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China may directly trade with post-brexit UK

Paul Antonopoulos
FRN
Tue, 31 Jul 2018 00:00 UTC
BritForeignSec Jeremy Hunt/China FM Wang Yi
© The Japan TimesBritish Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt • China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi
China's Foreign Ministry has adopted a friendly stance toward the United Kingdom, saying Beijing is open to promoting bilateral trade and investment cooperation between countries.

The Chinese government has stated that it is open to negotiations on a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom following its separation from the EU in March 2019. In addition, a senior official of the Chinese Foreign Ministry called for a trade dialogue with the US.

According to newly appointed British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, currently on his first overseas tour, China has expressed interest in closing a comprehensive trade agreement with the UK after Brexit. Secretary Hunt emphasized that preliminary understanding on bilateral trade could significantly strengthen British bargaining power in the ongoing negotiations with Brussels.

During a joint press conference with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Secretary Hunt said that Beijing had offered "to open discussions on a possible free trade agreement between Britain and China after Brexit, and this is something we give good and we agreed to explore [the possibilities]. "

The move fits into the wider trade agenda of Prime Minister Theresa May's conservative and unionist cabinet, which previously said bilateral trade agreements would be the top priority immediately after Brexit.

Comment: Will this hint of optimism from China help ease May's situation in parliament?

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Arrow Up

Russian Defense Ministry: 'We are the world leaders in new military hardware'


RT
Wed, 01 Aug 2018 08:10 UTC
Moscow/Tanks parade
© Evgeny Biyatov/SputnikRussian Army on parade in Moscow.
The Russian Army says its huge rearmament program has transformed the nation into a world leader in terms of new military hardware. Today, around half of the army's heavy equipment, such as tanks and artillery, is top-notch.

Over the past five years, the army received more than 25,000 pieces of new hardware, like tanks and armored combat vehicles, and more than 4,000 pieces of modern artillery and missile launchers, Deputy Defense Minister Army General Dmitry Bulgakov told reporters on Wednesday. "According to independent expert agencies, in 2017, Russia had topped the world ranking in terms of such military hardware," the general said, as quoted by RIA Novosti news agency. Bulgakov also mentioned that around 50 percent of the existing military hardware is now completely new.

Russia is undergoing a massive rearmament process, decommissioning old Soviet-era weaponry and replacing it with modern types of armor and firepower. In November, the army reported that Russia had become the country with the most tanks, infantry combat vehicles, and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS).

Military analytics company Global Firepower ranks the Russian Army second of 136 militaries of the world in terms of strength, behind only the US. The ranking considers over 50 factors, including the number of weapons available and their combined firepower. A 2015 Credit Suisse report also placed Russia second, behind the US, in its Military Strength Indicator.

Comment: Better a strong friend than a stronger foe.

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Magnify

Report alleges Rex Tillerson was fired for stopping planned Saudi/UAE attack on Qatar


RT
Wed, 01 Aug 2018 17:23 UTC
tillerson and mbs
© Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court / Reuters
Rex Tillerson derailed a blitzkrieg plan by Saudi Arabia and the UAE to target Qatar and may have been fired as secretary of state for his actions, a report by The Intercept says.

The firing by Twitter of Secretary of State Tillerson in March was one of the more peculiar moments of Donald Trump's presidency. While plenty of pundits claimed the ex-ExxonMobil CEO's demise as a cabinet official came because he was too critical of Russia for Trump's taste, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were the countries that actually lobbied for Tillerson's departure.

The enmity of the Arab monarchies may have stemmed from Tillerson's effort to block a military intervention against Qatar, which two powerful princes in Saudi Arabia and the UAE were preparing as a means to end a diplomatic rift in the Arab Peninsula, a report by The Intercept said on Wednesday. The story is based on anonymous sources, a current member of the US intelligence community, two former US State Department officials and two individuals familiar with matters regarding the UAE and Saudi royal families.
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Question

Why did former Russian oligarch Khodorkovsky send journalists to an extremely dangerous African war zone?

Andrew Korybko
Geopolitica.ru
Wed, 01 Aug 2018 00:00 UTC
russian journalists killed Central African Republic
The killing of three oligarch-connected Russian journalists in the war-torn Central African Republic has cast a spotlight on the irresponsible and ultimately lethal lengths that Khodorkovsky is willing to go in order to discredit President Putin.

All of Russia is still in shock after the news began streaming in yesterday evening that three of their country's journalists were killed in the war-torn Central African Republic (CAR), a country that scarcely anyone knows anything about or can even locate on a map. Although the circumstances surrounding their deaths at what is widely believed to be the hands of one of CAR's dozen or so rebel groups have yet to be confirmed, it's being widely reported that they were killed at a rural checkpoint and that only their local driver survived. Another fact that's now known is that the three men were officially in the country as tourists but were secretly working on a project with self-exiled Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky to expose the activities of Russia's private military companies (PMCs, colloquially known as "mercenaries") in CAR.

Comment: See also: Three Russian journalists killed in ambush in Central African Republic while investigating mercenaries

Some background on criminal Khodorkovsky:

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Bad Guys

UK Foreign Secretary employs tired Russia scare tactics on Brexit - 'Only person rejoicing' about it will be Putin


RT
Wed, 01 Aug 2018 17:15 UTC
putin
© Kremlin Pool / Global Look Press
Desperate times call for desperate measures and new UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt invoked Vladimir Putin's apparent joy to warn against a 'hard Brexit,' as the UK increasingly risks dropping out of the EU without a trade deal.

"Frankly, if we end up with no deal, the only person rejoicing will be [Russian President] Vladimir Putin," Hunt stated on French radio in his first major European visit since taking over from Boris Johnson earlier in July.

In what is seemingly the latest 'hard-Brexit warning,' Hunt went on to say that no-deal is "the last thing we want," before advocating for Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit white paper, that includes a free trade area between the EU and UK.
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Light Sabers

Trump: Sessions needs to stop Mueller's 'rigged witch hunt' before it continues to stain our country


RT
Wed, 01 Aug 2018 17:08 UTC
trump and sessions
© Nicholas Kamm, Saul Loeb / AFP
President Donald Trump again lashed out at Special Counsel Robert Mueller's 'Russiagate' investigation via Twitter, warning Attorney General Jeff Sessions to step in and end it "right now."

"This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further," Trump tweeted on Wednesday.

Trump called Mueller's team of investigators "17 Angry Democrats," accusing them of bias in favor of the Democratic party.

The president also lashed out at FBI agent Peter Strzok. He worked on the agency's investigation of Hillary Clinton's email server misuse, as well as the investigation into allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in the run-up to the 2016 election.
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Dollar

Did the US Treasury borrow more money because Russia's dumping American debt?


RT
Wed, 01 Aug 2018 16:54 UTC
mask dollars
© Mariana Bazo / Reuters
The growing budget deficit will force the US government to borrow $56 billion more this quarter than expected. Curiously, the amount is close to what Russia sold in US Treasury securities in April and May.

Citing surging spending and falling tax receipts, the US government will borrow the most money since the 2008 financial crisis. It marks the fourth-largest quarterly borrowing on record.

Earlier this year, the Russian government dumped 84 percent of its holdings of US Treasury securities, dropping from the list of the 33 largest foreign holders of US sovereign bonds. The country's holdings declined from $96.1 billion in March to just $14.9 billion in May. The Central Bank of Russia explained slashing of the bond portfolio by concerns over various risks, including financial, economic and geopolitical.

Comment: The Treasury spokesman may be whistling in the dark. Russia is not the only country gradually divesting itself of toxic US debt.

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Sherlock

Revisiting the official Skripal-Salisbury timeline

Rob Slane
TheBlogMire
Wed, 01 Aug 2018 16:49 UTC
salisbury mill

I think it's time for a question or two around the official timeline of events on 4th March. As I have mentioned previously, many of the appeals regarding the timeline were in connection with what happened in the morning of that day, since Mr Skripal's and Yulia's phones were both switched off, and at the time of the appeals, neither was apparently able to talk.

As I also never tire of pointing out, Sergei and Yulia have been awake and doing well for months now, and so it wouldn't take the world's greatest detective to work out what their movements were on the morning of 4th March. Just a simple, "So, Sergei, what were you doing on the morning of 4th March" would probably do. Perhaps this question has been asked, but if a response was forthcoming, it has not been shared with the public, which is odd, since it's information like that which can actually help jog people's memories and lead to new information.

The timeline after the morning is fairly well established. Here's how the Metropolitan Police put it in their official timeline on 13th March:
- 13:40 - Sergei and Yulia arrive at the Sainsbury's upper level car park in The Maltings
- The pair go to The Mill pub in Salisbury
- Approximately 14.20 - The father and daughter eat at Zizzi restaurant on Castle Street
- 15:35 - They leave the restaurant
- 16:15 - Emergency services are called by a member of the public to the bench where Sergei and Yulia are slumped on a bench.
That all seems fairly straightforward, does it not?

Comment: Slane's previous work on the Salisbury poisonings:

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Che Guevara

Duterte oversees destruction of more than $5mln worth of luxury cars in corruption crackdown


RT
Wed, 01 Aug 2018 16:52 UTC
duterte cars
© Handout / Reuters
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has overseen the destruction of more than $5 million worth of luxury cars in a very public crackdown on corruption in the country.

Some 68 Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Mercedes and Harley Davidson motorcycles were crushed under the tracks of a bulldozer as Duterte continued his policy of destroying vehicles smuggled into the Philippines.

The operation took place in Cagayan Province, the northernmost area of Luzon Island, and was monitored by Duterte, along with leader of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority Raul Lambino, and the province's governor Manuel Mamba. The cars are reportedly part of the second batch to be officially destroyed in recent times.

In a speech prior to crushing the vehicles, Duterte said: "Breaking up the contraband vehicles is the proof that these operations will not be allowed here in Cagayan."

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Info

Iranian Parliament summons Rouhani amid US sanctions, protests, tanking currency


Sputnik
Wed, 01 Aug 2018 16:23 UTC
rouhani
© REUTERS / President.ir/Handout
Tehran has been facing economic hardship with its currency losing half its value since April and the economy's growth slowing down, following the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and subsequent threats to re-impose sanctions on the country.

The Iranian parliament has prepared a list of questions regarding the cabinet's policy on coping with economic challenges facing the country and has given President Rouhani one month to present his answers to lawmakers, the Iranian news agency ISNA reported, citing Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani.

According to ISNA, the cabinet of the Iranian president (specifically the Economic Commission) will have to provide an explanation for the country's economic recession, the struggle against unemployment, the national currency's declining value, as well as the smuggling of goods and currencies. Rouhani's government was also asked why Iranian banks are still facing sanctions, despite the Iran nuclear deal having been signed three years ago.

The Iran nuclear deal, which lifted economic sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic in exchange for the country maintaining a peaceful nature of its nuclear program, was signed in 2015, but the US withdrew from the agreement in May, 2018.

Comment: Hundreds are reportedly protesting the weak currency in varies Iranian cities. This comes as Trump offered to meet with Rouhani at any time, an offer refused by the Iranians: Trump dances left again: 'If Iran wants to meet, I'm ready anytime, with no preconditions'

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