The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is just "another attempt" by the US to create regional economic cooperation that mainly Washington would benefit from, Russian President told Chinese media ahead of his visit to the Nov. 10-11 APEC summit in Beijing.

Vladimir Putin gave an interview to leading Chinese media outlets in the run-up to his visit to Beijing, where he will take part in the Nov. 10-11 APEC Summit.

Question: The next APEC Summit will be held soon in Beijing. How does Russia view the role of this association? What does the Russian side expect from this meeting? In your opinion, how can Russia and China consolidate their cooperation within the framework ofthis Forum contributing to the peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region?

Vladimir Putin: APEC's progressive development during a quarter of a century has persuasively demonstrated the relevance of this authoritative association format, a platform to agree upon common "rules of the game" in the trade and economic sphere in the APR.

It is worth noting that all the decisions reached within the framework of the Forum are adopted on the basis of the principles of mutual respect, accommodation of the interests of each other, which reflects the spirit of APEC. Under the current conditions, when some countries prefer to act on the international arena using methods of political, economic and often even coercive pressure, the role of APEC as an effective coordinating mechanism for building a new regional architecture is indispensable.

Both Pentagon and NATO are aware of a "Russian invasion" rumor produced by Kiev official, but said they have no evidence to back it, instead claiming that Russia again boosted military presence along the border in yet another potentially threatening move.

On Friday a spokesman for Ukraine's National Security Council, Andrey Lysenko, has announced that Russia has sent 32 tanks, 16 howitzers, 30 trucks of ammunition and three trucks with radar equipment to rebel-held areas - offering no evidence of his claim.

After the news made headlines in the western media, NATO rushed to reassure the press that the alliance was aware and "looking into these reports," which if confirmed "would be further evidence of Russia's aggression."

Speaking to journalists, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby also could not confirm the reports.

"I don't have any independent operational reporting that would be able to confirm that report that these formations have crossed the border," Kirby said.

The mainstream media is again parroting the lies coming out of Kiev. A google search (keyword in Google news: Ukraine) on Ukraine will have the BBC, The Independent, The Guardian, The Telegraph, Sky News, Newsweek and the Business Insider having headlines of a Russian invasion. Yes, I know: Again. Here are some of the headlines:

Ukraine crisis: Tanks 'cross border' from Russia

A column of 32 tanks and 30 trucks has crossed into eastern Ukraine from Russia, the Ukrainian government says.

The trucks were carrying ammunition and fighters, said a military spokesman, but the BBC cannot confirm his report.

Russia Sends Dozens Of Tanks Into Ukraine

NATO has criticised Russian "aggression" after a column of 32 Russian tanks entered Ukraine.

The convoy of 32 tanks, 16 howitzer cannons and 30 trucks of troops and equipment crossed the border into the rebel-controlled Luhansk region.

Ukraine's military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in a televised briefing: "The deployment continues of military equipment and Russian mercenaries to the front lines."

Ukraine crisis: Movement of Russian tanks threatens fragile ceasefire

Ukraine's President, Petro Poroshenko, has said that his nation's conflict with Russia was "escalating" after a column of 32 tanks, 30 lorries and 16 heavy artillery pieces was reported to have entered the separatist-controlled eastern region of Luhansk.

A Nato military officer told Reuters he had seen an increase in Russian troops and equipment along the Ukraine border, and was investigating the report of tanks entering the breakaway region.

Ukraine says Russian military column has entered east of country

Ukraine accuses Russia of sending 32 tanks into rebel-held territory

Ukraine: Russia Waging War By Any Other Name

Russian Tanks Are Rolling Into Ukraine Again ...

The above newspapers with such headlines are in no way limited to the UK and the US as searches in other Western countries will show. They all happily quote the Ukrainian government of saying that Russia has invaded with dozens of tanks. The soundbytes are the same and the message is clear: Russia is invading and threatening the ceasefire.

But is it true? As it happens the US and NATO are actually not that sure and have the following to say;

A cargo ship connected to Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell was recently stopped and searched before departing from Colombia. During the search, Colombian Coast Guard agents seized roughly 90 pounds of cocaine.

The drugs were found on the Ping May, which is a vessel operated by the Foremost Maritime Corporation, a company owned by Mitch McConnell's in-laws, the Chao family. This connection is not only relevant because of the family connection, but also because the Chao family has often made large donations to McConnell's campaigns.

In fact, the Chao family has been funding McConnell since the late 1980s. Years later, in 1993, McConnell married Elaine Chao and secured the Chao family as one of his primary sources for investments.

A gift worth somewhere between 5 and 25 million dollars from the Chao Family made McConnel one of the richest senators in the country in 2008.

The Foremost Maritime Corporation is currently operating 16 dry bulk cargo ships, most of which are currently still in service.

U.S. President Obama, on Friday, authorized Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to deploy up to 1,500 additional U.S. troops to Iraq as part of what is described as part of the strategy to defeat terrorists from the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant', the organization that has been covertly supported by the U.S. and its allies to justify the re-making of the region. Danish Defense Minister Nicolai Wammen agreed to send 120 Danish troops to Iraq, said U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Kirby.

The announcement was made on Friday by the Pentagon press secretary. U.S. Navy Rear Admiral John Kirby said that the troops would be serving in non-combat roles by joining the existing advise-and-assist mission and by initiating a comprehensive training effort for Iraqi-Kurdish forces.

Kirby added that Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel had recommended to increase the number of troops following a request from the Iraqi government and an assessment of Iraqi units by the U.S. Command.

Kirby noted that the U.S. Central Command evaluated the progress made by Iraqi troops in the field. He added that the deployment plans coincide with a "coalition campaign plan to defend key areas" and plans for a more offensive posture against ISIL. Kirby said:

"U.S. Central Command will establish two expeditionary advise-and-assist operations centers in locations outside of Baghdad and Irbil to provide support for the Iraqi at the brigade headquarters level and above".

Kirby added that some 630 of the newly authorized troops would be assigned to expand existing advise-and-assist missions while Centcom would establish several new training sites across Iraq that would accommodate the training of 12 Iraqi brigades. Nine of these brigades would be from the Iraqi army while three of them would be Kurdish brigades.

Western policies toward Russia championed by Washington have led to the current crisis, and if the confrontation continues, Europe will be weakened and become irrelevant, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev warns.

Speaking to a forum in Berlin amid the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, he called on western leaders to de-escalate tensions and meet Russia halfway to mend the current rift.

After the Cold War ended, the leaders of the western world were intoxicated with euphoria of triumph, and they adopted anti-Russian policies that eventually led to the current crisis, Gorbachev said.
"Taking advantage of Russia's weakening and a lack of a counterweight, they claimed monopoly leadership and domination in the world. And they refused to heed the word of caution from many of those present here," he said. "The events of the past months are consequences of short-sighted policies of seeking to impose one's will and fait accompli while ignoring the interests of one's partners."

Gorbachev gave a list of examples of those policies, including the expansion of NATO and the development of an anti-ballistic missile system, military interventions in Yugoslavia and Iraq, the west-backed secession of Kosovo, the crisis in Syria and others. The Ukrainian crisis is a "blister turning into a bleeding, festering wound," he said.

The Syrian army has come out victorious in more battles against the ISIL Takfiri terrorists.

Syrian army units recaptured more parts of the town of Sheikh Meskin in the southwestern Dara'a province on Wednesday and inflicted heavy losses on the militants there.

The government forces also flushed out the ISIL terrorists from some parts of Qalamun region in the Damascus countryside.

Additionally, the army made advances in Quneitra, Idlib and Homs provinces.

Earlier, Syrian soldiers recaptured two major gas fields and a gas company in the central province of Homs.

A column of 32 tanks, 16 howitzer artillery systems and trucks carrying ammunition and fighters has crossed into eastern Ukraine from Russia, the Kiev military said on Friday.

"The deployment continues of military equipment and Russian mercenaries to the frontlines," spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in a televised briefing referring to Thursday's cross-border incursion.

Nato said it has seen an increase in Russian troops and equipment along the Ukraine border was looking into the reports. "We are aware of the reports of Russian troops and tanks crossing the border between Ukraine and Russia," a Nato military officer told Reuters. "If this crossing into Ukraine is confirmed it would be further evidence of Russia's aggression and direct involvement in destabilising Ukraine."

The report of a new Russian movement of armour across the border follows a charge on Thursday by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine that Kiev government forces had launched a new offensive - which Kiev immediately denied.

Sporadic violence has continued since a 5 September truce in a conflict that has cost more than 4,000 lives.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed officials to raze the homes of 'terrorists' who carry out attacks in Jerusalem.

The order was handed down during an emergency session on Thursday to discuss several violent incidents that have hit the city, the Times of Israel reports, citing Israel Radio.

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch, Police Chief Yohanan Danino and Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) head Yoram Cohen were all in attendance.

Apart from the highly controversial practicing of home demolition, additional security measures, including expanded administrative detentions and additional restraining orders, were also discussed.

The measures come in response to a series of deadly hit and run attacks which have recently targeted the holy city.

On Friday, Shalom Badani, a 17-year-old Israeli, died from injuries he sustained during an attack on Wednesday, in which Ibrahim al-Akari, a Palestinian Arab residing in East Jerusalem, rammed his van into a crowd. Akari was later shot dead by Israeli security forces after exiting his vehicle and attacking the crowd with a metal bar. A police officer was also killed in the attack. Twelve other people sustained injuries.

Later the same day, a vehicle rammed into a group of Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank. Three people were injured in that attack, one of them seriously.

And in a similar incident late last month, a Palestinian man from East Jerusalem rammed his car into a crowd outside a light rail station. A three-month-old baby girl was killed in the attack and eight others were injured. The attacker was later shot dead by police.

The landlocked European duchy has been called a "magical fairyland" for brand-name corporations seeking to drastically reduce tax bills.

Pepsi, IKEA, FedEx and 340 other international companies have secured secret deals from Luxembourg, allowing many of them to slash their global tax bills while maintaining little presence in the tiny European duchy, leaked documents show.

These companies appear to have channeled hundreds of billions of dollars through Luxembourg and saved billions of dollars in taxes, according to a review of nearly 28,000 pages of confidential documents conducted by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and a team of more than 80 journalists from 26 countries.

Big companies can book big tax savings by creating complicated accounting and legal structures that move profits to low-tax Luxembourg from higher-tax countries where they're headquartered or do lots of business. In some instances, the leaked records indicate, companies have enjoyed effective tax rates of less than 1 percent on the profits they've shuffled into Luxembourg.

The leaked documents reviewed by ICIJ journalists include hundreds of private tax rulings - sometimes known as "comfort letters" - that Luxembourg provides to corporations seeking favorable tax treatment.

The European Union and Luxembourg have been fighting for months over Luxembourg's reluctance to turn over information about its tax rulings to the EU, which is investigating whether the country's tax deals with Amazon and Fiat Finance violate European law. Luxembourg officials have supplied some information to the EU but have refused, EU officials say, to provide a larger set of documents relating to its tax rulings.

Today ICIJ and its media partners are releasing a large cache of Luxembourg tax rulings - 548 comfort letters issued from 2002 to 2010 - and reporting on their contents in stories that will be published or broadcast in dozens of countries. It's unclear whether any of these documents are among those still being sought by EU investigators, but they are the kinds of documents that go to the heart of the EU's investigation into Luxembourg's tax rulings.