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Trump and Italian PM Conte join hands to 'fix' Libya

JoanneM
Libya War The Truth
Sun, 05 Aug 2018 02:50 UTC
ConteTrump
© South China Morning PostItalian Prime Minister Conte • US President Trump
On July 21. 2018, President of the USA, Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte held a press conference and in that press conference, President Trump stated that the US recognized Italy's leadership in the Mediterranean. The two also confirmed that a joint U.S.-Italy "steering committee" has been established to stabilize Libya.

Quote Trump:
"Today, Prime Minister Conte and I are pleased to announce a new strategic dialogue between Italy and the United States that will enhance cooperation on a range of issues. This includes joint security efforts in the Mediterranean, where we recognize Italy's leadership role in the stabilization of Libya and North Africa."
Quote Conte:
"Both parties had agreed to set up a "steering committee in the Mediterranean between Italy and the United States. I would say that we're almost twin countries in which Italy is becoming a reference point in Europe and a privileged interlocutor for the United States, for the main threats and challenges that we have before us, terrorism, and for all the crises that we see in the Mediterranean and, in particular, in regards to Libya."

"Secondly, the American administration also recognizes that Italy has a leadership role as a promoter country that will lead to the stabilization of Libya. And of course, this with the great respect for the Libyan population."

Comment: Bringing Libya back to sovereignty and peace will have at least one more giant hurdle. See also: Islamic State is regrouping in Libya's lawless desert

For other reports on Libya by JoanneM, see also:

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Propaganda

'Totally legal': President defends Don Jr's Trump Tower meeting to CNN, WaPo insinuations


RT
Sun, 05 Aug 2018 16:07 UTC
Trump,TrumpJr.
© FameFlyNet.uk.comPresident Donald Trump • Donald Trump, Jr.
Donald Trump has labelled reports that he is concerned over the legality of his son's Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer as "fake news", and said getting dirt on 2016 presidential rival Hillary Clinton was "totally legal."

The US president took to Twitter on Sunday to call it a "complete fabrication" that he was worried over his son Donald Jr.'s 2016 meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya in Trump Tower, which has been used by critics of Trump as evidence that he was involved in alleged "Russian collusion" during the 2016 US Presidential election.

"This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics," the president said. He reiterated that he had no prior knowledge of the 20-minute meeting when it happened, adding that "it went nowhere."

The Trump administration maintains they believed the purpose of the meeting was to get intelligence on Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, however, they have since described the meeting as a "waste of time." Instead Veselnitskaya discussed sanctions placed on Russia under the Magnitsky Act, which affected her clients.

On Sunday, CNN and the Washington Post reported that Trump was becoming increasingly agitated over the possibility that Donald Jr. would become the focus of a probe into alleged Russian meddling, claiming it has fueled the president's recent social media attacks on special counsel Robert Mueller.

Comment: CNN and Washington Post - beating the same dead horse with a new schtick.

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Green Light

Saudis admit first Iranian diplomat since severing relations in 2016


Sputnik
Sun, 05 Aug 2018 22:42 UTC
SaudiIran guys
© Unknown
The kingdom has reportedly agreed to admit the head of Iran's so-called Saudi Arabian Interests Section and its staff. Relations between two countries, which have remained tense, were broken off after protesters stormed the Saudi Embassy in Tehran because of the execution of a Shi'ite cleric in the Sunni state.

The official Iranian news agency IRNA, citing an informed diplomatic source, has reported that Saudi Arabia had agreed to issue a visa to the chief and staffers of Iran's interests section, who are slated to take on diplomatic functions. This office will allegedly operate in the Swiss mission, which has acted as a diplomatic channel between the two rival states, as they severed their relations.

"Observers saw this... as a positive diplomatic step in Tehran-Riyadh relations," the media claimed. The Saudi officials haven't yet commented on the report. The spokesman to the Iranian Foreign Ministry Bahram Qasemi recently indicated that there had been a "breakthrough" in Riyadh-Tehran relations, predicting an opening for the office for the protection of interests, although a request for visas was still being processed.
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Piggy Bank

Iran to open greater access to foreign exchange market ahead of US sanctions


Sputnik
Mon, 06 Aug 2018 14:02 UTC
Iran currency
© AFP 2018 / Behrouz Mehri
The new rules will allow exchange offices to buy and sell hard currencies, among other assets.

Iran has announced a relaxation of foreign exchange rules ahead of US sanctions targeting Iran's purchase of US dollars, trade in gold and precious metals, coal, cars and industrial-related software, according to media reports.

New US sanctions against Tehran will come into effect Monday.

The Central Bank of Iran announced Sunday that it will open currency markets, allowing exchange offices to buy and sell hard currencies for purposes such as foreign trade.

Comment: While these coming sanctions are regarded as the harshest since the nuclear deal agreement, it seems they are coming without much bite. Even the EU are protecting their new trade partners. See: European Commission: EU blocking US sanctions against Iran to protect European companies

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Vader

The War Machine must be fed: US seeks new pretext to stay in Syria

Tony Cartalucci
New Eastern Outlook
Mon, 06 Aug 2018 16:54 UTC
us weapon
© U.S. Army photo by Spc. Christopher Brecht
US designs in Syria were made crystal clear by US Army General Joseph Votel - head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) - during a July 19th press briefing.

General Votel would state unequivocally when asked what the "arrangement" was regarding Syria, that:
Our mission is very, very clear: It is focusing on the defeat of ISIS and then helping our partners in both Iraq and Syria stabilize the situation and specifically in Iraq to help create a platform that can lead to a long-term political solution through the U.N. process.
Several aspects of this statement make it clear what the US was doing in Syria to begin with, and what it seeks to do now.
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Pirates

Best of the Web: AP lets the cat out of the bag: Saudi-led coalition 'victories' achieved by colluding with and hiring Al-Qaeda in Yemen

Maggie Michael, Trish Wilson and Lee Keath
AP
Mon, 06 Aug 2018 16:41 UTC
yemen
© AP PhotoCoalition-backed fighters advance on Yemen’s Red Sea port town of Mocha in this Jan. 11 2017, photo. The coalition forces eventually captured the town from Shiite rebels known as Houthis. Some fighters in the unit were openly al-Qaida, wearing Afghan-style garb and carrying weapons with an al-Qaida logo, a sign of how closely the militants have been involved in the war against the Houthis, who are seen by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as a proxy for Iranian influence.
Again and again over the past two years, a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and backed by the United States has claimed it won decisive victories that drove al-Qaida militants from their strongholds across Yemen and shattered their ability to attack the West.

Here's what the victors did not disclose: many of their conquests came without firing a shot.

That's because the coalition cut secret deals with al-Qaida fighters, paying some to leave key cities and towns and letting others retreat with weapons, equipment and wads of looted cash, an investigation by The Associated Press has found. Hundreds more were recruited to join the coalition itself.

These compromises and alliances have allowed al-Qaida militants to survive to fight another day - and risk strengthening the most dangerous branch of the terror network that carried out the 9/11 attacks. Key participants in the pacts said the U.S. was aware of the arrangements and held off on any drone strikes.

Comment: The entire purpose of the war was to support the Wahhabis from the beginning, and the collaboration has been known about since 2015. See Moon of Alabama's latest:
The direct involvement of the U.S., Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and of mercenaries from a dozen countries proves that the war in Yemen is not a "civil war". It is a full fledged attack on Yemen, its resources and applaudably cool (vid) people. The Houthis are Zaida, not Twelver Shia like the Iranians. The are backed by Iranian rhetoric but that's about it.
Why bring this news out of the 'conspiracy realm' and make it official now?

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Vader

US deploys Special Forces near Iran border - 'No danger posed to Iran's borders', says Army Commander


PressTV
Mon, 06 Aug 2018 18:51 UTC
A member of US Special Forces takes a potshot at a target in Afghanistan
A member of US Special Forces takes a potshot at a target in Afghanistan
The Afghan Ministry of Defense has confirmed that US Special Forces have been deployed to the western province of Farah near the Iranian border.

Ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish said on Sunday that the deployment aimed to train Afghan troops on how to use new weapons, stressing that US Special Forces would not take part in combat operations.

He did not provide further details and it is yet not clear how many troops have been deployed to the province.

Comment: "Iran has effective presence in fighting the terrorist groups in the border regions," Major General Mousavi said on Sunday.
He underlined that the terrorists do not dare to get close to Iran's borders as they have received serious blows in the past.


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Map

Duterte gives autonomy to Mindanao region in Philippines after decades of violence


RT
Mon, 06 Aug 2018 16:38 UTC
Duterte
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has signed a long-delayed agreement giving autonomy to the island of Mindanao. It's hoped the deal will ease extremism in the area and prevent conflict with the state.

Duterte, the first Filipino president to hail from the island, last month pushed through a draft of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, which allows areas of the Philippines to act as autonomous regions. The deal comes after decades of fighting and nearly 20 years of negotiations.

Life on the Philippines' southernmost island has been plagued by religious divide and violence. In 2017, the military engaged in a five-month war with militants of the so-called Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) in the city of Marawi.

The urban battle, which claimed the lives of more than 1,000 combatants and around 90 civilians, was one of the longest conflicts of its kind in Philippines history.

Comment: More on recent events in Mindanao:

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Snakes in Suits

'UK MPs are sociopaths who aren't held to account' - Scottish MP Mhairi Black


Scotsman
Mon, 06 Aug 2018 16:29 UTC
Mhairi Black
Mhairi Black MP descibed Westmintser as a club masquerading as a Parliament.
SNP MP Mhairi Black has delivered another scathing critique of Westminster, describing it is a club "masquerading itself" as a parliament. The Paisley and Renfrewshire South MP, who has been a staunch opponent of the UK Parliament's rules and traditions since her election in 2015, said it was a "defunct" institution.

Ms Black made the comments during an event at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe which covered a wide range of topics, from her views on Brexit, to online abuse and her own experiences as a young gay woman. She told host Graham Spiers that while she enjoyed helping her constituents, she did not enjoy the other side of the job "and the crap that comes with it". "I think Westminster itself as an institution is founded upon all the bits of being an MP I don't like," she said.

Mhairi Black to make debut at Edinburgh Festival Fringe "It does not serve us, and in actual fact I would go so far as to say it's not even a parliament - it is a club that masquerades itself. "It is designed in such a way that people are not held to account, it is designed in such a way that you can bleat and complain and vote against things, and it doesn't make a blind bit of difference. "It is designed in such a way that you will fall at every hurdle.

Comment: The pitiful state of the UK, the endless Westminster scandals, and the ruinous effect of UK parliamentary policy around the world is evidence of just how warped UK politicians really are: 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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Chess

European Comission: EU blocking US sanctions against Iran to protect European companies


RT
Mon, 06 Aug 2018 18:20 UTC
Iranian flag
© Damir Sagolj / Reuters
The European Union is enforcing the so-called Blocking Statute to protect its firms operating in Iran from looming US sanctions against the country.

The first round of renewed US sanctions will take effect on Tuesday after midnight US Eastern time with the harshest sanctions expected to return in early November. Washington is reinstating penalties that were lifted against Iran after unilaterally withdrawing from the historic nuclear deal reached with Tehran after many years of negotiations.

The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on curtailing Tehran's nuclear program was signed by Iran, the United States, Russia, China and the European Union. The move by Washington to withdraw from the nuclear agreement has been widely condemned by the EU and other signatories of the deal.

Comment: See also: EU considering options to protect businesses in Iran and potential retaliatory actions in wake of US pullout from JCPOA

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