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Insane US brinkmanship: NATO F-16 approaches Russian defense minister's plane over Baltic


RT
Wed, 21 Jun 2017 11:31 UTC
SU-27 and F-16 fighter jets
© Sputnik / Reuters
A NATO F-16 fighter jet has tried to approach the Russian defense minister's plane above the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea. The plane was warded off by a Russian Su-27 escorting the minister's aircraft, according to journalists who were on board.

Russian plane was en route to the city of Kaliningrad, a western Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea, where Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu is scheduled to discuss security issues with defense officials on Wednesday.

While one NATO aircraft tried to approach the Russian airplane, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet got in its way and tilted its wings, apparently showing its arms, according to RIA Novosti and TASS journalists who were on board. The F-16 then flew away.

Comment: NATO is currently holding military drills in the Baltic: Increasing tensions: NATO stages first-ever war games in Baltic 'weak spot' to defend from 'Russia threat'

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Info

Saudi King names young son Mohammed bin Salman crown prince, strips eldest of title and post


RT
Wed, 21 Jun 2017 11:26 UTC
Mohammed bin Salman
© Bandar Algaloud / Reuters
Saudi King Salman has named 31-year-old son Mohammed bin Salman crown prince in place of Mohammed bin Nayef, who had previously been first in line to the throne. The King also stripped bin Nayef of his function as interior minister.

The newly announced Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is already the country's defense minister, believed to be the mastermind behind the war in Yemen that has brought the country to the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. He also leads an economic council aiming to boost the Saudi economy, and has made overseas state visits to Russia and the United States.

Bin Nayef was responsible for overseeing security and counterterrorism in Saudi Arabia, and AP reports that he has close ties to Washington.
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Snakes in Suits

Poroshenko's visit to Trump was an epic failure

Adam Garrie
The Duran
Tue, 20 Jun 2017 23:01 UTC
Poroshenko and Trump
Petro Poroshenko's visit to Donald Trump was called a 'drop in' by the White House. It was in reality, more like a 'drop out'.

While many were wondering if somehow the beleaguered, bumbling war criminal leader of the Ukrainian regime Petro Poroshenko could some how convince Donald Trump to change his generally positive views about Russia, the truth is that the meeting could have been described as 'useless' before it even happened.

The truth of the matter is that Trump's Russia policies will not be defined by ideology, it won't be defined by the Russophobia of the fledgling regime in Kiev and it may not even be defined by Donald Trump's own views.
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Document

Pentagon's latest report paints grim picture of Afghanistan in 2017


RT
Tue, 20 Jun 2017 22:54 UTC
US soldiers in Afghanistan
© Ryan Hallock / Reuters
Afghanistan is "at a critical point" in its battle against multiple insurgencies and terrorist groups, the Pentagon has said in a new report to Congress. It also reveals that US and Afghan authorities are seeking peace through talks with the Taliban.

Sixteen years after the US-led invasion aimed at overthrowing the Taliban and denying a safe haven to Al-Qaeda - the group blamed for 9/11 terrorist attacks - Afghanistan is facing a "continuing threat" from as many as 20 insurgent and terrorist networks, in what the US Department of Defense called "the highest concentration of extremist and terrorist groups in the world."
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Snakes in Suits

The real story of Jeremy Corbyn and George Soros

Barbara McKenzie
Barbaramckenzie.wordpress.com
Sun, 18 Jun 2017 18:40 UTC
Jeremy Corbyn
On 12 September 2015 Jeremy Corbyn, as his first act as the new leader of the British Labour Party, addressed a protest in support of refugees, called Solidarity with Refugees. Corbyn stood next to Abdulaziz Alhashemi of Syria Solidarity UK (SSUK), who was draped in a flag representing UK-backed Syrian extremists, on a platform from which Clara Connolly, also of SSUK, had urged a Libya-style no-fly zone.

Syrian Solidarity UK describes itself as 'a network of activists committed to solidarity with the Syrian Revolution'. In practice this means making the case for greater UK involvement in Syria, above all a no-fly zone. SSUK
 claimed a large part of the credit for the March:

Syrian Solidarity UK
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Info

French FM: Paris agrees with Moscow to support Syria's territorial integrity


Sputnik
Tue, 20 Jun 2017 21:39 UTC
Syrian flag in palmyra
© REUTERS/ Omar Sanadiki
French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian said after the meeting with his Russian counterpart that both Moscow and Paris are supporting the territorial integrity of war-plagued Syria.
"First, we intend to fight al-Qaeda and the Islamic State [Daesh] (both banned in Russia). Second, we consider that there is a need to preserve the territorial integrity of Syria. We think that it is necessary to retain the situation when an integral functioning state exists," Le Drian said after holding talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"In parallel, it is necessary both to think and to find a political settlement to the Syrian crisis, which, first, would guarantee the territorial integrity of Syria... and [second, there is a need] to organize a normal, viable transition process," Le Drian added.

Comment: According to this US Senator, Assad would win a new election with 90%: Truth bomb: Washington Senator calls US base in Syria a violation of international law, Assad would easily win new election

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Question

Trump administration contradicts itself on Qatar terrorism support allegations


RT
Tue, 20 Jun 2017 21:35 UTC
Abu Samra border crossing to Saudi Arabia, in Qatar
© Tom Finn / Reuters A view shows Abu Samra border crossing to Saudi Arabia, in Qatar.
The US State Department questioned the motives of Gulf Arab States in their boycott of Qatar, days after president Trump blasted the emirate for its alleged funding of terrorism.
"The more the time goes by, the more doubt is raised about the actions taken by Saudi Arabia and the UAE," said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert at a briefing Tuesday.

"At this point, we are left with one simple question: Were the actions really about their concerns regarding Qatar's alleged support for terrorism or were they about the long-simmering grievances between and among the GCC countries."
The State Department's choice of words - "Qatar's alleged support of terrorism" - appears to contradict President Donald Trump's earlier statement when he said "The nation of Qatar has unfortunately been a funder of terrorism, and at a very high level," adding, "the time has come to call on Qatar to end its funding."
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Info

Here's why Russia hasn't responded to the US shooting down an Iranian drone

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Tue, 20 Jun 2017 21:21 UTC
Iranian drone
Russia will not respond to the shooting down of the Iranian drone with the same strength it responded yesterday to the shooting down of the Syrian SU-22 provided the US remains in its base in al-Tanaf.

The strong Russian reaction to the shooting down of the Syrian SU-22 near Rusafa in northern Syria is unlikely to be matched by a similarly strong Russian response to the US shooting down of an Iranian built drone near the US base in southern Syria at al-Tanf.

As my colleague Adam Garrie has rightly pointed out, this base was established by the US illegally on sovereign Syrian soil without permission from the Syrian government or the UN Security Council. Moreover a senior Russian official - Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov - has today made the same point:
It is absolutely illegal. There is neither a United Nations Security Council resolution nor a request from Syria's legitimate authorities to this effect. It's a principle of international law. We are present there at the request from the legitimate authorities. Any presence, especially military presence, on the territory of a sovereign state is possible only when there is a corresponding resolution of the United Nations Security Council or a request or consent from the legitimate authorities.

Comment: At least one US Senator agrees: Truth bomb: Washington Senator calls US base in Syria a violation of international law, Assad would easily win new election


The Russians nonetheless are most unlikely to respond harshly to this incident, and the location explains why.
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Eye 1

Mexican journalists investigating government corruption and human rights abuses targeted by massive spyware campaign

Russell Brandom
The Verge
Mon, 19 Jun 2017 14:54 UTC
Mexican activists NSO targets
The targets have all been involved in investigating or working on reports of high-level official corruption, or government involvement in human rights abuses.
Some of Mexico's most prominent journalists and activists were targeted by a massive spyware campaign, according to a new report from Citizen Lab. Conducted mostly between August 2015 and July 2016, the campaign included 76 separate spyware-laced SMS messages sent to 11 different targets, including prominent TV journalist Carmen Aristegui and her young son. It's unclear why Aristegui and the others were targeted, although she and many of the other targeted journalists were investigating the "Casa Blanca" scandal, in which Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto is accused of receiving a multimillion-dollar mansion from a favored contractor.

The messages themselves ranged from a simple "message not sent" text to more aggressive attempts, which masqueraded as the US Embassy's visa division or a bereaved friend sending details of a funeral. Some texts even posed as Amber Alerts, claiming to offer details on a missing child. Once clicked, the software exploited a trio of previously disclosed iOS vulnerabilities to silently install itself on the target device.
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Arrow Down

Talks between Theresa May and DUP not going as expected, say DUP sources

Amanda Ferguson
Reuters
Tue, 20 Jun 2017 20:51 UTC
Theresa May
© European Press Agency
British Prime Minister Theresa May's talks on securing the support of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to prop up her minority government are not going as expected, sources in the DUP said on Tuesday.

May is due to launch her program for government on Wednesday but does not yet have the deal she needs to pass it through parliament next week. A snap election intended to strengthen her hand instead left her short of an outright majority and needing the DUP's support.

Talks between the two parties, who are largely aligned on domestic issues and Brexit, have dragged on for nearly two weeks, fuelling deep political uncertainty as Britain begins talks on leaving the European Union.
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