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Jet5

Footage emerges of two British RAF Typhoon fighter jets intercepting Russian planes (VIDEO)


RT
Mon, 15 Jan 2018 19:15 UTC
UK Typhoon fighter jet
© Matt Cardy / Getty ImagesUK Typhoon fighter jet
Britain scrambled two Royal Air Force Typhoon jets from Scotland to intercept Russian planes close to the United Kingdom's airspace, a defence ministry spokesman said.

The Typhoons took off from RAF Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland, at around 9:30 am to tackle the alleged encroachment. A RAF spokesman said: "This is a live operation and therefore we will not be providing any additional information until the mission is complete."

The Russian plane model is yet to be identified as the operation is still ongoing. French and Belgian air forces have reportedly also been deployed to tackle the situation.


Comment: See also:

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Eye 2

Swamp critters all: Mueller, McCabe, Rosenstein involved in prior FBI probe of Uranium One bribes that were concealed by Obama DOJ

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Mon, 15 Jan 2018 16:20 UTC
obama FISA
Concealer-in-chief?
Friday's 11-count indictment of former uranium transportation company executive, Mark Lambert, was the latest in a series of DOJ prosecutions involving individuals linked to the Russian nuclear industry and the Uranium One deal.

According to the indictment, Lambert and others at Transport Logistics International (TLI) engaged in several counts of bribery, kickbacks and money laundering with Russian nuclear official Vadim Mikerin, in order to secure business advantages with TENEX - a subsidiary of Rosatom, the Kremlin's state-owned energy company which bought Uranium One.

TLI would have ostensibly transported all of the uranium from the U1 deal, were it not for an FBI undercover mole buried deep within the Russian nuclear industry who gathered extensive evidence of corruption.

What many don't realize is that Lambert's Friday indictment is not the first linked to the Uranium One deal.
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Bad Guys

Afghanistan army would collapse in six months without US support, says President Ghani


RT
Tue, 16 Jan 2018 15:56 UTC
US troops Afghanistan
© Reuters/ Omar SobhaniUS troops keep watch on the back of a truck outside their base in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan.
Without American assistance, Kabul can't fight the many militant groups active in the country after 16 years of US involvement. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says the national army won't last longer than six months on its own.

American taxpayers, who contribute around 90 percent of Afghanistan's defense budget, are bankrolling a war against terrorists in the county, which the government would not be able to continue without the US funding, Ghani told CBS News on Sunday.

"We will not be able to support our army for six months without US support and US capabilities... Because we don't have the money," Ghani said.

Comment: The situation in Afghanistan is dire and getting worse. The United States has created hell on earth and it has no viable solutions that will help the country. After 16 years, it's likely things will continue to get worse before they can get better. Afghanistan will need to turn to it's regional neighbors for stabilization instead of looking to the US. For more info see: What do Donald Trump's attacks on Pakistan mean? It's all about Afghanistan

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MIB

ISIS and Al-Nusra smuggle money into Syria using vehicles with Red Cross logos (VIDEO)

Paul Antonopoulos
Fort Russ News
Tue, 16 Jan 2018 16:19 UTC
Red Cross
A video has been uploaded of huge amounts of cash that was smuggled into Syria for ISIS and the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Nusra Front using Red Cross logos on the boxes the money was stored in.

The money was smuggled in from Turkey with vehicles with the same famous Red Cross logo too.
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Quenelle

Kim Jong-Un's combination of arms and diplomacy has beaten Trump hands down


New Eastern Outlook
Tue, 16 Jan 2018 16:07 UTC
Kim Jong-Un Trump north korea
© New Eastern Outlook
The string of crises that erupted on the Korean peninsula over the last year, along with the ongoing confrontation between Korea's leader Kim Jong-un and America's Donald Trump remains of the most significant international trends in the world of geopolitics. There's a number of reason why this trend has been occupying the minds of politicians, journalists and casual observers alike.

For sure, among them one can mention the overall unpredictability of the position that the sitting US president will be occupying tomorrow, as he seems to be keen to unleash chaos and destruction in pretty much every corner of this planet, seeking ways to rope those states that to this day have been managing to escape both the financial and military domination of the US. As tensions mount, one has no choice but to recognize that those steps are bringing us closer to new armed conflicts, in spite of the fact that Trump has an abundance of those on his hands.

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Bad Guys

US backing of 30k SDF border guards could prolong Syria war for years

Martin Jay
RT
Tue, 16 Jan 2018 15:59 UTC
Syrian Democratic Forces SDF
© Rodi Said / ReutersFILE PHOTO A fighter of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)
The US may think a new strategy backing the Kurds in Syria with 30,000 border guards will settle old scores. In fact, it might push Turkey's relations with Russia beyond breaking point. And who exactly are these 'new recruits'?

Hopes of real peace in Syria received a set back by the recent US backing of a 'border police' which is expected to be made up of SDF forces (largely Kurds) to man Syria's borders with both Turkey and Iraq.

The US-led coalition has announced it is helping to create a new Border Security Force that is expected to be comprised of up to 30,000 people. Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) veterans will make half of the unit, while the other half are yet to be recruited.
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Bad Guys

Over 1,800 Pakistani clerics issue fatwa forbidding suicide bombings


RT
Tue, 16 Jan 2018 15:54 UTC
suicide car bomb
© Reuters/File
A group of 1,800 Pakistani Muslim clerics has issued a fatwa forbidding suicide bombings, according to a newly published, government-backed book.

"This Fatwa provides a strong base for the stability of a moderate Islamic society," Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain wrote in the book, as cited by Reuters. "We can seek guidance from this Fatwa for building a national narrative in order to curb extremism in keeping with the golden principles of Islam."

Despite widespread condemnation of suicide bombings by clerics and preachers in the country, extremists still view such attacks as their most effective weapon in their arsenal. Over 67,000 people were killed in terrorist attacks carried out in Pakistan between 2013 and 2017, with the government's war on terror costing upwards of $118 billion, Pakistan Today reports .

Comment: There are plenty of reason for the (likely) US-backed terrorist groups to keep Pakistan in turmoil.

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Russian Flag

Russian poll predicts Putin may win presidential election in first round


RT
Tue, 16 Jan 2018 15:50 UTC
putin campaign billboard 2018
© Alexandr Kryazhev / SputnikA campaign poster in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Novosibirsk.
Current Russian President Vladimir Putin may win the upcoming presidential election in the first round, a survey by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center revealed, two months before the March 18 vote.

If the Russian presidential election were held next Sunday, the current president would receive 81.1% of the vote and win in the first round, with Communist Party candidate Pavel Grudinin receiving 7.6 percent ,and Liberal Democratic Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky receiving 4.2 percent. The ratings for socialite Ksenia Sobchak of the Civil Initiative Party, Yabloko's Grigory Yavlinsky, and Party of Growth leader Boris Titov currently have less than 1 percent, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) said. The election will enter a second round if none of the candidates is able to get more than one half of the vote.

The majority of Russians "will come to the polls," according to the research conducted one week ago. Sixty-seven percent of the respondents intend to vote, and the attitude of this group is "usually close to the actual turnout," Valery Fedorov, who heads VTsIOM, told Kommersant. Fifteen percent of those surveyed have not decided whether or not they will vote, with 3 percent saying they will "definitely" skip this election.
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Card - VISA

Chinese credit agency cuts US sovereign rating to BBB+, on par with Turkmenistan and Columbia


RT
Tue, 16 Jan 2018 15:12 UTC
Turkmenistan flags people
© Marat Gurt / Reuters
One of the largest ratings firms in China, Dagong Global Credit Rating, has cut the US sovereign rating from A- to BBB+. That puts the American economy on par with Peru, Colombia and Turkmenistan.

"Deficiencies in the current US political ecology make it difficult for the efficient administration of the federal government, so the national economic development derails from the right track," Dagong said, as quoted by Reuters.

"Massive tax cuts directly reduce the federal government's sources of debt repayment, therefore further weakens the base of government's debt repayment."
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Flashlight

What do Donald Trump's attacks on Pakistan mean? It's all about Afghanistan

Vladimir Terehov
New Eastern Outlook
Mon, 15 Jan 2018 00:01 UTC
Pakistan soldier
Posted on January 1, 2018, the President of the USA Donald Trump's tweet about the mistake of providing Pakistan with American financial aid (more than 33 billion dollars over the last 15 years), which was rewarded with "nothing but lies & deceit," was a significant news event in the world politics of the recently arrived New Year.

Speaking the next day to reporters, the permanent USA representative to the UN, Nikki Haley, clarified that the American president is considering the possibility of ending financial assistance to Pakistan, which gives "safe haven to the terrorists" the Americans "hunt in Afghanistan."

To get an explanation on the meaning of Donald Trump's statement, the American ambassador in Islamabad was summoned to the foreign ministry of Pakistan. The head of the foreign policy department of Pakistan, Khawaja Asif, said that Washington was trying to shift the blame to his country for the failure of its own policy in Afghanistan. Stressing the active participation of Pakistan in the fight against terrorism, he recalled that during the war in Afghanistan, the Americans carried out over 57,800 attacks from bases located in Pakistani territory.

Comment: See also:

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