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Russia deal to supply Turkey with S-400 system "in its final stages"


RT
Tue, 22 Aug 2017 14:32 UTC
s 400 triumph
© Sergey Malgavko / Sputnik
A contract to supply S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems to Turkey is in the final stages, but has not yet been signed or entered into force, the head of Russian defense giant Rosoboronexport said, retracting his previous statement reported by RIA Novosti.

"The contract to supply Turkey with S-400s is ready, but has not been signed or entered into force," Rosoboronexport Director General Aleksey Mikheev told reporters on Tuesday, adding that "the work is still ongoing, technical issues remain."

Russia and Turkey have been discussing the contract since November 2016, with top officials from both countries repeatedly confirming that the deal has been "agreed upon" and arrived "at the final decision point."

The Russian-made S-400 system is capable of shooting down aircraft at ranges of up to 400km and ballistic missiles at a range of 60km. It can engage up to 36 targets simultaneously and can use various missile types for different targets. The Russian Army has already received the most sophisticated batch of missiles for the S-400, capable of shooting targets in the nearest space, according to military officials.

In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow was "ready" to supply Ankara with the S-400 system.

"We discussed the possibility of selling S-400s [to Turkey]. We are ready for this," Putin said. "We are ready to deliver these newest and most efficient systems. President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan and our countries' militaries are aware of it."
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Die

Wishful thinking: US bets Europe willing to pay more for less dependence on Russian energy


RT
Tue, 22 Aug 2017 14:31 UTC
LNG carrier ship docked in Texas, US
© Bloomberg / Getty ImagesLNG carrier ship docked in Texas, US.
On Monday, Lithuania received a shipment of American liquefied natural gas (LNG) as Vilnius wants to strengthen links with Washington and diversify its gas supplies away from Russia. Lithuania is expecting another shipment next month.

Earlier this year, Poland became the first country in Central and Eastern Europe to have LNG delivered from the US. To avoid Russian "gas blackmail," Warsaw announced plans to sign a long-term contract for American LNG supplies.

Shortly after the first delivery, Polish President Andrzej Duda announced plans to make the country a pan-European energy hub able to distribute gas across the EU.
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Chess

New US strategy in Afghanistan all about weakening China's Silk Road project


TASS
Mon, 21 Aug 2017 14:18 UTC
helicopter
© AP Photo
A new strategy of the United States for Afghanistan affects China's interests in the region, a leading expert from the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies said on Monday.

"New scenarios of the US strategy in Afghanistan affect the interests of China. Over the recent time, the administration of (President Donald) Trump has been way too active in initiating hotbeds of tension close to the Chinese borders: in North Korea, and now in Afghanistan," said Adzhar Kurtov, who is also editor-in-chief of the Problemy Natsionalnoy Strategii (National Strategy Issues) magazine.

"Behind all these bright-eyed statements about a certain new strategy in Afghanistan is a trivial position - to remove a rival or weaken him. Nowadays, the People's Republic of China is the main rival of the US on the global arena," Adzhar Kurtov said.
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Info

Russian senator says US never really planned to leave Afghanistan


RT
Tue, 22 Aug 2017 14:24 UTC
US soldiers are seen after a mission near forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province
© Lucas Jackson / ReutersUS soldiers are seen after a mission near forward operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan.
Washington never really planned to end its military presence in Afghanistan as it needs it to apply leverage on India, Pakistan and China, a senior Russian senator told reporters after President Donald Trump's "fight to win" announcement.

"The USA will never leave Afghanistan and they have never had plans to do so. This is a key region for them considering the need to influence Pakistan, India and China," Frants Klintsevich, the deputy head of the upper house Committee for Defense and a veteran of the Soviet campaign in Afghanistan, told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.

The senator added that the existence of US military bases in Afghanistan was critical for the Pentagon's rapid reaction capability in the region.

"We should not forget the fact that the United States have 700 military bases scattered all over the world. Four-hundred of these are in conservation status, they only have enough staff to maintain their functioning, but when there is a need for a military involvement these bases can be rapidly switched into operational status," he said.
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Piggy Bank

Chapter closed: Russia pays off balance of Soviet Union's foreign debt


RT
Tue, 22 Aug 2017 14:17 UTC
Kremlin
© Alexander Novikov / Global Look Press
Moscow made the final payment on the remaining foreign debt inherited from the Soviet Union. Russia took on the debt after the other former Soviet republics refused to pay.

"The debt to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the amount of $125.2 million has been settled in accordance with the agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina," the Russian Finance Ministry said on Tuesday.

The remaining debt was the money the Soviet Union owed to Yugoslavia. The USSR's foreign debt was accumulated in various ways. Obligations to Western countries accrued in the debt market after 1983. The money owed to the former Yugoslavia was as a result of trade between the countries.
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Compass

5 injured and 10 missing after US destroyer USS John S McCain collides with oil tanker off Singapore - Update: Remains of US sailors found in flooded compartment


RT
Mon, 21 Aug 2017 12:14 UTC
The U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain is seen after a collision, in Singapore waters
© Ahmad Masood / ReutersThe U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain is seen after a collision, in Singapore waters August 21, 2017.
At least 5 sailors have been injured and 10 are missing after a US guided-missile destroyer, the USS John S. McCain, "sustained damage" in collision with a merchant vessel while on a routine port visit to Singapore, the US Navy has said.

The vessel arrived at Changi Naval Base in Singapore with significant damage and several flooded compartments.

"Significant damage to the hull resulted in flooding to nearby compartments, including crew berthing, machinery, and communications rooms. Damage control efforts by the crew halted further flooding," the US Navy's 7th Fleet said in a statement.

Comment: Update: Remains of US sailors found in flooded compartment
The US Pacific Fleet commander says the remains of sailors have been found in a compartment of the 'USS John S. McCain,' which was flooded after a collision with a merchant vessel off the coast of Singapore.

American and Singaporean vessels, supported by air forces, have carried out a search and rescue operation for 10 missing crewmembers of the 'USS John S. McCain' in an area spanning 2,620 sq km (1,010 square miles) in Southeast Asian waters. Malaysia and Australia are also assisting in the search, with the former searching the northern reaches and the latter looking in the south.


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Attention

No troop pullout, threats to Pakistan in Trump speech on new Afghanistan strategy


RT
Tue, 22 Aug 2017 12:00 UTC
Donald Trump
© Joshua Roberts / Reuters
US President Donald Trump said he ordered the US military to aggressively engage the Taliban and "fight to win" in Afghanistan "killing terrorists," signaling there will be no "rapid exit" from the 16-year war.

"Our troops will fight to win," Trump said, and he insisted victory in Afghanistan would be clearly defined. In his assertive speech at the Army's Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, next to Arlington National Cemetery, the president said, "My administration will ensure that you, the brave defenders of the American people, will have the necessary tools and rules of engagement to make this strategy work."

Trump spoke as he presented a new Afghanistan strategy that as Trump said was under consideration right after his inauguration.
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USA

The outlines of a U.S. civil war can now be seen

Gregory R. Copley
Oilprice.com
Sat, 19 Aug 2017 00:00 UTC
US civil war
Yes, there is a civil war looming in the United States.

But it will not look like the orderly pattern of descent which characterized the conflict of 1861-65. It will appear more like the Yugoslavia break-up, or the Russian and Chinese civil wars of the 20th Century.

It will appear as an evolving chaos.

And the next US civil war, though it yet may be arrested to a degree by the formal hand of centralized government, will destabilize many other nation-states, including the People's Republic of China (PRC).

It may, in other words, be short-lived simply because the uprising will probably not be based upon the decisions of constituent states (which, in the US Civil War, created a break-away confederacy), acting within their own perception of a legal process. It is more probable that the 21st Century event would contage as a gradual breakdown of law and order.
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Bad Guys

China on the verge of a 'limited war' with India?

Zain Khan
The Duran
Sun, 20 Aug 2017 00:00 UTC
Modi and Xi
According to an article published in China's state newspaper Global Times, China is preparing to start a 'limited war' in order to drive the Indian soldiers out of the troubled Doklam region.

There has been a strain in relationship between China and India since June when the Indian soldiers entered Doklam area which is situated in the middle of Bhutan and China. The Indian soldiers stopped the Chinese soldiers from building a road in that region.

Both the Chinese and the Bhutanese lay claim to the area. The Indian army entered the area upon request of Bhutan and as a result, a standoff ensued between the two armies since then.

A researcher by the name Hu Xi Yong from Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said that the tension between both the Chinese and Indian forces won't last long as China's limited military action could start within one week.
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Laptop

Awan plot thickens as NY Democrat Yvette Clarke "quietly" wrote-off $120,000 of missing tech equipment

Luke Rosiak
The Daily Caller
Mon, 21 Aug 2017 19:20 UTC
yvette clarke
© Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesCongressional Black Caucus members (R-L) Chair Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA); Rep. David Scott (D-GA), Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL), Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) hold a news conference about health care reform at the U.S. Capitol September 9, 2009 in Washington, DC. Lee said the caucus expects President Barack Obama to show support for a "robust" public option during his speech to Congress tonight.
A chief of staff for Democratic Rep. Yvette Clarke quietly agreed in early 2016 to sign away a $120,000 missing electronics problem on behalf of two former IT aides now suspected of stealing equipment from Congress, The Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.

Clarke's chief of staff at the time effectively dismissed the loss and prevented it from coming up in future audits by signing a form removing the missing equipment from a House-wide tracking system after one of the Awan brothers alerted the office the equipment was gone. The Pakistani-born brothers are now at the center of an FBI investigation over their IT work with dozens of Congressional offices.

A senior House official with knowledge of the situation provided TheDCNF with new details about how exactly the brothers are suspected to have stolen the equipment and possibly data from Congress, raising questions about the members or staffers who were signing the checks on equipment purchases.

Comment: See also:

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