India is set to diversify economic ties with Russia as new deals on the digital economy, nuclear energy, and space are expected to be sealed in September during Prime Minister Modi's visit, India's ambassador to Russia told RT.

The diplomat made the remarks during a major Russian economic forum, currently being held in Saint Petersburg. In an interview with RT, Bala Venkatesh Varma, who was appointed India's ambassador to Russia in August 2018, hailed "time-tested historically friendly relations" between the countries but insisted that both nations "can do more."

"Economic diversification of our relations is a priority, also in new sectors like digital economy, new areas in nuclear sector, space, energy."

Most of the agreements will relate to the development of Russia's eastern regions, the official noted. "The Far East is the priority for Russia and we take Russian priorities very seriously," said the ambassador, adding that the Indian government strives to support multilateral economic order in which the interests of all countries will be protected.

US President Donald Trump has said that a deal has been struck with Mexico to stem the flow of migrants into the US. Punitive tariffs on Mexican goods that were due to come into effect Monday have been 'suspended indefinitely.'

"I am pleased to inform you that The United States of America has reached a signed agreement with Mexico," Trump tweeted Friday.
He said that the agreement would allow to "greatly reduce, or eliminate, Illegal Immigration coming from Mexico and into the United States," without providing details.

A high-ranking Mexican delegation arrived in the US on Wednesday to thrash out an agreement after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on all Mexican goods, starting at five percent. He called Mexico an "abuser" of the US for its supposed reluctance to stop caravans of illegal migrants streaming to the US-Mexican border.

The FBI failed to document at least four interviews of witnesses in the bureau's investigation into former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's use of a private server to send classified emails, according to documents obtained by the government watchdog Judicial Watch.

Judicial Watch also discovered among the 218 pages of emails between former FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok and his paramour former FBI Attorney Lisa Page that then FBI General Counsel James Baker had instructed "FBI officials to expedite the release of FBI investigative material to Hillary Clinton's lawyer, David Kendall in August 2016. Kendall and the FBI's top lawyer discussed specifically quickly obtaining the "302" report of the FBI/DOJ interview of Mrs. Clinton."

These findings are significant, as they come at a crucial time when the Department of Justice under Attorney General William Barr is investigating the bureau's handling of both the Clinton probe and the investigation into the origination of the bureau's investigation into President Donald Trump's campaign alleged - now debunked - ties to Russia.

"These incredible documents show the leadership of the FBI rushed to give Hillary Clinton her FBI interview report shortly before the election," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "And the documents also show the FBI failed to timely document interviews in the Clinton email 'matter' - further confirming the whole investigation was a joke. AG Barr can't reopen the Clinton email investigation soon enough."

The information obtained by Judicial Watch coincides with documents obtained by Congressional investigations. For example, Rep. John Ratcliffe, a former federal prosecutor who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, told Fox New's Maria Bartiromo Sunday that Strzok's involvement in the Trump campaign's defensive briefing mired in conflict.

First, Ratcliffe noted that it was Strzok who opened the official investigation into Trump's campaign on July 31, 2016 dubbed "Crossfire Hurricane." Ratfcliffe warned that U.S. Attorney John Durham, who has been appointed by Barr to investigate the bureau, was essentially acting as a 'special counsel' in the DOJ's investigation.

"It's interesting that 18 days later on August 17, of 2016 that the FBI and CIA conducted a counterintelligence briefing for the purpose of protecting and warning Donald Trump would put in charge for coordinating that briefing Peter Strzok - the same agent who was already investigating the Trump campaign," Ratcliffe told Bartiromo. "The same agent who eight days before that defensive briefing to protect and warn Donald Trump sent a text message saying he was going to 'stop him.' Then two days before that defensive briefing sent a text message saying 'we need an insurance policy' against the Trump presidency."

"So little wonder on that day of August 17, 2016 Donald Trump isn't warned about Russian interference in his campaign and he wasn't briefed about the Steele Dossier, wasn't briefed about Carter Page," Ratcliffe added.

Currently, DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz is putting together his report on the FBI's handling of the FBI's probe into the Trump campaign. According to numerous congressional sources the investigation is expected to include the FBI's defensive briefing to Trump and the lack of information provided to the Trump campaign. Strzok, who was vehemently anti-Trump in his text messages to Page, is also expected to be a significant part of the Horowitz investigation.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo just spilled the beans on Washington's regime-change maneuver in Venezuela. The US is not supporting a popular pro-democracy movement, as the official media narrative goes.

There is no movement against incumbent President Nicolas Maduro worth talking about, admits Pompeo. It's all an orchestration by Washington. In short, a criminal plot.

The clumsy admission was reported by the Washington Post which obtained an audio recording of Pompeo's unguarded comments during a recent closed-door meeting in New York. His blundering blab is a spectacular own goal.

The meeting was held with Jewish groups apparently on a range of international topics, including the Trump administration's Middle East policy. Pompeo seemed unaware his remarks were being recorded. His comments are therefore a stark leveling of reality, dispelling the media spin put out by the Trump administration of "supporting democracy" in Venezuela.

It also vindicates Russia's steadfast support for the Venezuelan government, and Moscow's consistent condemnation of Washington's interference in the South American country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said US efforts to push Chinese tech giant Huawei out of the global market might be a sign that a new technological war is coming.

"Take the situation around the company Huawei, for example. There are attempts not even to challenge it, but to brazenly force it out of the global market," Putin told the audience at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday. "In some circles it is even called the first technological war of the coming digital era."

There were nearly 7,000 gunshot wounds among Gaza's population of two million in the duration of a year.

Many of those injured have extensive and in some cases irreversible damage to their bones, neurovascular structures and soft tissue.

Among them, hundreds face amputations if they cannot access specialized tertiary treatment for their catastrophic wounds.

Three health workers have been killed and more than 700 others injured.

Thousands of elective surgeries were postponed as a health system already in crisis took in wave after wave of emergency casualties.

When, eight years late, the European Arrest Warrant request for Assange was finally put before a Swedish court, the court refused to issue it.

Readers of this blog are amongst the very few people who have had the chance to learn the information that the original European Arrest Warrant for Julian Assange from Sweden was not issued by any court but by a prosecutor; that this was upheld in the UK Supreme Court despite the Court's open acknowledgement that this was not what the UK Parliament had intended by the phrase that the warrant must come from a "judicial authority"; and that the law had been changed immediately thereafter so it could not be done again.

Consequently in seeking a new European Arrest Warrant against Assange, Swedish prosecutors had finally, eight years on, to ask a court for the warrant. And the court looked at the case and declined, saying that the move would be disproportionate. It therefore remains the case that there is no Swedish extradition warrant for Assange. This is a desperate disappointment to the false left in the UK, the Blairites and their ilk, who desperately want Assange to be a rapist in order to avoid the moral decision about prosecuting him for publishing truths about the neo-con illegal wars which they support.

Operation Bagration was the D-Day of the Eastern Front. In scope, size, scale and impact, it was a remarkable feat of arms unmatched in WWII.

Crucially, Overlord (D-Day) and Bagration were planned and undertaken as part of a coordinated effort on the part of the Grand Alliance to break the back of German resistance in Europe with a determination that was equally held by the Soviets, British and Americans to force the unconditional surrender of Hitler's Germany.

In his book Stalin's Wars Geoffrey Roberts reveals that, "Soviet plans for Operation Bagration were closely co-ordinated with Anglo-American preparations for the launch of the long-awaited Second Front in France." The Soviets were informed of the approximate date of D-Day in early April and, on 18 April, Stalin cabled Roosevelt and Churchill that, "as agreed in Tehran, the Red Army will launch a new offensive at the same time so as to give maximum support to the Anglo-American operation.'"

In a sign of how politically vulnerable he has rapidly become, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu plunged Israel into new elections last week - less than two months after his far-right bloc appeared to win at the ballot box.

Netanyahu was forced to dissolve the 120-member parliament to block his chief rival, Benny Gantz, from getting a chance to assemble an alternative governing coalition.

Gantz, a former army general who heads the Blue and White party, won 35 seats, the same number as Netanyahu's Likud party, in the April election, but had fewer potential allies to form a majority. So in September, Israelis will cast their votes afresh.

New Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has already made the gaffe of a lifetime, tweeting a plagiarized part of a speech by his predecessor Petro Poroshenko. He is now putting it down to 'sabotage.'

Zelensky has been in office for barely two weeks before taking off for Brussels to meet with European Council President Donald Tusk. On June 5, his Twitter account quoted an excerpt of a statement he made during the meeting:

"Ukraine in the EU is the death of the Russian imperial project. Moreover, it is a heavy blow to Russian authoritarianism, a path toward democratic change in Russia and in the whole post-Soviet space."