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Afghanistan Peace Council & Taliban to send delegations to international peace talks in Moscow


RFE/RL
Tue, 06 Nov 2018 05:40 UTC
Afghan High Peace Council logo

The Afghan High Peace Council logo
Afghanistan is sending a delegation to attend international peace talks in Russia this month, officials have said.

Moscow is hosting the event on November 9 at a sensitive time, as the United States has been seeking to engage the Taliban in talks with Kabul to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan.

Officials of Afghanistan's High Peace Council, a government body responsible for reconciliation efforts with the militants, said on November 5 that the council will send four representatives to the Moscow meeting.

Meanwhile, the Taliban's political office told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal that the militant group will also participate in the Moscow talks, though it does not regard them as a "formal dialogue for peace."

The Afghan Foreign Ministry, however, did not say whether it will send a delegation to the Russian conference.

"We are still negotiating with the Russian officials," ministry spokesman Sebaghtullah Ahmadi said. "We welcome any peace effort that is Afghan-led."

Comment: More on the recent events in Afghanistan:

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Quenelle - Golden

Sanctions fail: Trumps plan may backfire, damaging Saudi Arabia while benefiting Iran

Eric Zuesse
The Duran
Tue, 06 Nov 2018 00:00 UTC
Trump Iran sanctions
This morning was reported:

Watch Live: Pompeo Announces Iran Sanctions 'Waivers'

Monday 5 November 2018 8:29AM

Update (8:40 am ET): The following countries will receive 'temporary' waivers excusing them from US sanctions on Iranian oil exports.

- South Korea
- Taiwan
- Turkey
- Greece
- Japan
- China
- India
- Italy

Imports Iranian crude

Comment: Paper Tiger Sanctions on Iran Will Speed The End of Pax Americana

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Stock Down

UN begins investigation into UK's extreme poverty

Eliza Mackintosh
CNN
Mon, 05 Nov 2018 07:43 UTC
Philip Alson UN
The United Nations has launched an investigation into extreme levels of poverty in one of the richest countries in the world: the United Kingdom.

Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, starts a two-week fact-finding mission Monday, visiting some of the country's poorest towns and cities to examine the effects of austerity measures on rising levels of hardship.

Alston, known for his no-holds-barred critiques, will gather evidence on the impact that changes to welfare benefits and local government funding as well as the rising costs of living have had on British families.

Comment: See also:

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Gold Bar

Russia & China trust in physical gold while West prefers 'mindless optimism'


RT
Tue, 06 Nov 2018 12:17 UTC
gold bricks compass
© Getty Images / gmutlu
The latest data from the World Gold Council (WGC) shows that central banks in Eastern Europe and Asia significantly boosted their gold holdings. The regulators purchased 148 metric tons of gold in the third quarter of 2018.

The figure indicates an increase of 22 percent against the same period last year, while some $6 billion dollars were spent on the precious metal. Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, India, as well as Poland and Hungary were the leader among gold net buyers.

The reasons pushing Russia, Turkey and other countries facing US sanctions to buy more gold seem clear. But why are other countries bolstering their gold reserves and why do they find it necessary to diversify their holdings? RT talked to Claudio Grass, an independent precious metal advisory based out in Switzerland to find out why emerging economies are so active in stockpiling gold bullion.
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Propaganda

Wishful thinking: CNN & Rasmussen midterm polls vary 'wildly' in midterm predictions


RT
Tue, 06 Nov 2018 11:58 UTC
US voting boxes elections
© Reuters / Brendan McDermid
One day before Americans head to cast their ballots in the crucial midterm congressional elections, two final polls conducted by CNN and Rasmussen have predicted wildly different results.

The final generic poll conducted by left-leaning CNN has put Democrats 13 points ahead of Republicans. Meanwhile, a separate poll carried out by the more right-leaning Rasmussen agency has suggested that Republicans are leading, but by a much smaller margin of one point.
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Chess

Tory vice-chair claims 'Islamophobia allegations are politically motivated'


RT
Tue, 06 Nov 2018 11:58 UTC
Stand Up to Racism protest match Islamophobia anti-Semitism
© Global Look Press / Brais G. Rouco
London march organized by the group Stand Up to Racism as an expression of unity against racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.
Tory vice-chair Kemi Badenoch MP, has been heavily criticized for claiming that allegations of Islamophobia against Conservative Party members are "politically motivated."

Badenoch, Tory MP for Saffron Walden, made the remarks during a Sky News interview on Sunday, after calls, including from Conservative peer Baroness Warsi and the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), for a full-blown inquiry into allegations of Islamophobia within the party.

The Tory vice-chair told Sky News' Sophy Ridge: "I don't think that the Muslim Council of Britain is an organisation that would look very favourably on the Conservative Party anyway so I think there is probably a political motive there."
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Black Magic

Israeli Minister's diabolical plan to set up Syria and blame Russia


Spuntik
Tue, 06 Nov 2018 10:27 UTC
s-300s
© Russian Defence Ministry
An Israeli minister said Monday that Russia's shipment of S-300 anti-aircraft systems were "a big mistake" and said Israel would target them if Israeli planes are hit in Israeli airspace.

Ze'ev Elkin, Israel's minister of Jerusalem affairs and minister of environmental protection, who is also the co-chair of the Russia-Israel Intergovernmental Commission, said that Israel is ready to attack Syria's new S-300 air defense systems in the event that they are used to fire on Israeli jets.

"We consider the very fact of shipping S-300 to Syria a big mistake," Elkin said during a press conference for Russian media Monday. "The Syrian military are not always capable of correctly using the hardware transferred to them. In case of improper operation, civilian aircrafts may be harmed," he said.

Comment: Israel destruction of Syria was thwarted, in part, by Russia's delivery of the S-300s, and in its fury Israel fantasizes about downing one of its own passenger planes to provide a pretext for it to attack Syria and blame Russia: Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Israeli-French Deception Downs Russian Spy Plane Off Syria, US Escalates 'Regime Change' Against Iran

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Robot

Study: Clinton bots more talkative & influential than Trump bots around 2016 debates


RT
Tue, 06 Nov 2018 08:47 UTC
tweet sign
© Global Look / Sachelle Babbar
While the popular narrative blames Clinton's 2016 electoral loss on (Russian) bots, they actually helped her chances, according to a new study finding pro-Clinton bots were more effective at influencing voters than pro-Trump ones.

While there were almost twice as many pro-Trump bots in operation before the 2016 election, the pro-Clinton bots were much more likely to change people's political opinions because they were much more active, MIT researcher Tauhid Zaman discovered.

Zaman analyzed 2.3 million tweets referencing the second presidential debate and found less than one percent of the accounts involved were bots. He measured the real users' opinions using two models - one based on their tweets and one on their network of connections - and then remeasured without the inclusion of the bots in the networks. To his surprise (he's a registered Democrat, according to a disclosure statement that accompanied the study) the average level of support for Clinton dropped from 58 to 42.

Comment: See also:

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Stock Down

Lavrov: EU 'punishing' itself with its own anti-Russia sanctions; loses over €100 billion


RT
Tue, 06 Nov 2018 08:35 UTC
euro
© Global Look Press / A. Laule
The EU is punishing itself for doing Washington's bidding and sanctioning Russia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. However, while the restrictions policy does not harm the US, the EU suffers billions in losses.

In an interview with the Spanish newspaper El País, Lavrov lamented the dismal state of EU-Russia relations, describing them as far from normal. The divisions are being fueled from across the pond, he said.

"The mythical 'Russian threat' is forced upon the Europeans, primarily, from the outside," Lavrov said. The main bone of contention between the EU and Russia -sanctions- were imposed by the European nations "on direct orders" from Washington.

With that said, the US has hardly felt any adverse effect from the policy it championed, unlike the EU.

"Estimates of losses incurred by the EU states from the sanctions vary. According to some estimates, they might amount to over €100 billion. It's important that European politicians understand this," the minister said.

Comment: Unfortunately 'common sense' has been severely lacking in the political sphere. Despite all the loses and clear disadvantages, the EU continues to follow along with Washington's dictates. See also:

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Radar

'Grim irony': Saudi attacks use British intelligence to destroy UK aid facilities in Yemen


teleSUR
Sun, 04 Nov 2018 00:00 UTC
Yemeni child
© Reuters
A child at camp for displaced people in the Yemeni province of Amran.
British-backed Saudi bombing destroyed Oxfam facilities in Yemen, said the United Kingdom charity. The information about the destruction of facilities of the humanitarian organization emerged during last week's parliamentary debates in the House of Commons where U.K. ministres were evaluating the impact of the country's arms sale to Riyadh.

A vital cholera treatment center in Abs, in the Hajjah province, was hit in June in airstrikes which are supported by British intelligence, according to British news outlet Independent.

The location of the treatment facility was notified 12 times. In April, coalition air raids damaged an Oxfam supported water supply system that provided water for 6,000 people.

"On the one hand, British aid is a vital lifeline, on the other, British bombs are helping to fuel an ongoing war that is leading to countless lives being lost each week to fighting, disease, and hunger," said Oxfam's head of advocacy, Toni Pearce.

Comment: Not so different than the US's presence in Syria: Dropping white phosphorous on the civilian population on the one hand, and decrying Russia and the Syrian government for supposedly killing innocents on the other - all the while arming and assisting the head-choppers to regroup after they've gotten routed.

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