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Leaked meeting notes reveal Denmark and other EU members may soon be forced into the euro


RT
Thu, 25 May 2017 15:13 UTC
The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, Denmark
© NielsDK / Global Look PressThe Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, Denmark
Even though Denmark has already voted against dropping the krone for the euro, the European Commission may coerce the country to adopt the European single currency, reports German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

The notes leaked from last week's meeting in Strasbourg revealed the EU Commission wants all 27 members of the bloc to adopt the euro by 2025.

Officials from the EU are reportedly seeking to draw up a euro budget able to incorporate a fixed tax payment from all the member states. The raised cash is for investment across the bloc.
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Info

Bahrain, Egypt block Al Jazeera and others for 'supporting terrorism and lies' amid Qatar news 'hack'


RT
Thu, 25 May 2017 15:06 UTC
Al Jazeera news agency
© Brendan McDermid / Reuters
Egypt and Bahrain have blocked news websites, including those run by Qatari-based state funded Al Jazeera. Cairo has blocked 21 websites, claiming they support "terrorism" and published "lies."

The move comes on the heels of similar actions by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, in response to statements made against the Saudis that were published by the Qatar state news agency after an alleged hack.

Egypt banned as many as 21 websites on Wednesday, including the main website of Al Jazeera, Reuters reports, citing MENA news agency and security sources.

"A senior security source said 21 websites have been blocked inside Egypt for having content that supports terrorism and extremism as well (as) publishing lies," MENA reported, adding that the websites would face legal action.

The websites affected are believed to be affiliated with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood or financed by Qatar, Reuters said citing its sources.
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Shopping Bag

Russia and Iran sign oil-for-goods trade agreement


RT
Thu, 25 May 2017 14:58 UTC
Iran port
© Reuters
Moscow and Tehran have signed a deal, under which Iran will sell crude to Russia in exchange for products, according to Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh.

While sanctions against Iran have been lifted, banking restrictions on trade in US dollars remain, making it difficult to sell oil on the open market.

"The deal has been concluded. We are just waiting for the implementation from the Russian side. We have no difficulties; we signed the contract, everything is coordinated between the parties. We are waiting for Russian oil companies to send tankers," he said, as quoted by Russian news agencies RIA and TASS.

The agreement was initially reached in 2014 when Iran was under Western sanctions over its nuclear program.
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Yoda

Jeremy Corbyn straddles the politics and ethics of war during campaign

Josh White
Counterpunch
Tue, 23 May 2017 00:00 UTC
Jeremy Corbyn
© Garry Knight | CC BY 2.0
Jeremy Corbyn recently laid out his vision for British foreign policy at Chatham House. The speech drew on the idea of an 'ethical foreign policy' to allow Corbyn room to oppose wars without ruling out the use of force in all cases. This was important to dispel the misconception that Corbyn is a 'pacifist'. The phrase itself is a somewhat woolly concept borrowed from the late Robin Cook.

As foreign secretary in the early years of New Labour, Cook wanted to reshape Britain's alliances around human rights, the rule of law and democracy. In practice this didn't amount to much, the UK continued to back dictators and support US wars, but now the government would use a new humanitarian pretext to distinguish between 'good wars' and 'bad wars'.

Long before he ever ran for Labour leader, Corbyn was criticizing Cook's position as incoherent. He did so on the basis of his own consistent anti-war stance, opposing UK involvement in the Kosovo war. So it's somewhat ironic for Corbyn to co-opt these words. But there is more to this foreign policy rethink than compromise.
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Star of David

Israeli Minister calls for Assad's assassination after US compares Syrian government to Nazi regime

Steven MacMillan
New Eastern Outlook
Thu, 25 May 2017 14:39 UTC
Yoav Galant
For the duration of the Syrian proxy war, Israel has been a key player in the destabilization of the Syrian state. From providing medical support to directly arming the rebels, Israel's dirty role in supporting the opposition has been clear for all to see for years now. Despite these efforts to force regime change in Damascus however, the Syrian government still stands, with the Syrian army increasingly gaining the advantage in the conflict. Considering this, it comes as no surprise that many in Israel (and in other parts of the world) are getting more and more desperate with the lack of regime change, and are now advocating for more radical steps to be taken.

One such individual who is pushing for a more hawkish approach is the Israeli Housing and Construction Minister (who also happens to be a retired IDF general), Yoav Galant, who recently called for the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, to be assassinated. Speaking at an event in Jerusalem on the 16th of May, Galant said that "the time has come to assassinate Assad," with his remarks coming a day after the US State Department accused the Syrian government of torturing and killing detainees on mass, then using a crematorium to burn the remains. As the Times of Israel reported in an article titled, Israeli minister: 'The time has come' to kill Bashar Assad:
'"The reality of the situation in Syria is that they are executing people, using directed chemical attacks against them, and the latest extreme — burning their corpses, something we haven't seen in 70 years," Galant said, in a reference to the Holocaust. The minister said Assad's actions in Syria amount to nothing less than a "genocide," with "hundreds of thousands killed."

"In my view, we are crossing a red line. And in my view, the time has come to assassinate Assad. It's as simple as that," said Galant, who previously served as the head of the IDF's Southern Command. Galant likened the assassination of Assad to cutting off the "tail of the snake." After that, he said, "we can focus on the head, which is in Tehran."'
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Light Saber

Russian FSB detains 4 members of ISIS-linked network planning attack on Moscow public transport system


RT
Thu, 25 May 2017 14:46 UTC
russian police
© Sputnik
Four members of an ISIS-linked terrorist network, who were managed from the territory of Syria and were preparing attacks on the Moscow public transport system, have been detained, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) reports.

"The Russian Federal Security Service has detained four members of a terrorist group that consists of citizens of Russia and countries of the Central Asian region on May 25, 2017 in Moscow. They were preparing terrorist attacks on Moscow transport infrastructure using improvised explosive devices," the FSB said in a statement.

The group was part of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorist organization and was managed from the territory of Syria, the statement adds.

Comment: Common or garden jihadi (or any other type) terror plots are fairly easily identified and stopped by responsible security services. State-sponsored or facilitated jihadi terror plots, on the other hand, are by their nature, unstoppable.

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Light Sabers

Israel alters intelligence-sharing rules with US after Trump shared intelligence with Lavrov


Sputnik
Wed, 24 May 2017 14:21 UTC
trump netanyahu
© REUTERS/ Jonathan Ernst
Israel has changed its intelligence-sharing rules with the United States after Trump leaked sensitive intelligence to Russian officials, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said in an interview on Wednesday.

"I can confirm that we did a spot repair and that there's unprecedented intelligence cooperation with the United States," Liberman told Army Radio, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Trump discussed classified information during a meeting at the White House with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on May 10.
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Quenelle

Thousands flood Tokyo streets to condemn Japan's controversial new 'anti-conspiracy' bill


RT
Thu, 25 May 2017 12:48 UTC
Protests Japan anti-conspiracy bill
© Ruptly
Thousands of Japanese protesters flooded the streets of Tokyo to condemn Japan's lower house's approval of a so-called "anti-conspiracy" bill designed to crack down on organized crime and punish those planning to commit "serious crimes" against the state.

On Tuesday, Japan's House of Representatives, approved the so-called "conspiracy bill," which lists 277 new types of offenses which lawmakers say threaten Japanese national security.


Comment: See also: Anti-conspiracy bill advances in Japan despite surveillance fears

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Snakes in Suits

'Confusing u-turn': Trump breaks vow avoiding Middle East entanglements


Sputnik
Thu, 25 May 2017 14:30 UTC
Donald Trump in Riyadh
© REUTERS/ Jonathan Ernst
US President Donald Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia that ended up in signing of a colossal arms deal with Riyadh has shown that the American leader is making a "spectacular and confusing U-turn" in the Middle East policy, violating his campaign vows to avoid the entanglements in the region, according to political observers.

Trump in trying to form a partnership with Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to counter Iran is violating his vow to avoid Middle East entanglements, analysts told Sputnik.

"Trump sees himself brokering a grand bargain in the Mideast among Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Israel against Sunnite Islamist terror and Iranian-backed Shiite terror," Ohio Northern University Assistant Professor of History Robert Waters said.
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Attention

Macron to extend state of emergency in France, strengthen security in response to Manchester attack


RT
Thu, 25 May 2017 12:42 UTC
France state emergency
© Philippe Wojazer / Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron has requested that parliament extend the state of emergency until November 1. The president also called for the introduction of legislation to boost security in the face of the terrorist threat.

"The President of the Republic has decided that the [French] Parliament should extend the state of emergency until 1 November," an Elysee statement said on Wednesday, after Macron's meeting with the Defense and National Security Council.

Macron also demanded that the government prepare a "legislative text" which proposes strengthening security amid "the terrorist threat outside a state of emergency," the statement ad
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