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Heart - Black

Monument in memory of WWII Soviet era soldiers desecrated in Vienna, again


RT
Mon, 16 Jan 2017 20:09 UTC
Monument
© Russische Botschaft Wien / YouTube
A monument in memory of thousands of Soviet era soldiers - who died while liberating Vienna from Nazi occupation - has again been desecrated, prompting the Russian embassy in Austria to file a strong protest to Austrian authorities.

The foreside of the Heroes' Monument of the Red Army located at Vienna's central Schwarzenbergplatz square was daubed with dark-red dye, the Russian Embassy in Vienna said in a statement, while condemning the incident.

It also stressed that it sent a protest note to the Austrian Foreign Ministry and demanded that authorities "take immediate measures to eliminate the damage, to find those responsible [for desecration] and bring them to justice as well as to prevent similar incidents in the future."

Comment: See also: Monument to Polish WWII massacre victims blown up and desecrated with fascist symbols in Ukraine

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Crusader

German Left leader echoes Trump: Dissolve NATO, create new military alliance with Russia


RT
Tue, 17 Jan 2017 15:54 UTC
Sahra Wagenknecht
© Wolfgang Kumm / www.globallookpress.com
A military security system, which would include Russia, should be set up instead of NATO, Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of the German Left party said in an interview, echoing Trump's recent statements on NATO.

"NATO must be dissolved and replaced by a collective security system including Russia," Wagenknecht told Germany's Funke media group on Tuesday. NATO has received its fair share of criticism in the German media following US President-elect Donald Trump's recent interview published by Bild, in which he called NATO an "obsolete" organization.

"I said a long time ago that NATO had problems. Number one it was obsolete, because it was designed many, many years ago," Trump said on Sunday.

"We're supposed to protect countries. But a lot of these countries aren't paying what they're supposed to be paying, which I think is very unfair to the United States."
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Info

Lavrov thinks it's right to invite US to Syria talks in Astana, Iran disagrees


RT
Tue, 17 Jan 2017 15:39 UTC
general view shows government-controlled areas of Aleppo, Syria
© Abdalrhman Ismail / ReutersA general view shows government-controlled areas of Aleppo, Syria.
Moscow believes representatives from the US and UN should be invited to the Astana meeting on Syria, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says.

"We're now preparing the Astana meeting. We think it would be the right thing to invite the representatives of the UN and the new US administration to the meeting, taking into account that the meeting will take place on January 23, as planned," Lavrov said at a press conference summing the results of the Russian diplomacy in 2016.

Russia hopes the incoming Trump administration will accept the invitation.

"We're counting on the new [US] administration accepting this invitation and being represented by experts on any level they consider possible. It will be the first official contact during which we could begin discussing stepping up the efficiency of fighting terrorism in Syria," Lavrov added.


Comment: Trump Team Ready to Consider Official Invitation to Astana Talks on Syria
The administration of US President-elect Donald Trump will consider an official invitation to attend Syria crisis settlement talks in Kazakhstan but will not take part until it forms a vision on how to resolve the crisis, a source close to the administration told Sputnik on Tuesday.

The intra-Syrian negotiations are expected to be held next Monday, January 23, in Astana, followed by Geneva talks under UN auspices on February 8. "The Trump Administration will consider the invitation to negotiations in Astana after its official receipt, and will not participate in any negotiations until the formation of a clear US vision of a resolution to the Syrian crisis," the source said.

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Comment: But there is disagreement on the US invitation:

Tehran Against US Participation in Astana Talks on Syria - Zarif
Tehran is against the US participation in the upcoming Astana talks on January 23, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tuesday.

"We are opposed to US presence [at the Astana meeting]," Zarif said as quoted by the Tasnim news agency.

"We have not invited the US and are against its presence," he said.


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Jet5

Death throes of empire? US Air Force increases weapons airdrops to proxy army in Syria


RT
Tue, 17 Jan 2017 15:26 UTC
Syrian rebel fighters
© Khalil Ashawi / Reuters Rebel fighters walk carrying their weapons on the outskirts of the northern Syrian town of al-Bab, Syria January 15, 2017.
A growing number of opposition groups in Syria are getting increased weapons and ammunition supplies from the US Air Force to tackle Islamic State, according to US media reports citing the country's military.

The weapons are intended for opposition forces closing in on IS's self-proclaimed capital Raqqa in Syria, USA Today reports.

The "expanded" airdrops are "helping ground forces take the offensive to [the Islamic State] and efforts to retake Raqqa," Gen. Carlton Everhart, commander of the US Air Mobility Command, is quoted by the news outlet.

Comment: In other words, they're delivering as many weapons and equipment to ISIS as they possibly can before Trump becomes president.

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Gift

Good riddance! Obamas to ditch DC, head to Palm Springs vacation after Trump inauguration

Warner Todd Huston
Breitbart
Mon, 16 Jan 2017 18:36 UTC
Obamas in Palm Springs
© TMZ
Hollywood celebrity gossip website TMZ says that immediately after Donald Trump's inauguration, Barack and Michelle Obama will fly to Palm Springs, California by way of one last flight on Air Force One at the cost of the American people.

The website claims that upon the completion of Trump's oath of office ceremony, the plane designated as Air Force One will wing its way westward with the Obamas aboard.

Of course, despite that it is the plane designated as Air Force One, it won't be called Air Force One during this flight because Obama will no longer be president.

That same day, the Obamas will also take their last Marine One helicopter ride to Andrews Air Force Base to board the plane. Of course, Marine One also won't officially carry the president's designation for that last trip, but it is the same publicly-owned conveyance regardless.

TMZ asked local officials in California and the White House if the rumors are correct but was not able to confirm the details.
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Bandaid

China scrapping 85 coal plants in pivot to green energy


RT
Tue, 17 Jan 2017 15:16 UTC
Chinese man wearing a respiratory protection mask
© Jason Lee / ReutersA man wearing a respiratory protection mask walks toward an office building during the smog after a red alert was issued for heavy air pollution in Beijing's central business district, China, December 21, 2016.
The world's largest producer of emissions China has canceled several dozen planned and under construction coal power projects with a total capacity of over 100GW, Greenpeace reports.

Instead, Beijing will invest 2.5 trillion yuan (about $365 billion) into renewable energy.

However, the curb on coal power plants has only been implemented in 13 regions of the country, and Greenpeace expects more action from the Chinese authorities.

The decision will reportedly create over 13 million jobs in the sector, and renewable power capacity will include wind, hydro, solar and nuclear power, contributing to about 50 percent of new electricity generation by 2020.
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Attention

Theresa May wants to leave single market, protect rights of EU nationals post-Brexit, Pound has biggest intraday rally since 2008


RT
Tue, 17 Jan 2017 15:03 UTC
One pound coins spilling out of clip purse with Union Jack design
© Getty Images
Prime Minister Theresa May has confirmed the UK will leave the EU single market during the Brexit process in a major speech on Tuesday.

Other priorities include removing Britain from the jurisdiction of EU courts and imposing controls on immigration.

Single Market

May said that the UK would definitely be leaving the single market, telling the audience: "This agreement should allow for the freest possible trade in goods and services between Britain and the EU's member states.

"It should give British companies the maximum freedom to trade with and operate within European markets, and let European businesses do the same in Britain.

She said, citing the need for clarity, that her plans "cannot mean membership of the single market."
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Stock Up

Trump Effect: GM to invest $1 billion in US factories and create 1,000 jobs after critical Trump tweet


RT
Tue, 17 Jan 2017 14:23 UTC
General Motors headquarters, Detroit, Michigan
© Rebecca Cook / ReutersGeneral Motors headquarters, Detroit, Michigan
General Motors plans to announce a billion dollar investment in its US factories. President-elect Donald Trump has criticized US automakers for taking American jobs abroad.

The move will add around 1,000 jobs, according to a person familiar with the matter as quoted by Reuters.

The source added that the measure is part of the regular business process, not a political step. The corporation aims to reequip its factories to build new models. GM also wants to take some extra steps to boost US employment, including employing new engineers.

Any investment the company might disclose has been long planned and was not a response to Trump's criticism, said GM General Counsel Craig Glidden on Monday, as quoted by the Wall Street Journal.

The automaker has over 40 manufacturing sites in the US and announced $2.9 billion in domestic investment last year. However, GM has recently said it would cut nearly 3,300 jobs at three factories.

The company also plans to cut some 2,000 jobs when it ends the third shift at its Lordstown, Ohio and Lansing, Michigan plants in January. About 1,300 jobs will be axed from its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant in March.

Trump has campaigned hard on bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US. He has been attacking GM and other producers for assembling cars in Mexico. The President-elect promised to impose increased import taxes on GM for manufacturing some of its Chevrolet Cruze compact vehicles in Mexico.
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Chess

Is Obama out to start war with Russia before Trump takes office?

Justin Raimondo
AntiWar.com
Tue, 17 Jan 2017 14:29 UTC
obama
© Asahi Shimbun/Getty
Is the Obama administration out to provoke a military conflict with Russia in the days before Donald J. Trump takes the oath of office?

In July of 2014, the US announced the start of "Operation Atlantic Resolve" in response to the vote by Crimea - which took place nearly three years ago — to rejoin the Russian Federation. Now the Obama administration has announced that 6,000 more US troops will be deployed, initially in Germany and Poland, and eventually fanning out to Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania, and Slovakia. Accompanying them will be 144 Bradley fighting vehicles, 87 M1A1 tanks, heavy artillery, and aircraft.

Europe hasn't seen such an increase in the US troop presence since the fall of the Soviet Union. Coming as it does with mere days left in Obama's term of office, this action invites all sorts of speculation: however, one need not speculate as to whether this is a political move. Clearly it is: the idea is to box in President-elect Trump, who has expressed his desire to improve relations with Russia.
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Stock Down

Cash crisis causes IMF to lower forecast for India's economic growth


RT
Tue, 17 Jan 2017 14:28 UTC
Indian Rupees
© Wikimedia Commons
The International Monetary Fund said India's growth slowed last year, with the economy falling back behind China. The slowdown is attributed to the Indian government's demonetization which has caused a cash crisis in the country.

According to the IMF World Economic Outlook, India's economic growth stood at 6.6 percent in 2016 compared with China's 6.7 percent. In 2015, Indian growth was 7.6 percent.

The IMF said it had lowered forecasts for India growth in the current fiscal year due to "temporary negative consumption shock" of the currency invalidation.

"In India, the growth forecast for the current (2016-17) and next fiscal year were trimmed by one percentage point and 0.4 percentage point, respectively, primarily due to the temporary negative consumption shock induced by cash shortages and payment disruptions associated with the recent currency note withdrawal and exchange initiative," the IMF said.

Comment: Further reading:

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