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Chess

A man everyone wants to meet: Putin and May agree to personal meeting, speak of mending ties


RT
Wed, 10 Aug 2016 13:26 UTC
British Prime Minister Theresa May (L), Russian President Vladimir Putin
© Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin and British PM Theresa May have agreed to meet to discuss a wide range of topics, from the economy to terrorism. Speaking by phone Tuesday, the leaders hinted there is room for improvement in soured relations.

According to a Kremlin statement, Moscow and London are dissatisfied with the two countries' stalled bilateral cooperation, in political and economic spheres, and are ready to revitalize work "in several dimensions."

Enhancing aviation security by means of closer cooperation between respective secret services will be one of the key pillars of the mooted rapprochement.
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Attention

Russian FSB foils terrorist attacks in Crimea plotted by Ukrainian intel agents


RT
Wed, 10 Aug 2016 13:06 UTC
Federal Security Service (FSB) officers
© Sputnik
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has prevented terrorist attacks in Crimea that were planned by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's intelligence agency, the FSB said.

The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (HUR MOU) was preparing to target the Russian peninsula's critical infrastructure, the FSB announced on Wednesday.

A group of infiltrators was discovered near the town of Armyansk in northern Crimea near the Ukrainian border in a special FSB operation over the weekend, the agency said, adding that fire was exchanged as the terrorists were being apprehended.

One FSB officer was killed.

Comment: Of course Ukraine denies the allegations:
A spokesman for Ukrainian defense intelligence denied Russia's accusation on Wednesday that special forces had attempted an armed incursion into Crimean territory.

"This is fake information," a spokesman told Reuters.


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Info

Turkish coup organizers planned to appoint former air force commander as president


Sputnik
Wed, 10 Aug 2016 13:00 UTC
Turkey flag during coup attempt
© AP Photo/ Emrah Gurel
The masterminds behind the unsuccessful coup in Turkey planned to appoint former Turkish Air Force Commander Gen. Akin Ozturk the next Turkish president, local media reported Wednesday, citing sources in the prosecutor's office.

According to the investigation, the coup organizers had a list of the individuals who were to take up certain positions in the country, the Hurriyet Daily News reported, adding that Ozturk, a member of the Supreme Military Council, was to become the country's president.

Gen. Akin Ozturk was arrested alongside more than 20 senior Turkish officers on suspicion of having links to the failed military coup in Turkey.
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Eye 1

The U.S. must be ecstatic: Theresa May offends Beijing by delaying joint Hinkley Point nuclear project

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Wed, 10 Aug 2016 12:22 UTC
theresa may
© Remo Casilli | Reuters
In her first big error as Prime Minister, Theresa May needlessly offends Beijing.

The last few days have provided a further example of the dynamism and effectiveness of Russian foreign policy during the Putin era. Over the course of just three days Putin has met or will meet with the four leaders of four key powers on Russia's southern flank: Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Moreover he will do so in three different cities (Baku, St. Petersburg and Moscow). Along the way Putin has also had a meeting with his security chiefs almost certainly to discuss the situation in Aleppo.

By contrast in August the West's leaders all seem to have taken themselves off on leave. US President Obama, never the most engaged of leaders, plays golf, leaving all the hard work in the last months of his Presidency to his hapless Secretary of State John Kerry. German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave a press conference at the end of July but has otherwise vanished into invisibility. French President Francois Hollande is attending the Rio Olympics.

Meanwhile in Britain new Prime Minister Theresa May's first foray into international diplomacy has been disastrous, with her decision to put the Hinkley Point nuclear reactor project in which China is a major investor on hold pending a detailed review on the very eve of its launch being the cause of huge anger in Beijing.

Comment: Further reading:

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Eye 1

Ukrainian military continues to bombard Donetsk, Lugansk

Chris Covert
South Front
Wed, 10 Aug 2016 12:51 UTC
lugansk
© RIA Novosti / Evgeny BiyatovA shopping center damaged by artillery shelling in Lugansk.
Ukrainian military units fired more than 500 artillery rounds at separatists forces in Donetsk on Monday, according to Russian language news accounts.

Ukrainian media says that rebel forces attacked a number of locations on Donetsk, totaling including small arms attacks, 47.

Both sides accuse the other of preparing for an offensive.

According to data supplied by the Donetsk ministry of defense, Ukrainian forces fired a total of 117 each 152mm and 122mm artillery shells, and 401 each 120mm and 82mm mortar shells onto rebel positions.

Locations along the line of contact struck by Ukrainian artillery include Spartak, the Petrovsky district of Donetsk city and near Gorlovka.

In the south, Ukrainian artillery hit Dokuchaevsk, Kominternovo and Sahanka.
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Info

Boots on the ground: US Special Operations troops aiding Libyan forces in major battle against Islamic State

Missy Ryan and Sudarsan Raghavan
The Washington Post
Tue, 09 Aug 2016 12:47 UTC
A fighter from the pro-government forces on the front line in Sirte, Libya
© Lorenzo Tugnoli for The Washington PostA fighter from the pro-government forces on the front line in Sirte, Libya.
U.S. Special Operations forces are providing direct, on-the-ground support for the first time to fighters battling the Islamic State in Libya, U.S. and Libyan officials said, coordinating American airstrikes and providing intelligence information in an effort to oust the group from a militant stronghold.

The positioning of a small number of elite U.S. personnel, operating alongside British troops, in the coastal city of Sirte deepens the involvement of Western nations against the Islamic State's most powerful affiliate.

U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a mission that has not been announced publicly, said the American troops were operating out of a joint operations center on the city's outskirts and that their role was limited to supporting forces loyal to the country's fragile unity government.

Robyn Mack, a spokeswoman for U.S. Africa Command (Africom), said small numbers of U.S. military personnel would continue to go in and out of Libya to exchange information with local forces, but she declined to provide details.
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Quenelle - Golden

Putin & Erdogan aim to 'fully restore relations' while NATO watches in horror

Alex Christoforou
The Duran
Wed, 10 Aug 2016 12:22 UTC
putin erdogan
© Reuters
The real bromance is not between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, but may be between Erdogan and Putin.

As the US media and Hillary Clinton campaign float the ridiculous idea of a Trump-Putin bromance in order to scare up American voters into supporting "corrupt Hillary" and her war monger ways, real deals are being made between real leaders.

Joke is on NATO, Obama, and Hillary...the real bromance is not between Trump and Putin, but may be between Erdogan and Putin.

One thing is for sure, as Turkey and Russia turn a new page in what is a complicated relationship...NATO, Obama, and the neo-liberal/neocon war hawks are scratching their heads trying to figure out how Vladimir outsmarted them once again.

Comment: Further reading:

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Info

'Senior' Turkish naval officer missing and seeking asylum in US


RT
Wed, 10 Aug 2016 12:18 UTC
Turkey and US flags
© Reuters
A Turkish military officer is reportedly seeking asylum in the US, in a move that could further strain relations between the two countries. The officer was in the US on a NATO assignment and wanted sanctuary after being recalled to Turkey.

An official at the Turkish embassy in Washington told Reuters that Turkish Navy Rear Admiral Mustafa Ugurlu is missing after he failed to report to the authorities. Turkey issued a detention order against him last month.

"On July 22, on that day he left his badges and his ID at the base and after that no one has heard anything from him," the official said, also speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Turkish official added that he was unaware that Ugurlu had requested asylum in the US, while mentioning that two other low-level naval officers had been recalled to Turkey from the US.
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Stormtrooper

Hundreds of Royal Marines will join SAS to train New Syrian Army and fight ISIS


RT
Wed, 10 Aug 2016 12:10 UTC
UK Royal Marines
© UK MOD
Britain will deploy hundreds of elite troops to the Middle East to train Syrian rebel forces in the fight against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), it has emerged.

In a bid to break the deadlock in the war-torn nation, Royal Marines will join the SAS to provide the New Syrian Army (NSA) with advanced training in neighboring Jordan.

After the training has finished, NSA fighters will return to battle alongside SAS forces in Syria.

"Tours have extended and more are going to the region," the Sun quoted an unidentified senior source as saying.

"The government is throwing absolutely everything at this, money and manpower, everything is being hurled at the problem."

The NSA is a rebel force that mainly consists of Syrian Arab Army defectors.

Comment: All this without the invitation from the Syrian government.

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Stop

Japan's new neo-Nazi defense minister Tomomi Inada

Elaine Lies and Kiyoshi Takenaka
Reuters
Wed, 03 Aug 2016 01:23 UTC
tomomi inada
A screen shot of the website of a neo-Nazi party, the National Socialist Japanese Workers Party, shows photos of leader Kazunari Yamada posing with Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Tomomi Inada (upper photo) and internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appointed a conservative ally as defense minister in a cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday that left most key posts unchanged, and he promised to hasten the economy's escape from deflation and boost regional ties.

New defense minister Tomomi Inada, previously the ruling party policy chief, shares Abe's goal of revising the post-war, pacifist constitution, which some conservatives consider a humiliating symbol of Japan's World War Two defeat.

She also regularly visits Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine for war dead, which China and South Korea see as a symbol of Japan's past militarism. Japan's ties with China and South Korea have been frayed by the legacy of its military aggression before and during World War Two.

Asked if she would visit Yasukuni on August 15, the emotive anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War Two, Inada sidestepped the query.

"It's a matter of conscience, and I don't think I should comment on whether I will go or not," she told a news conference.

Comment: Hmm... This Inada?
Last week photographs of Japan's newly appointed National Public Safety Commissioner socializing with members of the country's most virulent racist group, Zaitokukai, were brought to light in an expose by Japan's leading weekly magazine, Shukan Bunshun. In U.S. terms, it would be the equivalent of the attorney general getting caught chumming around with a Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan. This week it was reported that another cabinet member received donations from them, and that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe himself may have ties to the staunchly anti-Korean organization.
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The latest news of links between the Japanese ruling coalition and unsavory characters comes just after another scandal involving neo-nazi links to two other cabinet members made headlines worldwide.
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She isn't the only one close to the Zaitokukai in the current cabinet. According to the magazine Sunday Mainichi, Ms. Tomomi Inada, Minister Of The "Cool Japan" Strategy, also received donations from Masaki and other Zaitokukai associates.
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Inada made news earlier this month after photos circulated of her and another female in the new cabinet posing with a neo-Nazi party leader. Both denied knowing the neo-Nazi well but later were revealed to have contributed blurbs for an advertisement praising the out-of-print book Hitler's Election Strategy. Coincidentally, Vice-Prime Minister, Taro As, is also a long-time admirer of Nazi political strategy, and has suggested Japan follow the Nazi Party template to sneak constitutional change past the public.


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