabia reported, citing anonymous sources. According to the news outlet, the hack occurred several months ago, but was eventually discovered and the breach closed.
It remains unclear just how much and what information was leaked, if the hack actually took place, but according to the report, the intrusion, as well as a previous hacking scandal involving Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz's phone, was unearthed only recently in the run-up to the Israeli elections.
The Israeli prime minister's office reacted to the report by stating that security officials had run checks that showed no signs of the phones having been hacked.
Comment: NewsReal #30: Christchurch Massacre - Don't Fall For The Manipulation