Countries

US officials brand possible Huawei 5G rollout in UK ‘act of madness’ as MI5 plays down US fear-mongering
In a bid to pressure the UK into barring Huawei from Britain’s 5G rollout, US officials reportedly went as far as to imply that allowing it on the market would be “madness.” The fears were dampened by the UK spy chief, however. The US has upped the rhetorical ante on its largely unfounded claims that Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei will severely compromise a country’s cyber securit [...]
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‘International State Banditism’: Russian Defence Ministry Explains What US Really Does to Syrian Oil
Commenting on US Defence Secretary Mark T. Esper's statement that a group of US troops will remain in eastern Syria, allegedly to prevent Daesh from accessing the oil fields, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said the statement should not be a surprise. In a statement, the chief spokesman for the Russian Defence Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, noted that the US' stated goal of protecting Syrian oi [...]
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‘Stay Strong, You Will Be Free!’ Watch Julian Assange Get Cheered On Outside London Court
The imprisoned WikiLeaks founder appeared at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on Monday, where a multipart hearing on his possible extradition to the United States was started. Journalists armed with cameras managed to catch a glimpse of Julian Assange Monday night following his extradition hearing, with the WikiLeaks founder filmed from inside a police van outside the court. [...]
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Video: Chinese Navy Commissions Asia’s Largest Missile Cruiser
The Chinese navy is now in possession of the largest missile destroyer in Asia and the second-largest in the world, following the commission of the Type 055 destroyer Nanchang on Sunday. The Nanchang officially joined the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in a Sunday ceremony in Shandong’s port city of Qingdao, Xinhua News Agency reported. The advanced warship completed its final testing la [...]
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Putin, Merkel Discuss Preparations for Berlin Conference on Libya Settlement – Kremlin
Libya's internationally recognized prime minister, Fayez Sarraj, and Khalifa Haftar, who leads the Libyan National Army (LNA) in eastern Libya, held on Monday talks in Moscow on the Libyan crisis mediated by Russia and Turkey. Russian President Vladimir Putin informed later in the day in phone talks German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the recent negotiations and discussed preparations for the up [...]
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‘Don’t look there, look here!’ UK media much more excited about Iran protests than those in neighboring France
Iran is thousands of miles away from Britain, yet because the power elites support them, anti-government protests in Tehran receive much wider coverage in the UK than the ones in France, just across the Channel. How many British people have ever visited Iran? How many have lived there or have second homes there? I suspect the figures are very small. It’s quite a contrast with France. In 2018, [...]
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Future of NATO Nuclear Agreement in Question? Germany Struggles to Replace Aging Tornado Jets
According to NATO's nuclear weapons obligations, dating back to the Cold War, German planes are to carry US bombs in the event of an atomic strike. Although the country’s Tornado fighter jets are close to the end of their operational life and already cost millions of dollars to taxpayers, it remains unclear which aircraft will replace them. [...]
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US Media Reveals Putin’s ‘Most Remarkable’ Achievement in 20 Years
During the 19 December end-of-the-year press conference, President Vladimir Putin specifically underscored Moscow’s assertiveness in the face of the West’s ongoing sanctions pressure against Russia, saying that the country’s “economy has adapted to foreign shocks”. [...]
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‘Pay it forward’ Russian-style: Single mom raises $25k for a boy who’d bought her bus ticket just to help 💖
A truly inspirational Christmas story unfolded in a small town in Russia’s Altai region, after a boy bought a bus ticket for a single mom struggling with a crying child. That mother, it turned out, is a popular Instagram blogger. The heart-warming story was told by the blogger Natalya Mishina herself. Apart from raising a three-year-old boy on her own, the young woman is a columnist with a fashi [...]
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Trump contrasts ‘civilized world’ to Iran, but who are the true barbarians?
Trump said Iran is in conflict with the ‘civilized world,’ but civilized states don’t seek regime change, lead aggressive wars, and trash international law like the US has done more than once. So, who are the true barbarians? With every line, Donald Trump took the breath away from the watching audience and even some of the horseshoe of military brass behind him when he responded to the Irani [...]
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TurkStream is a matter of ‘national & energy security’ for Turkey & EU… and US can’t derail it now
The TurkStream pipeline, supplying Russian gas to Turkey under the Black Sea, will boost energy security of entire southern Europe and the US won’t interfere with it, said Sakir Arikan, managing director of TurkAkim Gas. The much-anticipated 930km pipeline was launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during a special ceremony on Wednesday. [...]
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Trump Ordered Drone Hit on Soleimani Despite Intel That General Had No Plans to Target US – Report
The death of the senior Iranian commander, who was killed in a US drone strike shortly after midnight on Friday morning, prompted Iranian officials to vow retaliation against US interests in the region. US President Donald Trump authorised the assassination of Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force Commander Maj. Gen. [...]
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US Attack on Soleimani is a Signal to Russia-Iran-China Triumvirate to Cease Cooperation – Analysts
The US is trying to stop Eurasia's economic and political integration in order to delay its own demise, say international observers, explaining what message the US sent to the Russia-China-Iran "triumvirate" by killing Quds Commander Qasem Soleimani. [...]
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Evidence? What evidence? Pompeo shows no proof of ‘imminent’ Soleimani attacks
The US says that Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was plotting “imminent and sinister” attacks against its diplomats and military personnel. But when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was pressed for evidence of this, he gave none. Soleimani, commander of the Iranian military’s Quds Force, was assassinated in a drone strike in Baghdad, Iraq, on Friday. [...]
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Exposing empire: How Soleimani’s killing put paid to myths the US told itself and others
For decades, the US establishment has talked about an international community, rules-based order, the importance of NATO allies, democracy and sovereignty. Then-President Donald Trump had an Iranian general assassinated. “Snow doesn’t fall to cover the hills, but to reveal the tracks of every beast,” goes an old Serbian saying. The proverbial snow in this case is last week’s killing of Ge [...]
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Arch Terrorist or Inadvertent Ally? Three Times Soleimani Saved American Lives
US officials including President Trump have formally justified the drone strike assassination of Revolutionary Guard Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in part on the basis of the “imminent threat” he allegedly posed to US interests and service members overseas. But do these claims really line up with reality? Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani was appointed commander of the Iranian Revolutionary [...]
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Soleimani assassination has opened new phase for whole Middle East region – Hezbollah leader Nasrallah
The assassination of Qassem Soleimani has opened a new phase for the whole region, the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has said, calling for attacks on US soldiers and military assets. Iraqi resistance will not let a single US soldier stay in Iraq after the killing of the Iranian Quds force commander, Nasrallah said in a televised speech on Sunday. [...]
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‘End #TrumpsWar now’, US congresswoman & presidential candidate Gabbard tweets after drone strike on Iranian general 🎞️
US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, one of the Democratic Party contenders in the 2020 presidential race, said American armed forces must leave Iraq and Syria, instead of pushing towards war. "End #TrumpsWar now. Remove our troops from Iraq and Syria," the politician from Hawaii tweeted on Saturday. [...]
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$1.8 million for a FISH: Japan’s ‘Tuna King’ spares no expense to get 2nd-priciest tuna 🎞️
A Japanese businessman known as the Tuna King really goes to great lengths when it comes to giving sushi lovers the “best” bluefin tuna. This year he paid 193.2mn yen ($1.8mn) for one, the second-highest price on record. It is the second year in a row that Kiyoshi Kimura, who heads a popular sushi restaurant chain, was the most successful bidder at the traditional New Year’s auction at Tokyo [...]
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China to spend over $100 BILLION on railways next year
As part of its strategic goal of building a nationwide high-speed rail network, Beijing plans to invest about 800 billion yuan (US$114.36 billion) on the expansion of the country's railways in 2020. According to China’s Ministry of Transport (MOT), 1.8 trillion yuan might be spent on roads and waterways, and about 90 billion yuan on civil aviation. The country will strive to cover 98 percent of [...]
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Iran could bring an ‘overnight economic depression’ in retaliation to US – ex-Pentagon official tells Boom Bust 🎞️
Tehran could block a key shipping route in the Gulf region after US attack, thus causing a terrible headache to global oil markets and the world’s economy in general, former Pentagon official Michael Maloof told RT’s Boom Bust. [...]
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Russia’s Avangard Hypersonic Missile System Has Entered Into Service: What We Know So Far
The Avangard is one of half-a-dozen new defense systems unveiled by Moscow in early 2018 as a means of restoring the global strategic nuclear balance amid NATO efforts to press up against Russia’s borders and create elements of a ground-based missile shield in Romania and Poland. The first Strategic Missile Forces regiment to be armed with the nuclear-capable Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle ha [...]
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