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Pakistan says it's 'ready to come to the table' after Russia offers mediation over Kashmir crisis


RT
Fri, 01 Mar 2019 22:33 UTC
pakistan soldier border india
© Agence France-Presse/Sajad Qayyum
Pakistani soldiers watch over potential Indian troop movements with binoculars at the Chakothi post near Pakistan-India border on February 23, 2019.
Islamabad is ready to hold talks with New Delhi after Russia offers mediation help, the Pakistani foreign minister said as cited by local media. It comes as tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations are running high.

Russia expressed its willingness to help ease hostilities between the two arch rivals on Thursday. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow will provide a place for Indo-Pakistani talks "if they wish to." Tipping his hat to the Kremlin, Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced his country is ready to talk.

"Lavrov has offered to mediate. I don't know about India but I want to say this to Russia that Pakistan is ready to come to the table and de-escalate tensions," Qureshi said.

Comment: Shah Mehmood Qureshi at least, seems to understand the seriousness of the situation, saying that all-out war with India would be 'mutual suicide':
Shah Mehmood Qureshi was quizzed by CNN's Christiane Amanpour about rising tensions between Pakistan and India, following a cross-border aerial operation launched by New Delhi aimed at eradicating a terrorist cell.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi Pakistan
© Agence France-Presse
Pakistan's Foreign MinisterShah Mehmood Qureshi
"Is this the kind of situation that, had it not de-escalated, could have tipped you both over the brink? Could you envision all-out war between India and Pakistan?" Amanpour asked.

"I hope not. That would be mutual suicide. Pakistan never wants to escalate, Pakistan never wants to be in a hostile position," Qureshi replied.

He said that Pakistan's new government under Prime Minister Imran Khan has offered to India that "if you take one step towards peace, we will take two." Pakistan, Qureshi stressed, "wants to live in peace, we have a people-centric agenda."

As a "peace gesture," Islamabad announced that an Indian Air Force Pilot shot down over Pakistani airspace will be released on Friday. The captured pilot was part of an Indian operation targeting Pakistani-based militants accused of attacking and killing over 40 Indian police officers in mid-February.

Despite claims by Islamabad that terrorists aren't welcome on its soil, India insists that Pakistan is not doing enough to contain the danger, promising to stand "like a rock to counter their evil designs."


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Arrow Up

BRICS countries to create smartphone payment system to cut dependence on West


RT
Fri, 01 Mar 2019 09:50 UTC
pay by phone
© Getty Images / Jasmin Merdan
The five major emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa - are developing a joint new payment system called BRICS Pay, the Russian media has reported.

BRICS countries want to create a special online wallet to integrate the payment systems of its five member states, Izvestia said on Friday citing the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). Russia's wealth fund is reportedly working on the project alongside its partners from China and India, who have the necessary technologies to launch the system.

The service will be similar to existing Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, allowing users to pay with a smartphone app no matter what currency the customer's account is linked to. A special cloud platform is to be created to link BRICS countries' national payment systems.

Comment: See also:

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People 2

Pakistan hands over captured air force pilot to India as promised


RT
Fri, 01 Mar 2019 22:19 UTC
indian pilot returned pakistan
© Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas
Children hold banners and Indian flags in Mumbai, India
Fulfilling the promise of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan has handed over an Indian pilot who was shot down and captured in an aerial skirmish between the two countries this week.

The pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, was transported to the border crossing in a military convoy which set out from the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore.

Cheering crowds have gathered on the Indian side of the border near Attari-Wagah to welcome the captured pilot. Residents waving India's national flag and holding a huge garland of flowers lined the road.

The footage released by Pakistani media showed Varthaman walking across the border into India, near the town of Wagah, just before 9pm local time (1600 GMT).
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Bad Guys

It's trendy now: Mysterious group declares itself N. Korean 'government-in-exile'


RT
Fri, 01 Mar 2019 20:30 UTC
Korean pagoda
© YouTube / 자유조선 ("Free Joseon")
A shadowy group known as the Cheollima Civil Defense (CCD) has declared itself North Korea's "government-in-exile" while decrying the government of Kim Jong-un as an "immoral and illegitimate regime."

CCD released a statement Friday, declaring their government, which they have dubbed 'Free Joseon,' as "the sole legitimate representative of the Korean people of the north." A video of a woman dressed in a traditional black and white hanbok with her face blurred out reading out the group's manifesto was also released.

Joseon is an old name for Korea. The term is sometimes used by North Koreans and Koreans living in China based on a kingdom on the peninsula which lasted from 1392 - 1897. The group, named after a winged mythical horse, is believed to be harboring and protecting Kim Han-sol, the son of Kim Jong-un's assassinated brother, Kim Jong-nam, who was killed with VX nerve agent in Malaysia on February 7 2017.

An expert on the region told RT.com that he is highly skeptical of the group and suspects it is backed by South Korea or the USA.
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Russian Flag

No de-escalation in sight! Russia and China warn India-Pakistan skirmishes can easily spiral into war

Joaquin Flores
FRN
Thu, 28 Feb 2019 00:00 UTC
Soldier Kashmir
© Unknown
The Russian Federation in chorus with the People's Republic of China have again called on India and Pakistan to refrain from further escalating around the disputed Kashmir region, where in the last 48 hours the parties exchanged air strikes and artillery bombardment that resulted in human casualties for the first time since 1971.

Russia and China have seldom seen eye-to-eye during the course of the 20th century on the subject of India and Pakistan - with Russia historically favoring India, and China with Pakistan.

The Russian Federation and other external forces have concerns that the situation in the armed confrontation of two long-standing geopolitical opponents could get out of control. In India, the prime minister has nationalist views, and Narendra Modi is also soon awaiting parliamentary elections. Many pundits are explaining that India's moves are little more than a gambit to either distract from other issues where he is less popular, or to raise his support among his nationalist base which may have begun to question his commitment to nationalism in light of his previous inaction surrounding the February 14th terrorist attacks.

Comment: See also:

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Footprints

Why is the Canadian military in Haiti?

Yves Engler
yvesengler.com
Fri, 22 Feb 2019 21:14 UTC
Canadian military Haiti
© Unknown
Canadian military in Haiti
Canadian troops may have recently been deployed to Haiti, even though the government has not asked Parliament or consulted the public for approval to send soldiers to that country.

Last week the Haiti Information Project photographed heavily-armed Canadian troops patrolling the Port-au-Prince airport. According to a knowledgeable source I emailed the photos to, they were probably special forces. The individual in "uniform is (most likely) a member of the Canadian Special Operations Regiment (CSOR) from Petawawa", wrote the person who asked not to be named. "The plainclothes individuals are most likely members of JTF2. The uniformed individual could also be JTF2 but at times both JTF2 and CSOR work together." (CSOR is a sort of farm team for the ultra-elite Joint Task Force 2.)

What was the purpose of their mission? The Haiti Information Project reported that they may have helped family members of President Jovenel Moïse's unpopular government flee the country. HIP tweeted, "troops & plainclothes from Canada providing security at Toussaint Louverture airport in Port-au-Prince today as cars from Haiti's National Palace also drop off PHTK govt official's family to leave the country today."
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Arrow Down

Legal immunity stripped from World Bank, opens door for lawsuits

Sasha Chavkin
ICIJ
Wed, 27 Feb 2019 00:00 UTC
coal power plant
© The Ecologist
Tata Mundra coal-fired power plant in Gujarat, India.
The Supreme Court of the United States has rejected World Bank claims of complete legal immunity, ruling that one of its arms can be sued in relation to lending activities.

The 7-1 ruling could also open other American-based international organizations to the threat of lawsuits over financing overseas development.

For the World Bank, it means that it now faces having to defend against a suit by members of a fishing community in Mundra, India, who contend that their homes and livelihoods were damaged by pollution from a coal power plant that was financed by the bank's private sector lending arm, the Washington, D.C.-based International Finance Corporation.

Bharat Patel, general secretary of the Association for the Struggle of Fisherworkers' Rights, one of the plaintiffs, welcomed the historic ruling, saying: "This is a huge victory for the people of Mundra [and a] major step towards holding the World Bank accountable for the negative impacts their investments are causing."
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Oil Well

Maduro: European HQ of Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA will be moved to Moscow


RT
Fri, 01 Mar 2019 10:32 UTC
PDVSA sign
© AFP/Luis Robayo
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has ordered the European headquarters of state oil company PDVSA be relocated to Russia, Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has said.

"President Maduro ordered to close the Lisbon office of PDVSA and move it to Moscow," Rodriguez said on Friday at the joint news conference with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, during her visit to the Russian capital.

The decision comes as Venezuela expands energy cooperation with Russia's oil and gas giants Gazprom and Rosneft, according to the official. "It's the perfect time, as we are reshaping our relations," said Rodriguez.

Over recent months, there has been a battle over Venezuela's oil industry, which contributes greatly to the country's budget. The United States has sanctioned PDVSA in an attempt to cut off funds to the Maduro-led government while giving support to the opposition led by Juan Guaido. President Maduro broke diplomatic ties with the US after President Trump recognized Guaido as interim president.

Comment: More from RT:
"Venezuela is worried about further sanctions and asset seizures of PDVSA," Mehmet Ogutcu, chair of the Bosphorus Energy Club, told RT. "Hence the decision to relocate its European headquarters to Russia so that the assets could not be risked."

According to the expert, the Venezuelan government is struggling to find new buyers for heavy crude, which had been previously sold to US refineries. The US purchased around 500,000 barrels oil per day from Venezuela before Washington introduced economic penalties against PDVSA, freezing $7 billion of the company's assets.

Ogutcu stressed that under the current circumstances, revenues from oil sales could easily be confiscated by the US.

As part of the recent sanctions, the White House blocked payments to PDVSA accounts with buyers of Venezuela's oil directed to deposit all transactions in a separate account, to which the company doesn't have access.

Russian energy corporations might easily purchase Venezuelan crude, aiming to further re-sell the shipments.

"Russia has already extended loans to Venezuela and has been receiving crude oil to compensate the debt repayment," Ogutcu said. "Russia could develop the same mechanism the European Union is trying to currently deploy not to halt trading with Iranian crude sector," the analyst told RT.


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Attention

UK to fine Facebook & Google up to 4% value for not removing 'hate speech' & 'fake news' fast enough


RT
Fri, 01 Mar 2019 19:56 UTC
facebook phones
© Pixabay / geralt
The UK is rolling out a draconian new 'harmful content' policy that will punish social media with massive fines if they fail to remove ill-defined "hate speech," "misinformation," and "problematic content" quickly enough.

An "independent tech regulator" would have the power to impose fines amounting to as much as 4 percent of a company's value if Facebook, Google, or any other social media platform is too slow to remove objectionable content, according to UK digital minister Margot James, who told Business Insider the new rules would be officially unveiled next month. The regulations are purportedly aimed at eradicating "illegal hate speech," along with child grooming and "problematic content" related to suicide and self-harm, but also target the Western governments' beloved punching bag, "misinformation."

While the new regulator is supposed to be independent of government, it will be up to ministers to decide whether to set up a brand new body or just hand the responsibility for censoring objectionable content over to Ofcom - the same regulator which was recently found to be colluding with a government-funded "think tank" to tie up RT in regulatory red tape with astroturfed "complaints."
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Star of David

Israel lobby is lavishing funds on breakaway British MPs 'Independent Group'


The Electronic Intifada
Fri, 01 Mar 2019 18:11 UTC
labour mps leave friends of israel
© The Times
Six MPs who quit Labour for the new group are still with Labour Friends of Israel.
A multi-millionaire pro-Israel lobbyist is funding the UK Parliament's new Independent Group, it was revealed this week.

Others are likely to follow.

David Garrard told newspapers he had already donated to the MPs who broke away from the opposition Labour Party and the ruling Conservative Party.

The Independent Group is expected to eventually register as a party.

Garrard has for many years been a major financial backer of Labour Friends of Israel, a front group for the Israeli embassy, and was recently appointed to its board.

Prior to left-wing Palestine solidarity activist Jeremy Corbyn becoming party leader in 2015, Garrard donated almost $2 million to Labour under former leaders Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband.

Comment: Al Jazeera laid out the sordid details in its expose of 2016. Watch Part 1:



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