Puppet MastersS


Gold Bar

Central Bank of Russia becomes world's top gold buyer


RT
Tue, 29 Mar 2016 17:24 UTC
Russian gold
© Ilya Naymushin / Reuters
The Central Bank of Russia bought 356,000 ounces of gold in February becoming the largest buyer of the precious metal among the world's central banks, business daily Vedomosti reports, quoting the IMF data.

Last week, Russian foreign reserves increased by another $5.8 billion to $386.9 billion. The international reserves consist of foreign exchange, special drawing rights (SDR) holdings, the reserve position in the IMF and monetary gold.

In June 2015, the First Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Dmitry Tulin said the regulator intends to increase Russia's international reserves to $500 billion within three to five years.

The Central Bank had previously been spending the reserves to prop up the ruble. In November 2014 the regulator switched to a floating exchange rate and started increasing the reserves which reached $510.5 billion in early 2015.

The IMF has not yet included China in its February statistics; however the People's Bank of China reported it had bought about 320,000 ounces of gold that month.

The largest seller was Turkey which sold about 1.2 million ounces, more than seven percent of its gold reserves.

Canada, which is in the top 10 of gold producers, has sold off its reserves maintaining a symbolic 100 ounces.

In February, Canada's Finance Department spokesman David Barnabe said the government has a long-standing policy of diversifying its portfolio by selling physical commodities (such as gold) and instead investing in easily tradable financial assets.
Read More...
Nuke

Despite warnings of aging reactors, Ukraine to boost nuclear energy production


RT
Wed, 30 Mar 2016 17:22 UTC
Khmelnitsky Nuclear Power Plant
© Stringer / ReutersA general view of Khmelnitsky Nuclear Power Plant near Khmelnitsky, Ukraine
Australia and Ukraine are about to agree delivery of uranium for Ukrainian nuclear power plants, according to Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. But experts question the safety of Ukraine's plans to increase nuclear energy production.

The contract will be signed before the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington. "Ahead of the Summit I will sign a cooperation agreement to supply uranium to Ukraine for use in power generation. This complements similar agreements Australia has with countries including Canada, China, France, India, Japan, ROK, Russia, the UK and the USA," Bishop said in a statement.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said Kiev is going to increase the share nuclear has in the country's energy sector.

"Just a year ago, nuclear power accounted for 48 percent and was steadily falling. In less than a year we have increased it to 56 percent," he said in January.

Ukraine is heavily dependent on nuclear energy, with 15 reactors generating more than half of its electricity. Kiev gets most of its nuclear services and nuclear fuel from Russia.

Germany's Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks has warned Ukraine against expanding nuclear energy, saying it should understand the dangers. Germany is planning to shut down its last nuclear plant by 2022.
Read More...
Dollars

Financial cost of war for Syria exceeds $200bn, says Assad


RT
Wed, 30 Mar 2016 17:21 UTC
Syria destruction
© Abdalrhman Ismail / Reuters
Syrian President Bashar Assad says the estimated economic loss to the country from the war is $200 billion. He said rebuilding contracts will primarily be given to Russia, China and Iran.

"The economic damage and damage to infrastructure exceeds $200 billion. Economic issues can be resolved when the situation in Syria stabilizes. But the reconstruction of infrastructure requires a lot of time," Assad said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

Assad said that many Western countries that were against Syria will try to get profitable contracts for rebuilding work, but Damascus will lean to its proven allies - Russia, China and Iran.

"I suppose that a lot of countries that were against Syria, I mean first of all Western countries, will try to direct their companies to take part in this process. However, for us in Syria there is absolutely no doubt that we will ask friendly states first," Assad said.

"If you were to pose this question to any Syrian citizen, his answer, politically and emotionally, would be that we welcome, first of all, the companies from the three countries, primarily from Russia," said the Syrian president.

According to Assad, Syria has hundreds of infrastructure projects in different areas and specializations for Russian business.

The conflict in Syria began in March 2011 and has taken the lives of more than 220,000 people and according to UN data has left millions displaced.
Read More...
Star of David

Israeli minister proposes putting pre-teens in jail


RT
Mon, 28 Mar 2016 17:04 UTC
children on fence
© Mohammed Salem / Reuters
Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked wants to introduce a bill to punish terrorists under the age of 14, which would also see them serve jail time. The move comes after two Palestinians aged 12 and 13 stabbed a railway worker in Jerusalem in November.

If the legislation is passed, the courts would be able to sentence children under the age of 14 to prison sentences if they are convicted of murder or manslaughter. The bill has already won the approval of the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, which backed the move on Sunday.

"Unfortunately, terrorism does not have an age, and today there are no punishments matching the cruel reality we face," a spokesperson from Israel's Ministry of Justice told RT.
Read More...
Brick Wall

Ukraine bans all Russian films released since 2014


RT
Wed, 30 Mar 2016 17:24 UTC
ukraine movie theater
© Valery Melnikov / Sputnik
The Ukrainian parliament has banned all Russian films released after January 1, 2014, saying the move is aimed at improving "national security."

The ban is an amendment to the Law on Cinematography that was adopted by the Ukrainian parliament in 2015. Some 237 Rada (Ukrainian parliament) deputies voted in favor of the new measure.

The original version of the law banned Russian films that fall within the military genre made from 1991, which were dubbed as "propaganda" by the Ukrainian authorities. Now, the fresh amendment bans all films produced or showcased after 2014 in all genres.

More than 430 Russian films and TV series fall under the new measures.

Comment: In Ukraine, just like in the West, anything that shows the truth must be labeled propaganda. Russian films might actually portray the reality of Ukraine, and the psychopaths running Ukraine can't have that! They hide behind the Orwellian "threat to national security" excuse in order to censor their citizens. Ukraine is becoming more and more like the West every day.

Read More...
Light Sabers

Pentagon has no choice but to admit Russia played a constructive role in fight against ISIS and ceasefire in Syria


RT
Wed, 30 Mar 2016 17:19 UTC
pentagon
© Jason Reed / Reuters
Russia is playing a "constructive" role in Syria's ceasefire, the Pentagon said, having noted "developments" on the ground. It encouraged Moscow to "continue to focus" on Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), while persuading Assad to stop the war.

"It is clear that they have focused more of their military attention on ISIL, we think that's a good thing," Pentagon spokesperson Peter Cook said during a briefing in Washington DC. "They said initially that was their primary goal, was to go after ISIL in Syria and they are doing so now."

Cook added that the US sees "those developments" on the ground, but also hopes that the ceasefire in Syria would "ultimately lead to a resolution of the Syrian Civil War."

In this regard, Cook stressed that peace in Syria depends on Bashar Assad and the changes that he as the President is required to make.

Since the Syrian conflict unfolded five years ago, the US has been insisting that Assad has to step down as a part of a peaceful resolution to the military conflict, which has given way to a jihadist insurgency.
Read More...
Attention

US orders families of U.S. troops and diplomats to leave Turkey

Dan Lamothe
The Washington Post
Tue, 29 Mar 2016 16:25 UTC
Soldier at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey
© Senior Airman Krystal Ardrey/Air Force
The United States will withdraw virtually all family members of U.S. troops and diplomats from its installations in Turkey, U.S. officials said Tuesday, citing security concerns as the campaign against the Islamic State continues.

The military decision was announced on the blog for U.S. European Command, which also instituted travel restrictions in Brussels last week after a terrorist attack killed 38 people, including three suicide bombers. At least four Americans were killed and about a dozen more were wounded, including an Air Force officer who was stationed in Europe and members of his family.

"The decision to move our families and civilians was made in consultation with the Government of Turkey, our State Department, and our Secretary of Defense," Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, the commander of European Command, said in a statement. "We understand this is disruptive to our military families, but we must keep them safe and ensure the combat effectiveness of our forces to support our strong Ally Turkey in the fight against terrorism."
Read More...
Take 2

Turkey pressuring Germany to remove satirical TV clip critical of Erdogan - TV producers respond by adding subtitles


RT
Wed, 30 Mar 2016 16:11 UTC
erdogan mocking video
© extra 3 / YouTube
Ankara reportedly pressurized Berlin into removing a satirical clip aired by NDR earlier this month. However, the show's producers decided to amplify the message and released English and Turkish subtitled versions of the video criticizing the Turkish President.

Following the broadcast of the satirical piece titled "Erdowie, Erdowo, Erdogan" on an NDR show titled "Extra 3" on March 17, German Ambassador Martin Erdmann was summoned several days later to officially explain "in length" the reasons for the broadcaster's behavior.

The Turkish government has reportedly ordered the deletion of the satirical video from the "Extra 3" YouTube account following the initial diplomatic exchange.

"We demanded that the programme be deleted," an anonymous Turkish diplomat told AFP.

On Tuesday, the Foreign Office in Berlin said that Erdmann has been called in once again. However, during the meeting the German ambassador made it clear to the Turkish side that Germany is home to freedom of speech which it will protect.

Read More...
Airplane

Who's watching the watchers? 'Internal threats at airports greater than external ones'


RT
Wed, 30 Mar 2016 15:44 UTC
Airbus A320
© Yiannis Kourtoglou / ReutersUnidentified people leave the hijacked Egyptair Airbus A320 at Larnaca Airport in Larnaca, Cyprus, March 29, 2016
We should view any type of hijack or an attack on a nation as a form of terrorist attack, whether it is personal or anything else, says Ricardo Baretzky, President of the European Centre for information and Security.

Egypt Air flight MS181 was hijacked on its way from Alexandria to Cairo and forced to land in Larnaca in Cyprus on Tuesday. According to the Cypriot Foreign Ministry, the hijacker, Seif Eldin Mustafa, was arrested and all the passengers on the plane were released.

RT: The hijacker released all the passengers from the plane. What do you read into that?

Ricardo Baretzky: It is very difficult to say without the exact facts. But I can say this: we should see any type of hijack or attack on any nation as a form of terror attack, whether it is for any personal aim or anything else. Any attack on any nation is a type of terrorist attack today.

RT: You're a security expert. How could this have happened?

RB: First of all, security services at all border controls - not only in Europe, but also in all the neighboring countries, and all the countries that go to Europe or from Europe, Egypt and other countries in the northern part of Africa or West Africa, those airports and border patrols need to understand that security measures have to be on an international level. And what has happened over the last few years? We have seen a shift between international level security measures dropping in some areas in Africa and not stepping up the security measures as they should be doing.
Read More...
Snakes in Suits

Caveat emptor: Why you shouldn't trust Trump's anti-imperialist rhetoric

Finian Cunningham
RT
Tue, 29 Mar 2016 15:21 UTC
trump
© Jim Bourg / Reuters
He's open to doing business with Putin, overhauling NATO and socking it to the Saudis - these are just some of the novel foreign policy stances of Republican presidential contender Donald Trump. But, fittingly for the business magnate, buyer beware is the watchword.

Tycoon Trump has brilliantly branded himself as the ultimate "outsider". His profane irreverence for "the establishment" in Washington has resonated keenly with America's white, blue-collar population - who feel economically marginalized by Wall Street corporate lobbyists and their politician-fixers on both sides of the aisle in Congress.

The former reality TV star, whose brash catch-line "You're fired!" seems appropriately radical, has also made some surprisingly favorable impressions in the realm of international relations.

He warned the New York Times at the weekend that he would consider ditching oil purchases from Saudi Arabia if the House of Saud didn't pull its weight in terms of paying for American military support or putting more of their own boots on the ground in regional conflict zones.

"If Saudi Arabia was without the cloak of US protection, I don't think it would be around," said Trump, with a tone of exasperation towards the oil-rich kingdom that registers with many ordinary Americans.

Comment: Looking at Trump's public comments as a whole, he seems to be more clued in to the national pulse regarding foreign policy and is using that to his advantage in the presidential elections. That doesn't mean he's going to actually radically change US foreign policy. He is a politician after all.

Read More...