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Guaido's envoy 'uninvited' by Brazil as reports of possible talks with Maduro circulate


Sputnik
Sat, 01 Jun 2019 15:57 UTC
guaido
© Reuters/Ivan Alvarado
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is pretending to be its president, speaks during a news conference in Caracas, Venezuela May 9, 2019
The snub came as local Brazilian media reported that a number of former military advisers want to pursue a dialogue with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela's de jure ambassador continues to fulfil his functions in the Brazilian capital Brasilia.

Brazil has revoked an invitation to the envoy for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido to present her diplomatic credentials, the envoy commented on Friday, with Brasilia expected to rule on whether to accept them or not.

Guaido's ambassador, Maria Teresa Belandria, dismissed the belief that the invitation withdrawal could indicate there was some change in the Brazilian government's stance. However, she confirmed to journalists that she was "uninvited".

Comment: Guaido and his US backers are rapidly losing steam as the Norway "talks" drag on. Brazil and other countries in the region are waking up to this reality.

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Pistol

Tehran warns the 'first bullet' fired in the Gulf will make oil prices jump above $100


RT
Sun, 02 Jun 2019 15:49 UTC
Iran oil field
© Essam Al-Sudani / Reuters
A full-fledged war with Tehran will tank the US economy because the fighting will immediately make the price of oil skyrocket, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader warned.

US leaders will not go to war against Tehran if they care for the economic wellbeing of their country, Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, aide and advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, told Fars News Agency.

"The first bullet fired in the Persian Gulf will push the oil prices well above $100. It will be unbearable for the US and Europe, as well as American allies like Japan and South Korea."

Comment: An in depth analysis of the Iran situation: The Geography of War: No Iraq...? No Iran!

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No Entry

Twitter blocks Dutch politician Geert Wilders: Latest victim of social media bias


RT
Sun, 02 Jun 2019 15:42 UTC
geert wilders
© Facebook / Geert Wilders
Dutch MP Geert Wilders
Right-wing Dutch MP Geert Wilders has slammed Twitter for its alleged anti-conservative bias after his page got briefly blocked. The ban comes as the social media giants face accusations of silencing voices on the right.

Twitter's decision to temporarily suspend Wilders' account has drawn the ire of the Dutch politician, who accused the platform of displaying a clear bias against him while tolerating almost anything his opponents do on the social media.
"Twitter often tolerates death threats against me, but not a factual tweet by me about a colleague. Madness!"
Wilders, who is known for his staunch anti-Islamist stance and relentless criticism of religion in general, has a sizeable audience on Twitter with the number of his followers amounting to some 811,000, making him one of the most popular Dutch politicians on social media, second only to Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Comment: The ban policy of the various social media companies is visibly skewed in the direction of conservatives.

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Stop

India refuses to compromise on 'national interests' for petty US trade benefits


RT
Sun, 02 Jun 2019 15:36 UTC
Indian businessmen pray in front of their record-keeping books in worship to the Hindu deity of wealth goddess Lakshmi
© Reuters /Amit Dave
Indian businessmen pray in front of their record-keeping books in worship to the Hindu deity of wealth goddess Lakshmi.
India will not sacrifice its economic development for petty trade concessions, the Ministry of Commerce stated after the US accused New Delhi of restricting access to its markets and annulled its preferential trade status.

"India, as part of our bilateral trade discussions, had offered resolution on significant US requests in an effort to find a mutually acceptable way forward," the ministry statement said. "It is unfortunate that this did not find acceptance by the US."

"India... shall always uphold its national interest in these matters. We have significant development imperatives and concerns and our people also aspire for better standards of living. This will remain the guiding factor in the Government's approach."

Comment: We shall see how long India's refusal will last: India obeying US sanctions on Iranian and Venezuelan oil, hoping for no further escalation

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Info

New US Ambassador to Uzbekistan: You just don't wanna know

Martin Berger
New Eastern Outlook
Sun, 02 Jun 2019 15:20 UTC
Abdulaziz Kamilov and Daniel N. Rosenblum
© Anvar Ilyasov
On April 9, 2016, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov received the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central Asia of the United States of America Daniel N. Rosenblum paying a visit to Uzbekistan.
The ever increasing influence of Russia and China in Central Asia is keeping the United States fairly agitated. Predictably enough, over the last couple of years Washington has noticeably stepped up its efforts to dominate the region through both economic and military means.

In this context, the emphasis that the US placed on developing its ties with Uzbekistan deserves a separate mention. The amount of efforts invested in deepening bilateral ties has been examined in much detail by the American analytical company Stratfor, that is often being referred to as the shadowy CIA. Unsurprisingly, all this hustle hasn't been undertaken all for nothing, as out of all the countries of the former Soviet block Uzbekistan is by far the strongest. That is precisely why Washington wants both Moscow and Beijing out of this republic as soon as possible. It is said that it's going to try to revive its economic ties with Tashkent in spite of the ever growing number of investments committed by Russia and China into the development of Uzbek economy. At the same time, Stratfor makes no big secret out of the fact that the United States will once again try ruin every agreement, union or association across the region that will not be benefiting its foreign policy.
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Info

EU election fiasco: Head of German Social Dems and Merkel's coalition partner to step down


RT
Sun, 02 Jun 2019 15:02 UTC
Andrea Nahles
© Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters
Andrea Nahles.
Andrea Nahles said she will resign as the leader of Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD). It comes a week after the establishment parties took a big hit, losing the combined majority in the EU elections.

Nahles announced that she will step down as SPD leader and the head of its group in the national parliament on Tuesday.

Some local media cited sources saying that Nahles is also considering giving up her seat in the parliament and quitting politics altogether.

Writing in a farewell letter to her colleagues, she said that she does not believe there is enough support for herself anymore.

"The discussions... and the large amount of feedback from the party have shown me that there is no longer support for me in holding these offices."
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Eye 2

Pentagon chief says US done 'tiptoeing' around China, but did it ever?


RT
Sun, 02 Jun 2019 14:18 UTC
USS Theodore
© US Navy / Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Anthony J. Rivera / Reuters
The USS Theodore Roosevelt sails in the Malacca Strait. April 2018.
Acting US Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan vowed to quit "tiptoeing" over Beijing in the South China Sea after the Pentagon repeatedly sent warships and B-52 bombers near Chinese borders.

"We're not going to ignore Chinese behavior and I think in the past people have kind of tiptoed around that," Patrick Shanahan told the audience at an event in Singapore on Saturday. It happened a day after he held talks with his Chinese counterpart, General Wei Fenghe, and came out of the meeting accusing Beijing of trying to "destabilize" the region.

The Pentagon chief blasted Chinese military sites on the disputed reefs and islets in the South China Sea as a "toolkit of coercion" and "overkill," promising that Washington will not ignore the increasing Chinese presence there.

Comment: Surrounding countries with military bases is defense and encroaching on maritime borders with warships is "innocent" when viewed from the warped 'war is peace' perspective in Washington:

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Megaphone

Trade war & Taiwan: Chinese defense minister vows to 'fight to the end, at all costs'


RT
Sun, 02 Jun 2019 01:15 UTC
China's aircraft carrier
© Reuters / stringer
FILE PHOTO: China's aircraft carrier Liaoning takes part in a military drill
Beijing will fight to the end to protect its national interests both economically, amid the trade war with the US, and militarily, if any outside force dares to challenge the One China policy and split Taiwan from the mainland.

The People's Liberation Army will have no choice but to protect Taiwan at all costs should the US or any other outside force dare to split the island from the mainland, Defense Minister Wei Fenghe told delegates of the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit, a day after his American counterpart tried to muster an international coalition against China's growing might in the Indo-Pacific.

"No attempts to split China will succeed," the defense chief said. "Any interference in the Taiwan question is doomed to failure."

"China must be and will be reunited"

Comment: See also:

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Bad Guys

Israeli air raids on Syria kill 3 soldiers, injure 7


RT
Sun, 02 Jun 2019 00:50 UTC
israel raid syria
© FILE PHOTO Reuters / Bassam Khabieh
Syrian air defense systems have been activated against "enemy targets" in the southern Damascus countryside, Sana reports. Earlier, the IDF claimed two projectiles were launched from Syria towards northern Israel.

Multiple explosions were heard in the sky just outside the Syrian capital late Saturday evening after "hostile air targets" emerged from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights, state media said. According to the report, Syrian air defense systems successfully intercepted a number of "missiles."

Following the initial raid, several more rockets were fired towards the eastern Quneitra countryside from the direction of Israel, killing at least three Syrian soldiers and injuring seven other servicemen, a military source told Sana.

Comment: See also:

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Bad Guys

Canada's trade agreement with Israel violates international law - UN Rapporteur


Middle East Monitor
Fri, 31 May 2019 16:15 UTC
Michael Lynk
© [Alhadath24/Facebook]
Michael Lynk, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories
Canada's updated trade agreement with Israel violates international law, the UN Special Rapporteur for the [occupied] Palestinian territories, Professor S. Michael Lynk, has said in an article published by the Australian news site, The Conversation.

Commenting on legislation known as Bill C-85 - the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act - which received royal assent on Monday, Lynk said that it lacks "a human rights provision, which would commit both parties to uphold international human rights and humanitarian law." The Act also allows goods and services originating on illegal Israeli settlements to enter Canada without any tariffs.These "glaring" omissions, said Lynk, not only violate international law but also Canadian law.

The article, which was co-written with Alex Neve, the Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada, explained that Canadian foreign policy and Ottawa's own legislation "has long recognised the Israeli settlements as illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention."

Comment: See also:

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