EID AL-FITR. Interesting video that shows Russia is also a rather Muslim country. The Chief Mufti supports Putin, by the way. (For those of you who think it's some evil scheme cooked up by Orthodoxy).

MH17. Watch this BBC interview. Shootdown by Buk "most credible scenario" but also looking at Buk fired "from another region, another place" and scenario of "an air-to-air missile." Can only mean 2) Buk fired from the Kiev side or 3) Kiev aircraft shot it down. Somebody's lost control of the narrative. We are told by a Ukrainian official that the report will be published 10 August but not made public. (If scenarios 2 and 3 are really being considered, why is Ukraine even part of the investigation?) Retired US int professionals again call on Washington to release what it has. Simply put, here's all you need to know: the absence of evidence is the evidence.

A French bailiff accompanied by a police convoy on Thursday seized a building belonging to a Russian real estate agency, despite a diplomatic protest, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported from the scene.

The building is the property of Goszagransobstvennost, a Russian agency that manages residential and non-residential Russian state-owned real estate property abroad. It was seized in order to compel Russia to repay billions of dollars in compensation to shareholders of the now-defunct oil firm Yukos.

The international news agency Rossiya Segodnya, which leases the building under an open-end contract, said it was not directly involved in the seizure since it had no real estate in Paris.

When Russia's enemies impose the Cold War logic on international diplomacy and threaten with the Third World War it is important to remember that such conflict would be the last in human history, State Duma Chairman Sergey Naryshkin says.Russia builds its defenses to prevent wars

"World War III would be the last for the humanity. And strengthening of Russia's defense potential, including the budgetary decisions passed by the State Duma is done only for one purpose, which is to prevent the war," Naryshkin stated in a major interview with Izvestia daily, published on Thursday in connection with the anniversary of Russia's joining WWI on Serbia's side.

At the same time, the Duma chief promised that Russia would always defend the interests of its allies and "close people," but not by military means. "We will do this through pressing for strict observation of the international law by others, not by violating it. We want peoples to decide their own destiny on their own land," he said.

Kiev political analyst suggests firing on the French Embassy with mortars and grenade launchers.

That's the suggestion of Ukrainian political analyst Oleg Soskin after the visit of French parliamentarians to the Crimea.

"Today, in Ukraine, there are thousands of Frenchmen. If they all want to make trouble for themselves, please let them try again to come to Crimea. If it interests them so much, our guys could set mortars or grenade launchers at the French Embassy. People could lose patience and seize that embassy, as they may have a hard time tolerating the insolence they just committed, daring such a thing.

Neither Russia nor Donbass freedom fighters had anything to do with downing MH17. Not a shred evidence suggests it.

Plenty points to Washington and Ukraine culpability. They had clear means, motive and opportunity - the key determinants for initiating a criminal proceeding. They and partnered nations want Moscow and rebels blamed for their crime.

The Obama administration conspired with Malaysia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia and Ukraine for unprecedented Security Council authorization for a tribunal to absolve culpable parties responsible for the incident and declare innocent ones guilty by accusation - a kangaroo process to be US manipulated and controlled to assure the outcome Washington wants.

Russia acted responsibly - vetoing what never should have been proposed in the first place - a thinly veiled scheme to avoid justice.

Eleven nations voted "yes" (America, Britain, France, Chad, Chile, Jordan, Lithuania, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria and Spain). Three abstained (China, Venezuela and Angola).

Russia's veto defeated the draft resolution. Envoy Vitaly Churkin criticized its backers for submitting a measure with no chance for passage - rejecting compromise language Moscow proposed.

Military expert of the German CSU party Florian Hahn called for the withdrawal of German Patriot missiles from Turkey due to attacks carried out by the government forces against the Kurds, DWN reported.

The expert believes that Germany and Turkey have less and less in common due to attacks of the Turkish forces against the Kurds in northern Iraq.

The news spread quickly when federal prosecutors announced on Tuesday night that FBI agents had foiled an Islamic State-linked plot to bomb a beach in Key West, Florida.

The alleged attacker, 23-year-old Cuban-American Harlem Suarez, also known as Almlak Benitez, hardly looks the part of an Islamic State fighter. In a selfie posted on Facebook, Suarez has closed-cropped brown hair and tattoos that cover his right arm, left shoulder and chest. He wears a Batman T-shirt and a sleeveless hoodie.

The U.S. government alleges that Suarez conspired with an FBI informant and undercover agents to bomb a stretch of beach in Key West. The FBI affidavit supporting the criminal complaint portrays Suarez as a bumbler who lived with his parents — not an uncommon description for targets of FBI counterterrorism stings.

Well, he's done it again! Joaquín Guzmán Loera, better known as "El Chapo", head of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel and formerly the most-wanted billionaire drug lord in Mexico (and elsewhere), escaped from a Mexican maximum security federal prison outside Mexico City a few weeks ago. In 2001, Guzman escaped from another maximum security federal prison.

The story this time goes that a 50cm diameter hole was found in his cell, protected from the prying eyes of security cameras by a blind spot that blocks portions of the adjoining bathroom from view. Then via a "hi-tech" tunnel, Guzmán descended 19 meters to reach a 1.5km underground corridor that ended in a small house just outside the prison. The corridor was fully fitted with electric cables and illuminated by light bulbs, which Guzmán apparently removed on his way out. Incredibly, this 1.5km tunnel was also installed with a rail and a motorbike. For 'human rights reasons', the security bracelet Guzmán was wearing, which he ditched just before descending into the tunnel, didn't have a GPS tracking system.

In apparent blunder after blunder, despite the alarm being raised minutes after he vanished from camera view, it took 18 minutes for a guard to arrive at his cell. Security alerts to the nearest airport were issued 5 hours after he was last seen and alerts to other nearby airports were issued almost 15 hours later.

As luck would have it, the prison's layout is exactly the same - down to the very last detail - as the other prison Guzmán broke out of in 2001. There are only 3 identical prisons in Mexico, and Guzmán has been in 2 of them. If he's ever arrested again, I wonder where he'll end up. Curiously, the US government requested Guzmán's extradition to the US on trafficking charges just two weeks prior to his escape.

Israeli forces have been accused of carrying out war crimes during a day of "carnage" in the Gaza Strip that has been called Black Friday.

A report by Amnesty International on alleged atrocities in Rafah during last year's conflict with Hamas claims Israeli forces killed at least 135 Palestinian civilians, including 75 children, following the capture of a soldier.

Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, 23, was with a unit searching for tunnels between Gaza and Israel when a fight started with militants and he disappeared on 1 August 2014.

Philip Luther, director of Amnesty International's Middle East programme, claimed that the "relentless and massive bombardment" that ensured in residential areas of Rafah was a direct response to the capture and displayed a "shocking disregard for civilian lives".


"They carried out a series of disproportionate or otherwise indiscriminate attacks, which they have completely failed to investigate independently," he added.

"This report presents an urgent call for justice that must not be ignored.

"The combined analysis of hundreds of photos and videos, as well as satellite imagery and testimony from eyewitnesses, provides compelling evidence of serious violations of international humanitarian law by Israeli forces which must be investigated."

The Kabul government is preparing for a big advance in northern Afghanistan.

National Security Forces have been involved in intense clashes with the Taliban in 7 provinces.

At the moment security forces have gained round only in Faryab province. The Taliban has now started a new offensive in the Badakhshan province by taking control of the "Kala" military base, seizing several checkpoints and capturing 100 pro-government fighters. Islamic State has also participated in clashes at the Afghanistan-Turkmenistan border.