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© Reuters
The EU has voiced alarm over the latest anti-Russia sanctions bill, passed by the US House of Representatives on Tuesday. The President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker warned the new measures could harm energy security on the continent.
The trade restrictions against Russia were included in a bill, which also counters so-called aggression from Iran and North Korea.
If President Donald Trump approves the US sanctions, they will punish companies with ties to Russia's energy sector.
Comment: There is a lot of news on why these new sanctions are a very bad idea:
- When is the World going to impose sanctions on America?
- Austrian chancellor: Washington's new Russian sanctions 'absolutely unacceptable'
- Interfering in foreign elections, anyone? US slaps sanctions on Venezuela... for holding elections!
- New sanctions against Russia? Bring it on!
- No more! New anti-Russian U.S. sanctions prompt German business lobby to urge EU action
© Siegfried Layda / Getty Images
Speaking to ARD television, Brigitte Zypries warned of a trade war between the European Union and the United States.
"There is a possibility of counter-sanctions because this is envisaged by the WTO (World Trade Organization)," she said, adding that a trade war would be "very bad."
She also said that new US sanctions may harm German companies and hamper Berlin's ties with Washington.
Comment: German opposition to the latest round of anti-Russian sanctions is understandable given the threat to Germany's robust trade with Russia. German exports to Russia were recently forecast to grow by 20% this year:
The Eastern Committee of the German Economy expects growth in exports to Russia to double this year despite all the political and economic hurdles. It also opposes new US sanctions against Russia, saying they will hurt German businesses.See also: No more! New anti-Russian U.S. sanctions prompt German business lobby to urge EU action
"Earlier we expected this year's growth in exports would be ten percent compared with 2016," the committee's executive director Michael Harms told journalists on Thursday in Berlin, adding "now we believe the growth rate will come at 20 percent."
In previous years, the committee has reported a steady decline in German exports to Russia due to Western sanctions which threatened thousands of jobs in the country. It said that within the EU, the German economy had paid the highest price for the crisis with medium-sized enterprises most affected.
© ReutersAn Iraqi soldier walks through the ruins of Mosul
The Iraqi soldier looks out from his tiny three-walled room across a wasteland of rubble that crumbles steeply down to the banks of the Tigris River and contemplates the last days of the savage fight against the Islamic State (IS) group.
"We killed them all," he says quietly. "Daesh, men, women and children. We killed everyone."
What remains of this part of Mosul's Old City, where IS militants made their last stand, and what lies beneath betrays the horrific final days of the battle.
Hundreds of corpses lie half-buried in the broken masonry and rubble that was once a bustling, historic quarter. The stench of decaying flesh, which comes fast in the 50C summer heat, overwhelms the senses.
© Luke MacGregor / Reuters
Wednesday's "landmark" decision marked a victory for the public sector trade union Unison, which had waged a four-year legal battle to overturn the government's introduction of the fees.
The court unanimously agreed the fees were unlawful because they "prevent access to justice."
There has been a "dramatic and persistent fall" in the number of tribunal cases since the fees of up to £1,200 (US$1,560) were introduced, judges said. Wednesday's decision will mean from now on, claimants will not have to pay to bring a case against their employer.
© Bobby Yip / ReutersA Foxconn factory in the township of Longhua in China's southern Guangdong province.
Taiwan-based Foxconn, the world's biggest contract manufacturer, which also builds parts for Apple, is expected to invest $10 billion in the state of Wisconsin. The company will produce LCD screens for high-tech electronics.
© I-Images/Global Look Press
Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday to confirm that the ban on transgender service personnel would be reinstated.
He said this was on the grounds that the military must be focused on their mission and "cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail."
There are reportedly around 15,000 transgender people serving in the US military, while the UK is estimated to have just 10.
British military chiefs were quick to share their opposition to a similar move in the UK.
© FacebookRaymond Liddy, the son of G. Gordon Liddy, was arrested Tuesday for possession of child porn.
Raymond Liddy pleaded not guilty after being charged in San Diego federal court and was placed on administrative leave by the attorney general's office, according to the Union-Tribune.
Liddy was arrested Tuesday and released in lieu of $100,000 bond, the Union-Tribune reported. He has been fitted with GPS monitoring while under house arrest.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a tip earlier this year that someone had uploaded an image that could be child porn, according to the criminal complaint obtained by the newspaper.
Authorities traced the activity to Liddy's home, where investigators uncovered photos on a computer and thumb drive.
© REUTERS/ Ueslei Marcelino
In early May, Maduro announced his decision to convene the National Constituent Assembly in a bid to amend the acting constitution. The opposition regarded the president's decision as an attempted coup, resulting in an escalation of already fraught tensions. The elections of the members of the Constitutional Assembly are scheduled for Sunday.
"Venezuela is being exposed to bullying by the world media besieging [the country]. [They] spread lots of false versions, lots of lies. This is what we call 'fake news' today, isn't it? The era of post-truth [has come]," Maduro told the RT broadcaster.
Comment: Also see this article on the fake news propagated against Venezuela: 'Shelves are fully stocked': Venezuela's 'food crisis' myth revealed
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz's (D-FL)
Imran Awan is the name of the subject in question. The Capitol Police launched a probe, where he's been accused of "serious, potentially illegal, violations on the House IT network." He also provided technical assistance to other Democratic members of Congress. It was a family affair as well. As Jenn noted over the weekend, his two brothers, along with two of their wives, also worked for members of Congress. Imran moved out of his house in Virginia when he found out he was under investigation last February. He rented the home to a Marine Corps veteran and his wife, a naval officer, who found hard drives that they tried to destroy. The FBI now has possession of those hard drives. Jenn added that Imran tried to enter the home to retrieve the hard drives, though the Marine refused entry.
On Monday, Imran was arrested trying to leave the country at Dulles airport
Comment: RNC Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel also brought attention to Wasserman Schultz's role in all this:
"[Wasserman Schultz] kept him on her staff. He was a taxpayer-funded government employee until yesterday when she finally fired him," McDaniel said during a Fox Business Network interview on Wednesday. "We need to figure out why he's under criminal investigation and we're not hearing that across the country right now."According to the Daily Caller, Imran "repeatedly tried to retrieve the smashed drives", and Wasserman Shultz "threatened a police chief with 'consequences' if he continued to investigate a laptop that was used by Imran."
"We have to get to the bottom of this, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz has obstructed at every level on something that affects potentially our national security," she continued. "We are not hearing the Democrats talk about it at all. Where's Debbie Wasserman Schultz?"
Hmmm. What was on those drives?
See also:
- DNC staffer Awan arrested at Dulles airport hires long-time Clinton lawyer
- Wasserman-Schultz IT aide Awan arrested while attempting to flee country, charged with bank fraud
- FBI seized crushed hard drives from home of Wasserman-Schultz's IT aide
- Caught on tape: Wasserman Schultz threatens Capitol police chief for investigating her IT staff's crimes
Comment: See also: James Corbett: Our Leaders Are Psychopaths - An Introduction to Political Ponerology (VIDEO)