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Video of Russian air force destroying escaping ISIS convoy

Paul Antonopoulos
Fort Russ News
Mon, 28 Aug 2017 20:19 UTC
Russian airstrikes in Syria
After the successful offensive actions of the Syrian troops with the support of Russian military security services in the area of ​​Ganem-Ali, ISIS fighters are trying to regroup and prepare fortified areas near the settlement of Deir ez Zor

Realizing that the bridgehead around Deir-ez-Zor is the last major bulwark of ISIS on Syrian soil, the terrorists are transferring heavy equipment like tanks and cross-country vehicles with heavy weapons and mortars.

During the night and today, Russian jets have continued to successfully attack ISIS targets, destroying four tanks, 16 high-cross-country vehicles with heavy machine guns, six heavy vehicles with ammunition, and two fortified areas with artillery positions.
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Piggy Bank

Moscow wants to protect public from bitcoin trading as it resembles 'financial pyramid'


RT
Tue, 29 Aug 2017 13:48 UTC
Bitcoin
© Manuel Romano / Global Look Press
The Moscow Exchange is working on a mechanism to regulate trading in bitcoin and other digital currencies. At the same time, the Russian Finance Ministry says bitcoin resembles a pyramid scheme, and trading should be limited.

"We are already working on creating an infrastructure for such trades, in particular, a platform for post-trading services for crypto assets," a spokesperson for the Moscow Exchange told TASS news agency.

"The platform would allow trading both the cryptocurrencies themselves and their derivatives; the trade in form of Exchange Trade Funds would also be possible," the Exchange said in a separate interview with the RNS news agency.

However, officials in the Russian government remain skeptical about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

"There is a point of view that cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are a financial pyramid. It's hard to argue with this point of view. The investments are very risky," said Deputy Finance Minister Aleksey Moiseev in an interview with Rossiya 24 TV Channel.
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Map

Serbia limits sale of land to foreigners to protect local farmers


RT
Tue, 29 Aug 2017 13:41 UTC
Sheep herder in Sirbia
© Marko Djurica / Reuters
Serbia has passed a law restricting EU citizens from buying arable land in the country. The government said it wants to protect local farmers and prevent foreigners from taking over natural resources.

The law requires EU citizens to live in Serbia for at least ten years before purchasing land; with plot sizes limited to two hectares. They should farm land as a lessee for at least three years before buying it, and a seller must first offer it to the state. The rules prohibit the sale of land close to military facilities and in national parks.

Foreign companies can buy farmland through local subsidiaries.

"Without the restrictions, we would be the only country to open land sales before becoming a member'' of the EU; Agriculture Minister Nedimovic was cited as saying by Bloomberg. He added it was in the "national interest'' to keep agricultural land locally owned, citing measures by other countries that are already members or seeking to join.
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Mr. Potato

Buffoon Boris bashing: Foreign Sec ridiculed as 'joke' by Trump team, EU diplomats and UK officials


RT
Tue, 29 Aug 2017 13:34 UTC
Boris Johnson
© Caren Firouz / Reuters
US President Donald Trump's team does not want to work with Boris Johnson because "they think he's a joke," it has been claimed.

White House officials, as well as diplomats across Europe, are confused by Prime Minister Theresa May's decision to make Johnson Britain's foreign secretary and do not take him seriously, according to the Times' Rachel Sylvester.

Johnson, who went up against May in the race to succeed David Cameron as PM, has been accused of insulting foreign counterparts and demeaning his own office on numerous occasions since becoming foreign secretary last year.

Diplomatic sources told Sylvester that figures in Trump's team "don't want to go anywhere near Boris because they think he's a joke."

"It's worse in Europe. There's not a single foreign minister there who takes him seriously. They think he's a clown who can never resist a gag," a current British minister added.
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Info

'Any questions?' Juncker states EU should enhance relations with Russia for sake of bloc's security


Sputnik
Tue, 29 Aug 2017 12:53 UTC
Jean-Claude Juncker
© AP Photo/ Virginia Mayo
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker stated that the European Union should find more appropriate rhetoric in its relations with Russia.

The European Union should consider improving relations with Russia, because the security of the bloc cannot be guaranteed in the coming centuries without Moscow, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Tuesday.

"We have to reflect upon how to achieve better relations with Russia. It depends on both Russia and us. The security of Europe in the coming centuries cannot be built without Russia," Juncker told the conference of EU Ambassadors.

He noted that the European Union should find more appropriate rhetoric in relations with Russia without rejection of the bloc's values and principles.

"Europe is 5.5 million square kilometers [1.9 million square miles], and Russia is 17.5 [million square kilometers]. Any questions?" Juncker said.
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Attention

Beijing warns tensions on Korean Peninsula at 'tipping point' after Pyongyang missile launch


RT
Tue, 29 Aug 2017 12:41 UTC
Pedestrians watch the news on a huge screen displaying a map of Japan (R) and the Korean Peninsula, in Tokyo on August 29, 2017.
© Toshifumi Kitamura / AFPPedestrians watch the news on a huge screen displaying a map of Japan (R) and the Korean Peninsula, in Tokyo on August 29, 2017.
China has warned that the situation on the Korean Peninsula has reached a "tipping point," just hours after Pyongyang launched a ballistic missile. Meanwhile, North Korea has accused the US of driving the region towards an "extreme level of explosion."

Speaking at a regular news briefing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the situation is "now at a tipping point approaching a crisis. At the same time there is an opportunity to reopen peace talks.

"We hope relevant parties can consider how we can deescalate the situation on the peninsula and realize peace and stability on the peninsula," she added, as quoted by AFP.

Hua went on to mention joint drills staged by the US and South Korea, the most recent of which began last week, saying the two sides "held one round after another of joint military exercises and they exerted military pressure on the DPRK (North Korea).

"After so many rounds and vicious cycles, do they feel they are nearer to peaceful settlement of the issue?

"The facts have proven that pressure and sanctions cannot fundamentally solve the issue," Hua said, referring to UN sanctions imposed on Pyongyang.
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Treasure Chest

Military complex only winner: Pentagon awards $727mn contract to support Afghan Air Force


RT
Tue, 29 Aug 2017 12:13 UTC
U.S. paratroopers patrol a village near Forward Operating Base Arian in Afghanistan's Ghazni province, May 29, 2012
© U.S. Army
The Pentagon has awarded a contract worth over $727 million in support of the Afghan Air Force and Special Mission Wing unit. It comes after Donald Trump's recent "fight to win" commitment to the nation's longest war, which has already cost over $780 billion.

"Leidos Innovation Corp., Gaithersburg, Maryland, was awarded a $727,689,796 firm-fixed-price contract to provide support for the Afghan Air Force (AAF) and Special Mission Wing (SMW) helicopter/fixed-wing fleets," the US Department of Defense said in a statement.

The statement added that bids were "solicited via the Internet with one received. Work will be performed in Kabul, Afghanistan, with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2020."

Leidos Innovation Corp, a unit of Leidos Holding Corp (LDOS.N), is a major contractor for the Pentagon and the National Security Agency (NSA).
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Gear

Repeating pattern: Barcelona attack terrorists' visit to France points to state foreknowledge

Kumaran Ira
World Socialist Website
Mon, 28 Aug 2017 00:00 UTC
Barcelona attack
A spate of news reports last week raised questions about US and European government foreknowledge of the August 17 terror attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils that killed 15 people and wounded more than 100, and how this attack was allowed to proceed. It is ever clearer that the Islamic State (IS) terror cell was under close surveillance by multiple intelligence services of NATO powers, including France, the United States, and Belgium.

Astonishingly, only days before the attack, several members of the terror cell visited Paris, a center of intelligence monitoring of Islamist activity in Europe. They were under surveillance, and French officials informed Spanish officials after they were spotted in France, driving the Audi A3 car that they used to plough into pedestrians in the seaside resort of Cambrils, killing one woman. The car was flashed by a speed camera in France.

BFM-TV reported, "Two members of the jihadist cell that attacked Barcelona and Cambrils, including Younes Abouyaaqoub, the suspected driver in the attack on Las Ramblas, made an 'express' round-trip to Paris" on August 11-12. The Audi was photographed at 1 p.m. on August 11 at the Lestelle toll booths in the Pyrénées traveling north, before being flashed by a speed camera for speeding. The two cell members reportedly spent the night in a budget hotel in the Paris suburb of Malakoff and visited a mall before returning to Spain.

Comment: See also:

Van Mows Down People on Barcelona's Ramblas: 13 confirmed dead, dozens injured - UPDATES

Examining the timeline: Can the official reports of who was behind the Barcelona and Cambrils attacks be trusted?

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Cowboy Hat

Zakharova: US sanctions against Venezuela destabilizing and 'imbued with cynicism'


RT
Tue, 29 Aug 2017 12:03 UTC
Civilians wear T-shirts with the face of US President Donald Trump
© Andres Martinez Casares / ReutersCivilians wear T-shirts with the face of US President Donald Trump as they parade during a military exercise in Caracas, Venezuela, August 26, 2017.
The latest sanctions imposed by the US on Venezuela are deliberately aimed at further destabilizing a country at a time when it's showing the first signs of emerging from a crisis, Russia's foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has said.

The new measures, aimed at exerting more financial pressure on Caracas, were announced at a time when tensions in Venezuela started to decrease and the situation showed signs of relative stabilization, Zakharova said, adding that, in such circumstances, the new sanctions against Venezuela's financial and oil sectors were "clearly" aimed at "further destabilization of the situation."

"The very logic of sanctions implies further increase of tensions," she said. Zakharova added that the "actions of the people behind the sanctions are imbued with cynicism."
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Info

'It's a big country': Trump says US 'should and will' get along with Russia


RT
Tue, 29 Aug 2017 11:54 UTC
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin
© Carlos Barria / Reuters
President Donald Trump has expressed confidence that the world's two nuclear superpowers would "get along" and that US relations with Russia will eventually improve from their record low, to if not "great," then at the very least, "good."

"I hope that we do have good relations with Russia. I say it loud and clear, I've been saying it for years: I think it's a good thing if we have great relationships, or at least good relationships with Russia," the US president said during a joint news conference with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto.

"It's a big country, it's a nuclear country, it's a country that we should get along with, and I think we will eventually get along with Russia," Trump added.
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