Damascus air defence downed its first Israeli jet (F-16) ever, at a stroke changing the rules of engagement (ROE) with Israel and sending a clear message that it is ready for war and will no longer be silent on violations of its airspace. This clash has triggered the mobilisation of the Syrian army and its allies in Syria and in Lebanon, the Lebanese Hezbollah. The speed of the Syrian reaction was due to a prior decision taken at highest level among all allies operating on Syrian territory. These consider a possible confrontation may be inevitable if Israel has decided to respond and declare war. The violation of Syrian sovereignty is no longer an option open to Israel and the Israeli jets will no longer be able to carry out their usual promenades over the Levant without consequences.

Moreover, it is also clear that Russia - despite all that is said in the media - is aware of the Syrian decision to confront Israel. Moscow is supplying Syria with anti-aircraft missiles, its forces dominates the air space over the Syrian Army's controlled territory, and has the radar capability to see and monitor any Israeli aircraft flying over Israel, Lebanon and Syria. Russia is also informed when the Syrian army repeatedly fires missiles and confronts the Israeli air force in the sky over Syria or in the border areas.

It is not in the interests of Russia to see war break out in Syria where its forces are present on the ground and in the Mediterranean. Russia considers it has the right to intervene because its official presence on Syrian territory is at the request of and in agreement with the Damascus government. In its role as a superpower, it is in its interest to stop the tension on the Syrian border and show it has the power to impose peace on would-be belligerents.

Washington is no longer opposed to the idea of talks with Pyongyang without preconditions, but still favors ramping up sanctions pressure against North Korea until it agrees to relinquish its nuclear arsenal, Mike Pence said.

The US vice president disclosed this subtle change in US Korean policy to Washington Post correspondent Josh Rogin while flying back from South Korea after a state visit. Apparently, Pence was convinced that actually talking to North Korea may be a good idea. Previously, senior US officials - starting with President Donald Trump - have insisted that talking to the North Korean government was of no use to America.

"The point is, no pressure comes off until they are actually doing something that the alliance believes represents a meaningful step toward denuclearization," Pence said as cited by the newspaper. "So the maximum pressure campaign is going to continue and intensify. But if you want to talk, we'll talk."

So the US still wants to hurt North Korea as much as possible without starting an actual shooting war, but now it looks like it is willing to eventually hear Pyongyang's plea for mercy. Which is admittedly a step in the right direction compared to obstructing any talks.

A small group of high-level bureaucrats within the State Department and the CIA has been sabotaging the Trump-Pence White House directive on efforts for the release of Pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been jailed in Turkey due to his alleged connection to Gulen Network's failed coup attempt in Turkey in 2016.

A senior-level Newsbud source currently with the State Department provided the following information on the condition of anonymity:

There is a small group of high-level bureaucrats within the department who's been sabotaging the White House-Turkish government's negotiation process towards the release of Brunson. In an internal memorandum within the department the group claimed that for our long-term objectives the continued imprisonment of Brunson would provide more effective ammunition to be used against Erdogan on Human Rights grounds ... While his release would provide little to no gain during this critical stage in Syria. You are basically looking at a group that is operating and acting in direct defiance of the President's directive.

Andrew Brunson is an evangelical pastor of the Izmir Resurrection Church, a small Protestant church in Turkey, who was arrested in the purges occurring in the aftermath of the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt. Brunson, 48, who was applying for permanent Turkish residency, having lived there 23 years, was imprisoned on October 7, 2016, accused of being a member of the Gülen movement, which the Turkish government considers a terrorist organization. The charges were later amended to include spying and attempting to overthrow the government. To this date Newsbud has not been able to obtain any formal documents pertaining to evidence in Brunson's arrest and imprisonment.

According to the White House, President Trump has raised the case of Brunson at every opportunity with Mr. Erdogan, including a meeting in September 2017, when Trump hailed his counterpart as a good friend.

Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dissuaded Sweden from attempting to drop extradition proceedings against Julian Assange as far back as 2013, according to an email exchange seen by the Guardian.

The newspaper reports Swedish prosecutors were keen to drop the proceedings against the WikiLeaks founder in 2013, four years before they officially did in 2017. During the exchange between the Swedish director of public prosecutions, Marianne Ny, and an unnamed, since retired, CPS lawyer in charge of the case, Ny said that:

"There is a demand in Swedish law for coercive measures to be proportionate. The time passing, the costs and how severe the crime is to be taken into account together with the intrusion or detriment to the suspect. Against this background, we have found us to be obliged to lift the detention order ... and to withdraw the European arrest warrant. If so this should be done in a couple of weeks. This would affect not only us but you too in a significant way," Ny added.

In response, the CPS lawyer said:

"I do not consider costs are a relevant factor in this matter." Up until that point, the cost of preventing Assange from leaving the shelter of the Ecuadorian embassy in London was £3.8 million (US$5.25 million). "All we can do is wait and see (and perhaps be eternally grateful that neither of us have to share a room in the embassy with him over Christmas!)," he added.

Donald Trump has not expanded on his vision for the Israel-Palestine peace process. He has however noted that neither side appears to be "looking to make peace" since he officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

President Trump made the controversial announcement on December 6 last year, instructing the State Department to relocate the US embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city. It marked "the beginning of a new [American] approach to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians."

While stressing that the US remains "deeply committed" to helping facilitate a peace agreement, Trump said it is ultimately up to the foes themselves to agree on demarcating the borders of a future Palestinian state, including "specific boundaries of the Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem."

The announcement understandably sparked outrage among Palestinians who are engaged in weekly protests, which have claimed dozens of lives in clashes with Israeli forces.

In January, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Ankara would not limit its precautionary measures against Kurdish fighters to Syria's Afrin but could move to Manbij, where the US has some 2,000 of its military personnel deployed.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that the United States should leave Syria's Manbij in Aleppo province as Ankara plans to return it "to its true owners." He also added that Washington had "calculations against Turkey, Iran and maybe Russia" in Syria, claiming that the US military presence there was directed against the aforementioned countries after Daesh's (ISIS) defeat.

"If the United States says they are sending 5,000 trucks and 2,000 cargo planes with weapons for the fight against Daesh (Islamic State), we don't believe this. It means you have calculations against Turkey and Iran, and maybe Russia," Erdogan told members of his ruling AK Party in parliament.

Billionaire George Soros has hit back at the "toxic" criticism he received last week by pledging an additional £100k to his anti-Brexit campaign. He said engineering a "mere reversal" of the EU referendum result is not enough.

A Hungarian-American liberal, Soros faced accusations of meddling in British politics after it was revealed he had donated £400,000 to 'Best for Britain', which is currently campaigning for a second vote to be held on any final Brexit deal agreed between Parliament and the EU.

Soros' Open Society Foundation (OFS) has pledged to match a crowdfunded 'Fight Brexit Fund' set up in the wake of attacks against him. By Sunday night donations of less than £100 had reached a total of £45,000.

Foreign affairs minister Halbe Zijlstra has admitted lying about being at a meeting where Vladimir Putin supposedly set out his plans for a 'Greater Russia'.

Zijlstra claimed that he had overheard the Russian president talking about his expansionist ambitions during a gathering of businesspeople at Putin's dacha in 2006. At the time Zijlstra was working for Shell. But in an interview in the Volkskrant at the weekend he admitted that he had not been at the meeting, but 'borrowed' the anecdote from someone whose identity he wanted to protect.


Prime minister Mark Rutte said Zijlstra's decision was 'not sensible', but he would not be seeking Zijlstra's resignation. Zijlstra and Rutte are colleagues in the right-wing Liberal (VVD) party.

The two largest militaries in NATO are issuing threats, warnings and ultimatums... to each other
Turkey demands US military pulls out of northern Syria to the west of Euphrates around Manbij. US refuses to do so. Turkey threatens it will launch an offensive on Manbij whether US is still present there or not. Turkey adds it may not be able to distinguish between Kurdish militiamen and US troops in battle and could target both. US sends a hi-ranking Pentagon delegation to Manbij to deliver the message the US "will respond aggressively if attacked". - This has all happened. Welcome to 2018 where the nations with two largest militaries in NATO are issuing threats, warnings and ultimatums...to each other.

Pentagon's loyal New York Times makes sure its message is relayed:

Opposition politician Mikheil Saakashvili has accused Russia, Georgia, and Ukraine of "wanting to get rid of" him and urged his supporters to remain calm after he was deported from Kyiv to Poland.

Ukraine's State Border Guard Service said that the Georgian-born politician was removed from Ukraine on February 12 because he was in the country illegally.

"The criminal case against me is a complete lie. Putin and Poroshenko and Ivanishvili want to get rid of me," Saakashvili said in a Facebook video in reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian security forces detained Saakashvili at a Georgian restaurant near the headquarters of his New Forces party in the capital, Kyiv, before being transported to a nearby airport.