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Donbass and Russia are on the road back home

Adam Garrie
The Duran
Tue, 28 Feb 2017 16:00 UTC
Peeeople in Donetsk
After years of neglect, Russia and the Donbass republics are making important steps in the right direction, that of unity.

Since September of 2015, a floating Russian ruble has been the official currency of the Donetsk People's Republic.

Today, the other republic of Donbass, the Lugansk People's Republic made the same move.

Even prior to today, the ruble was generally the most common currency used in Lugansk in the daily lives of ordinary people.

This is yet another symbolic step towards Russia effectively recognizing the Donbass republics and broadly integrating them into Russian society, whether or not they become constituent members of the Russian Federation in the immediate future.
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Jet1

Trump's proposed $54bn defense increase is more than 80% of Russia's entire military budget

Paul Kaiser
Russia Insider
Tue, 28 Feb 2017 15:48 UTC
defense spending graph
At a meeting of U.S. governors on Monday, Donald "the F-35 is too expensive" Trump described his proposed $54 billion boost in "defense" spending as an integral part of "a public safety and national security budget."

As our friends at the Intercept astutely observed:
That increase alone is roughly the size of the entire annual military budget of the United Kingdom, the fifth-largest spending country, and it's more than 80 percent of Russia's entire military budget in 2015.
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Chess

Trump to Breitbart: Media is not my enemy, I said fake media


RT
Fri, 24 Feb 2017 23:12 UTC
trump
© Aude Guerrucci / www.globallookpress.com
US President Donald Trump has clarified his hostile stance towards the mass media, explaining that what he actually opposes is media that spread "fake news." He also outlined some of the topics he'll touch upon at his upcoming address to Congress.

"I didn't say the media is the enemy—I said the 'fake media'," Trump told Breitbart in an exclusive interview on Monday.

"There's a difference. The fake media is the opposition party. The fake media is the enemy of the American people. There's tremendous fake media out there. Tremendous fake stories. The problem is the people that aren't involved in the story don't know that."

The president branded some of the mainstream media as "fake" when still in the run-up for presidency, and later - after reports that Russia interfered with the election and helped Trump win.
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Network

Why the Turkish Stream Deal Signals Victory in Syria

Richard Brandt
Russia Insider
Tue, 28 Feb 2017 15:49 UTC
Erdogan Putin
© www.globallookpress.com
Gazprom has announced that it has the necessary financing to begin construction of the offshore leg of the Turkish Stream pipeline in the coming months. This is an extraordinary development that signals that Washington's main objectives in Syria have failed.

The Turk Stream deal has been in the works for years, but negotiations with Ankara over the pipeline were halted after Turkey shot down a Russian jet over the Turkey-Syria border in November 2015. Yet, despite Washington's best efforts to sabotage relations between Ankara and Moscow, the pipeline is now being fast tracked. The details:
Turkish Stream connects large Russian natural gas reserves to Turkey's transportation networks. The offshore component of the system, which will go through the Black Sea, will be built by Gazprom. The offshore pipeline will consist of two parallel pipelines, called Blue Stream and New Blue Stream with 15.7 billion square cubic meters capacity.
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Light Sabers

Backstage at the Trump vs. Deep State cage match

Pepe Escobar
Sputnik
Tue, 28 Feb 2017 15:24 UTC
Donald Trump
© REUTERS/ Carlos Barria
The real story behind The Fall of Michael Flynn has been confirmed by a highly informed US insider, who has previously detailed how the Trump presidency's foreign policy will unfold.

According to the insider, which I named "X", "Flynn was removed because he was agitating for a strike against Iran which would have had disastrous consequences. That would have led to Iranian strikes against Western oil supplies in the Middle East, raising Russia's economic power as the oil price would have soared to over $200 a barrel, and the EU would have had to join the Russian-Chinese block, or not be able to obtain sufficient energy to survive. The United States would have been completely isolated."
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Wall Street

More austerity ordered despite UK public services being at 'tipping point'


RT
Tue, 28 Feb 2017 15:10 UTC
Union flag flies in front of the Big Ben
© Toby Melville / Reuters
Government departments have been ordered to find extra spending cuts from their day-to-day budget in order to save £3.5bn by 2020.

David Gauke, the chief secretary to the treasury, sent a letter to all departments of the government, demanding up to six percent cuts in their daily spending in an effort to save £3.5bn ($4.3bn) over the next three years.

Gauke argued that the government's priority is delivering public services "in the most efficient way possible."

"There has been considerable progress, but there is further to go and the whole of government is working together to consider how we can live within our means while delivering maximum value for every pound of taxpayers' money," he added.

The new plans envisage reinvestment of approximately £1bn in "priority areas."
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Dollars

Bill Gates: US not rich enough to give away money for free


RT
Tue, 28 Feb 2017 15:02 UTC
Bill Gates
© Eric Vidal / Reuters
Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates said it's too early to dish out money to needy people, though the billionaire accepts the idea of universal basic income (UBI).

"Over time countries will be rich enough to do this. However we still have a lot of work that should be done - helping older people, helping kids with special needs, having more adults helping in education," he said, responding to users' questions during an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit.
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Jet5

Russia and UAE sign breakthrough military deal

Peter Korzun
Strategic Culture Foundation
Tue, 28 Feb 2017 14:39 UTC
Russian Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker-E fighters
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has signed an outline agreement to buy Russian aircraft. It also plans to implement a joint project with Russia to develop a next-generation fighter that could enter service in seven or eight years.

According to Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov, who led the Russian delegation at the IDEX 2017 exhibition, the UAE is to purchase a batch of advanced Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker-E fighters.

"We signed an agreement of intent for the purchase of the Su-35", Sergei Chemezov, CEO of Rostec Corporation, told Russian news agency TASS. He did not provide details about the deal. A total of 24 Su-35 fighters were sold to China under the first export contract.
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Eye 1

Swedish authorities arrest 'refugee spy' working for unnamed 'foreign power'


RT
Tue, 28 Feb 2017 14:01 UTC
spy shadows man
© Stefan Wermuth / Sputnik
The Swedish Security Service (Sapo) has arrested a man it claims has been spying on Tibetan refugees on behalf of another country, although the identity of his employing nation remains unknown.

Known to authorities "for several years," the unidentified man was arrested on Sunday on charges of "aggravated unlawful intelligence activities," according to a statement from Sapo.

"The security service has been able to see over time how the man acted (sic) and collected information about the Tibetan group in Sweden," the statement reads, adding that the information was passed on to "intelligence operatives working for a foreign power."

Clarification on which "foreign power" was not provided.
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Chess

IOC letter skewers McLaren's 'Russian doping report', implies whistleblower responsible

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Tue, 28 Feb 2017 14:01 UTC
Russian flag olympics
Letter from IOC implies doping conspiracy in Russia work of Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, head of RUSADA, Russia's WADA approved dope testing lab, rather than Russian government.

As my colleague Sergey Gladysh has reported, the International Olympic Committee ("the IOC") has circulated a letter which has quietly skewered Professor McLaren's report on the doping scandal in Russian sport, and in which it confirms WADA's admission that the McLaren report does not provide sufficient evidence in individual cases against Russian athletes such as would stand up in a court of law.
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