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Britain adds voice to end hostilities in Yemen and urges UN action


RFE/RL
Mon, 05 Nov 2018 07:14 UTC
UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt
© Saul Loeb/AFPUK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt
Britain says it will press UN Security Council members to take fresh action to end the hostilities in Yemen.

Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt in a statement on November 5 said he agreed with the UN's Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths "that the time was right for the Council to act to bolster the UN-led process."

He said Britain would "use all of its influence" to help get "both sides" to the negotiating table to end the deadly conflict, which has been described by many as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran and has killed some 10,000 people.

He was not more specific, but UN diplomats told the Reuters news agency that Britain was working with the United States on a draft resolution to stop the fighting.

Britain's call comes after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made similar remarks in recent days. Guterres on November 2 called for a halt to violence in the Gulf country to help pull it back from a "precipice" and pave the way toward peace talks. On October 30, Pompeo urged a swift cessation of hostilities and a return to negotiations.

Comment: Did the West finally make enough money on the Saudi's slaughter-fest to go the moral route? They have had years to 'draft a resolution'.
See also:
US urges Saudi-led coalition to cease airstrikes in 'populated areas' of Yemen

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Black Cat

Paranoid Turkey claiming that "Greece, Israel, & Egypt are part of Khashoggi's murder plot"

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Sun, 04 Nov 2018 17:43 UTC
offshore oil rig Turkey
As we noted previously, the conflict over gas in the eastern Mediterranean is intensifying.

The dispute concerns gas blocks, with Turkey furious about the energy cooperation of these Greece, Cyprus, and Egypt in the East Mediterranean Sea. While Turkish warships have been active, it appears Turkey is taking a new approach to this hybrid war.

As KeepTalkingGreece.com reports, a new Turkish narrative, based on paranoia and conspiracy theories, has been launched claiming that Greece, Israel and Egypt are part of the murder plot of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi, presumably in an effort to garner global opinion against their energy-hording neighbors.

Comment: Everyone in the region is anxious to secure gas reserves against future instability. Turkey is the most extreme expression of that anxiety. The tug of war is a long standing one. From 2011: New battle over Mediterranean gas

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Black Magic

UK set to open major permanent base in Oman - And UK defense sec thinks it'll be good for Brexit


Sputnik
Mon, 05 Nov 2018 12:54 UTC
UK troops
© AP Photo / Mindaugas Kulbis
British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson made the announcement after joining over 5,500 British troops in Oman in their largest war games exercise in nearly two decades.

Upon his arrival to Oman, the UK defense secretary announced that a huge new training base will open in the Gulf state in a bid to boost the country's influence in the region after Brexit is delivered, the Daily Mail reported.

Hundreds of troops will reportedly be deployed to the permanent base from next March, the month which also marks the deadline for the UK's divorce from the EU.

Speaking from the UK Royal Navy's Albion-class amphibious transport dock HMS Albion, which arrived in Oman in early October, he reportedly said: "The symbolism of this Omani British base opening as we exit the European Union I hope isn't lost on people."


Comment: For Gavin Williamson, notorious for his dangerous babbling, and poster boy for the demented UK establishment, this would make sense.


Comment: So Gavin Williamson's idea of reviving the dying UK economy is to profit from the relentless death and destruction in the Middle East? A 'business' plan which is only really viable thanks to the UK's leading role in the West's reign of terror in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria and Yemen: Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Perfidious Albion: If Russia is a Rogue State, What is the UK?

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Rocket

Syria has detected no Israeli attacks since S-300 delivery - Israel lies


Sputnik
Mon, 05 Nov 2018 16:16 UTC
Russia's S-300
© Sputnik / Russian Defence MinistryRussia's S-300
Russia has delivered 49 units of its sophisticated S-300 long-range surface-to-air missile systems to Syria in wake of the accidental destruction of a Russian Il-20 plane by Syrian air defenses responding to an Israeli attack.

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) hasn't attacked Syria since Russia delivered the S-300 air defense system to the Syrian government forces, Al-Masdar News reported, citing an unnamed military source in Damascus.

The source claimed that the IAF hadn't violated Syria's airspace from either the disputed Golan Heights or Lebanon, although it has flown close to the border.

The military insider also denied an anonymous Israeli official's claim, reported by Reuters, that Tel Aviv had carried out attacks after the downing of the Russian warplane on September 17.

The source further told Al-Masdar news that the Russian military was still training the Syrian air defense units to use the S-300s in the provinces of Latakia and Hama.

Comment: Israel lies with the same ease and detachment from reality as a fibbing toddler. It's really enough to make you question their leaders' sanity. The claim that Israel has attacked Syria since the delivery is ridiculous: Israel lies again? German media question claim of new Israeli strikes on Syria after S-300 delivery

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MIB

Iran blames Israel for alleged Denmark murder plot - which Mossad blames on Iran


RFE/RL
Mon, 05 Nov 2018 16:03 UTC
Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmud Alavi
© Atta Kenare / AFPIranian Intelligence Minister Mahmud Alavi
Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmud Alavi has claimed that an alleged Iranian plot to kill an opposition activist in Denmark was an Israeli conspiracy aimed at damaging Tehran's relations with the European Union.

Alavi told Iranian state TV on November 5 that the "Zionist regime" was behind the plot. He did not elaborate.

Denmark announced last week that police conducted an operation in September stemming from an Iranian plot to kill an Iranian-Arab opposition figure in Denmark.

Swedish police arrested a Norwegian citizen of Iranian background on October 21 in connection with the plot and extradited him to Denmark.

The Norwegian suspect has denied the charges and the Iranian government also denies involvement.

Comment: Iran probably isn't wrong: Crying wolf: Netanyahu claims he warned EU nation of Iranian plots on European soil

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Phoenix

Syrian State Media reports US-led coalition use of banned white phosphorus on civilians


Sputnik
Mon, 05 Nov 2018 15:15 UTC
US airforce
© REUTERS / U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Matthew Bruch/Handout
The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported about the US-led coalition's airstrikes on several targets in Syria's Deir ez-Zor province over the last few weeks.

On November 3, SANA reported about 15 civilians killed in a US-led coalition airstrike on the city of Hajin in Deir ez-Zor province.

According to reports, the coalition used white phosphorus in the airstrike.

"The International Coalition used shells with white phosphorus, prohibited by international conventions, during an air strike on the New Market area in Hajin in the east of Deir ez-Zor province," the agency reported, citing local sources.

Comment: Its reporting like this that make the US government seethe with hatred for sites like Sputnik, RT and others that - by merely reporting the facts on the ground - reveal the West's hypocrisy and malevolent disregard for human life.

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Info

Papadopoulos claims deep state agents engaged in scheme to entrap him

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Sun, 04 Nov 2018 15:42 UTC
George Papadopoulos
© The National HeraldGeorge Papadopoulos
George Papadopoulos - a central figure and self-admitted dupe in the Obama administration's targeted spying on the Trump campaign, gave a wide-ranging interview to Dan Bongino on Friday, detailing what he claims to have been a setup by deep state operatives across the world in order to ultimately infiltrate the Trump campaign.


Reviewing events

In March 2016, Maltese professor Joseph Mifsud told Papadopoulos - an energy consultant who had recently joined the Trump campaign - that Russia had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton, a claim which Papadopoulos repeated in May 2016 to Australian diplomat Alexander Downer in a London bar. Of note, former FBI Assistant Director of counterintelligence, Bill Priestap, reportedly traveled to London directly before Downer met with Papadopoulos, while a few months later former FBI agent Peter Strzok met with Downer in London directly before the DOJ officially launched their investigation into the Trump campaign.

Comment: See also:

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X

Netanyahu signs bill allowing death penalty for 'terrorists' convicted of murdering Israelis


Sputnik
Mon, 05 Nov 2018 15:09 UTC
Netanyahu
© REUTERS / Amir Cohen
The new policy will allow a majority of judges in civilian or military courts to rule against convicted terrorists with the death penalty. International reaction has so far remained fairly muted, with the exception of the European Union, which issued a statement condemning the new proposal as "inhuman and degrading."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved legislation that will make it easier for the courts to sentence terrorists convicted of murdering Israelis to death, according to the Times of Israel.

Under current Israeli law, any ruling on the death penalty can only be enforced by a unanimous decision in the Israeli Knesset. However, a bill previously propounded by Tel Aviv's Defence Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, would see the requirement for parliamentary consensus scrapped, a move that would reportedly give both the military and civilian courts the authority to green-light the execution of terrorists convicted or murdering Israeli soldiers and civilians.

The bill scraped through an initial vote in January 2018 by the narrow margin of 52 to 49 in the 120 member legislature.

Comment: According to many Israelis, all Palestinians are terrorists. Certainly any Palestinian that kills an Israeli (whether military or civilian) is considered one, even if they are defending themselves or fighting an occupying force. Given how lax Israel is when it comes to the use of the word "terrorist", this law doesn't bode well.

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Better Earth

If US politics were real, a massive Blue Wave would be 100% certain

Caitlin Johnstone
caitlinjohnstone.com
Mon, 05 Nov 2018 00:01 UTC
trump wrestling
I haven't been writing about the US midterms much, because I don't care about that nonsense anymore. The whole thing's a fake pro wrestling performance staged every couple of years to give a heavily armed populace the illusory sense that they have some degree of control over the things their government does.

By this I do not mean that the votes aren't real or that the outcomes are predetermined, I simply mean that both mainstream parties are controlled by plutocrats who benefit from the status quo and are only interested in their own power and profit. No matter who wins on Tuesday, the wars are guaranteed to continue, the oligarchs are guaranteed to keep siphoning more and more money out of the pockets of ordinary Americans, opaque and unaccountable intelligence agencies are guaranteed to continue expanding intrusive surveillance practices and narrative control psyops in collaboration with powerful Silicon Valley corporations, and we're guaranteed to keep hurtling toward climate catastrophe on the back of an economic system which requires infinite growth on a finite planet. The only thing that might change a tiny bit is America maybe temporarily having a government which pretends to care about oppressed minorities sometimes.

Comment: See also:

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Light Saber

Turkey vows to make 'sea bandits' tapping disputed gas reserves off Cyprus pay, like the 'terrorists in Syria'


RT
Mon, 05 Nov 2018 10:45 UTC
Turkish Navy frigate Gaziantep
© Reuters / Can SezerTurkish Navy frigate Gaziantep escorts drilling vessel Fatih October 30, 2018
Ankara will not allow any "sea bandits" to roam free and tap the disputed natural gas reserves off Cyprus, Turkey's president has vowed, while commissioning a new warship to challenge competitors militarily, should the need arise.

"We will not accept attempts to seize natural resources in the Eastern Mediterranean through the exclusion of Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)," Erdogan said Sunday, according to Daily Sabah. While claiming that Turkey has no ambitions to annex any "territories," Ankara promised to protect "the rights of our country and of our brothers."

"Those who thought that they could take steps in the Eastern Mediterranean or the Aegean despite [this] have begun to understand the magnitude of their mistake. We will not allow bandits in the seas to roam free just like we made the terrorists in Syria pay," Erdogan said at a ceremony transferring the TCG Burgazada corvette to the Turkish Navy.

The exploration of hydrocarbon resources off the coast of the Republic of Cyprus has become a sensitive issue for the international community, ever since the first gas deposit discoveries were made off the coast in 2011. While the Republic of Cyprus belongs to the EU community and is recognized by the UN, TRNC, the northern third of the island, has been occupied by Turkey since 1974. As a result, Ankara continues to claim jurisdiction for offshore research in the East Mediterranean, an area thought to be rich with natural resources.
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