Puppet MastersS


Laptop

France recruits cyber army as politicians talk up Russia hacking threat


RT
Fri, 07 Apr 2017 09:15 UTC
Computer screen
© Silas Stein / www.globallookpress.com
Students at French technical colleges have participated in an annual cyber defense exercise that serves as a recruitment drive for the country's rapidly increasing hacker army. Politicians say the so-called "fourth army" is necessary to stave off hacking attacks from China, Iran and Russia.

A sum of €1 billion (about US$1.06 billion) has been dedicated to upping the number of specialized army hackers from 100 in 2011 to 3,200 by 2019. An additional 4,400 "digital reservists" will also be enlisted.
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Attention

US attack on North Korea 'may be an option,' says retired US general


RT
Fri, 07 Apr 2017 09:05 UTC
missile launch
© KCNA / Reuters
In the wake of recent nuclear missile tests conducted by North Korea, retired four-star US General Jack Keane says that bombing the country's nuclear facilities "may be the only option left."

Keane told Fox News that, if the US was facing an imminent attack from a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), President Donald Trump would have to act preemptively.

"We're rapidly and dangerously heading towards the reality that the military option is the only one left when it comes to getting North Korea to denuclearize and not weaponized [intercontinental ballistic missiles]," Keane told Fox News.

"The Trump administration cannot accept a nuclear launch," he said. "We cannot rely on our missile-defense system to defeat it and expose the American people to a nuclear attack."
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MIB

Germany investigates 20 'Turkish spies' complicit in snooping on Gulen movement


RT
Thu, 06 Apr 2017 08:55 UTC
Demonstrators wave Turkish flags in front of the Reichstag
© Hannibal Hanschke / Reuters
Twenty Turkish citizens are being investigated over "intelligence activities" against supporters of dissident Fethullah Gulen. Ankara accuses the cleric of masterminding the failed 2016 military coup attempt.

"At present, a total of 20 suspects are being investigated for intelligence activity on behalf of the Turkish government, as well as for spying on followers of the Gulen movement," read an official government response to a request for information filed by Sevim Dagdelen, a German Left Party MP, cited by Die Welt.

President Recep Tayip Erdogan's government accuses Gulen, a Turkish dissident cleric living in the US, for orchestrating the failed military putsch in July last year, in which over 200 people were killed. During a crackdown on suspected coup plotters, tens of thousands of Gulen followers were fired from jobs in the civil service, the military or media, with many more imprisoned.
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Info

'Ultimatum': EU paints Hungary as 'villain' in migrant dispute, trying to pressure court


RT
Fri, 07 Apr 2017 08:43 UTC
Viktor Orban
© Remo Casilli / Reuters Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban
Budapest has lashed out at Brussels following a report claiming Hungary will be pressed into accepting its share of migrants in accordance with the EU redistribution scheme, with threats of being booted out of the block.

Pal Volner, State Secretary at the Hungarian Justice Ministry, said in a statement the report was an attempt by Brussels to put pressure on the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) ahead of the upcoming proceedings, in which Hungary, Slovakia and Poland will be trying to overturn the migrant quota mechanism.

The statements "grossly violate" the court's independence and are designed to "entice" it "into the migrant business," Volner said.
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Jet1

Plan to service F-35 jets in Turkey raises serious security concerns


RT
Thu, 06 Apr 2017 08:34 UTC
Royal Air Force F-35B
© Defenceimagery.mod.uk / Wikipedia
Plans to repair British F-35 jets in Turkey are causing serious concerns, given the country's wavering commitment to NATO and recent failed military coup.

While Turkey is an ideal jumping off point for Middle East operations and is part of what the US terms a "global support network" for the top-of-the-range fighter jets, its current domestic issues have spooked MPs and defense experts.

Scottish National Party (SNP) MP George Kerevan told the BBC that, despite US assurances, "the UK should have options in the event of a diplomatic crisis with Turkey."

"I want to know what alternative arrangements are in place if it became impossible to have the engines overhauled," he said.

The UK currently carries out major F-35 repairs at home.
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Info

EU hits China with new 'anti-dumping' duties on steel imports, Beijing pledges retaliation


RT
Thu, 06 Apr 2017 08:21 UTC
steel worker
© Jianan Yu / Reuters
The European Commission has hiked 'anti-dumping' duties on imports of hot-rolled flat steel products from China already in place. The decision has angered Beijing, which has promised to respond.

The duties on the Chinese steel products have been increased to 22.6 percent from 13.2 percent following a complaint from EU producers ArcelorMittal, Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp.

According to the European producers, China sells steel at a loss due to overcapacity.
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Stormtrooper

Syria's 'moderate (headchopping) rebels' to form a new alliance

Mariya Petkova
Al Jazeera
Wed, 05 Apr 2017 04:07 UTC
terrorist groups syria
© Ammar Abdullah/ReutersUS funding for rebel groups in northern Syria has been partially restored, opposition sources tell Al Jazeera.The goals of the new unified command is to consolidate military control over Idlib, the western part of Aleppo and parts of Latakia
A new military alliance of rebel groups in northern Syria aims to consolidate military control over Idlib province, the western part of Aleppo province and parts of Latakia province, according to a Free Syrian Army (FSA) commander.

Two sources from FSA have confirmed to Al Jazeera that the new military operation room, under discussion, will be supported by the "Friends of Syria" - a coalition of the US, Turkey, Western European and Gulf states - which have supported the Northern Front's operations room, known by its Turkish acronym MOM.

The commander said that the rebel forces will fight against the Syrian regime in northern Syria. He denied media reports that their goal would be to attack Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham, a Salafist alliance dominated by Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (JFS, formerly known as al-Nusra Front) which formally renounced its affiliation to al-Qaeda in 2016.

The FSA commander confirmed that the funding and logistical support for rebel factions in northern Syria which the CIA froze in February have been restored to a certain extent.

Comment: "Rebel" infighting in Syria is a ruse to eliminate truce signers and consolidate Ahrar al-Sham as new "moderates"

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Snakes in Suits

Best of frenemies: Presidents Trump and Xi to tackle trade, military tensions


RT
Thu, 06 Apr 2017 12:01 UTC
Trump and Xi
© CNN.comTrump meets Xi
Chinese President Xi Jinping is heading to the US for a first meeting with Donald Trump. The Republican president launched numerous barbs at Beijing during his election campaign, and since being sworn in has confronted China on issues such as North Korea. Xi will meet Trump at the president's Mar-a-Lago retreat in Palm Beach, Florida, late in the afternoon on Thursday. After a formal dinner with their wives, the leaders will kick off a summit continuing into Friday, when a working lunch is scheduled.

While on the campaign trail Trump didn't hold back on China, which he accused of stealing American jobs and playing dirty to get trade advantages. He threatened to slap import taxes on Chinese goods and take other drastic steps unless Beijing offers a "better deal" to America.

Chinese officials preferred to dismiss Trump's statements as rhetoric aimed at voters, rather than a declaration of future policies. Xi's visit is likely to test how far the US president will actually go now that he is in the White House.


Comment: See also:

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Blue Planet

Mar-a-Lago: President Trump and President Xi meet for the first time, develop friendship


RT
Fri, 07 Apr 2017 01:17 UTC
Trump Xi
© Carlos Barria / ReutersChinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump
President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to his Florida home for a two-day summit, where the leaders will have a series of discussions on North Korea, trade policies and more.

In their first face-to-face meeting, Xi and Trump met at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's estate in Palm Beach, on Thursday. Trump had told reporters on Air Force One that he would be focusing their talks on North Korea and trade. Trump repeated that he would be willing to act unilaterally to rein in North Korea, but said that he thinks "China will want to be stepping up" to help the US, according to the White House.

A week ahead of the meeting, Trump tweeted that the subject of trade with China would make for a "very difficult" meeting because of the "massive trade deficits."

After arriving at the resort, the leaders were joined by their wives at a long table for dinner, where Trump joked with reporters about their progress, saying: "We've had a long discussion already, and so far I have gotten nothing, absolutely nothing."

"We have developed a friendship," Trump added. "I think long term we are going to have a very, very great relationship and I look very much forward to it."

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Vader

Washington, not Russia, is tearing apart NATO over Syria

Rudy Panko
Russia Insider
Mon, 03 Apr 2017 14:58 UTC
nato turkey U.S.
Washington, not Russia, is tearing apart NATO
The U.S. is already making contingency plans for a seemingly inevitable split with Turkey over the fate of northern Syria

Washington's plans for an autonomous northern Syria governed by the Kurds will almost certainly ruin U.S. relations with Turkey. Actually, the U.S. seems to be counting on it.

Rex Tillerson's visit to Turkey last week made it clear that the U.S. is on board with Kurdish ambitions in northern Syria — and now Washington is preparing for an inevitable falling out with Ankara.

The U.S.'s decision last week to seize Tabqa airfield before the Syrian Arab Army could reclaim it served an additional strategic purpose: securing an alternative base of operations in anticipation of losing access to Turkey's Incirlik Air Base.

Comment: More short-sighted tactics from the psychopathic Empire.

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