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Putin’s New Plan to Become #1 Scares Monsanto Big Time
Russia’s Vladimir Putin is taking a bold step against biotech giant Monsanto and genetically modified seeds at large. In a new address to the Russian Parliament Thursday, Putin proudly outlined his plan to make Russia the world’s ‘leading exporter’ of non-GMO foods that are based on ‘ecologically clean’ production. [...]
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Venezuela Crisis: A Look Back at Three Times US Meddling Led to Catastrophe
The US has recognised Venezuelan National Assembly chief Juan Guaido as the country's "acting president", prompting President Nicolas Maduro to accuse Washington of trying to stage a coup. Sputnik looks at a few other times the US forgot about democracy and supported would-be leaders who attempted to gain power by circumventing the ballot box. [...]
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Apocalyptic Capitalism
The charade of the 21st United Nations climate summit will end, as past climate summits have ended, with lofty rhetoric and ineffectual cosmetic reforms. Since the first summit more than 20 years ago, carbon dioxide emissions have soared. Placing faith in our political and economic elites, who have mastered the arts of duplicity and propaganda on behalf of corporate power, is the triumph of h [...]
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Moody’s Upgrades Russia’s Debt Rating to Baa3, Changes Outlook to Stable
NEW YORK (Sputnik) - Moody's Investors Service said in a statement that it upgraded Russia’s issuer and unsecured senior debt ratings from Ba1 to Baa3 and changed its outlook from positive to stable. [...]
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Washington’s ‘Plan B’ in Syria: Renewed military intervention to oust Assad?
US top diplomat John Kerry appeared to offer cooperation during lengthy talks in Moscow this week with President Vladimir Putin. Kerry said that US policy was not trying to isolate Russia, neither was it seeking regime change in Syria. Rhetoric aside, Kerry’s expressions of goodwill simply do not cut it. [...]
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US imports of ‘sanctioned’ Venezuelan oil surge fivefold
Purchases of Venezuelan crude by US energy companies saw a five-fold weekly growth as of the middle of February, nearly reaching their pre-sanctions level, the latest data published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows. [...]
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Russian intel spots 12,000 oil tankers & trucks on Turkey-Iraq border – General Staff
Russian intelligence has spotted up to 12,000 tankers and trucks on the Turkish-Iraqi border, the General Staff of Russia’s armed forces has reported. “The [aerial] imagery was made in the vicinity of Zakho (a city in Iraqi Kurdistan), there were 11,775 tankers and trucks on both sides of the Turkish-Iraqi border,” Lieutenant-General Sergey Rudskoy told journalists on Friday. [...]
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‘So crass and so obvious’: Pressure from Washington pushes Venezuela closer to Russia
As the US pushes for regime change in Venezuela, Caracas has moved closer to Moscow. Despite US claims that Russia threatens world democracy, analysts say it’s Washington which is responsible for neglect to international law. [...]
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Ukraine in Default Over Failure to Pay Off $3Bln Debt to Russia
Russian Finance Ministry said that Ukraine has missed the December 31 deadline to pay off its $3 billion debt to Russia and is currently in default. Ukraine has missed the December 31 deadline to pay off its $3 billion debt to Russia and is currently in default, Russian Finance Ministry said on Thursday. [...]
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How to Keep Your Muscles in Good ‘Functional’ Shape
This podcast explains why resistance training is so important for people 50+ Today, as part of our Fitness Friday series, we hear from returning guest Sabrena Jo, the director of science and research content for the American Council on Exercise. She shares important information on new research that answers questions about cardiovascular exercise, weight training, flexibility and how all of that im [...]
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‘Heavy Burden’: Saudi Arabia Is Damaging US Interests
Washington has long played the role of a "bodyguard" for Saudi Arabia. However, recent events have showed that Riyadh is not supportive of the United States, but rather harming its interests, Ali Al-Ahmed, an expert at the Institute for Gulf Affairs in Washington, said. [...]
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US orders foreign firms to further cut oil trade with Venezuela regardless of sanctions – report
Washington has demanded non-US oil trading houses and refiners cut operations with Venezuela beyond the already imposed sanctions or face sanctions themselves, according to a Reuters report. [...]
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No Pressure: Why the EU is Fine With Ukraine Violating the Minsk Agreements
The European Union follows the United States when it comes to foreign policy, and isn't using any pressure to make Ukraine implement the terms of the Minsk Agreements despite its claims, a political analyst told RIA Novosti. The European Union isn't using its influence on Kiev when it comes implementing the Minsk Agreement to resolve the conflict in the south-east of the country, the deputy dir [...]
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WATCH Envoy Tell US to Stop Undercutting EU Interests With New Russia Sanctions
The US-European united transatlantic front on sanctions took a hit this week, with Brussels warning that it would retaliate if Washington moved forward with plans to impose a sanctions regime on foreign investments in Cuba which threatened European companies. [...]
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‘We can’t do it!’ Bavaria sends busload of refugees to Merkel
The head of a Bavarian district has sent a bus with 30 refugees aboard on a 550km trip to Angela Merkel’s Berlin office – fulfilling a threat made in October, when he said he would act if the number of refugees exceeded housing capacity in his area. Peter Dreier, head of the Landshut district in Bavaria, reportedly had an angry phone conversation with Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the [...]
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UK MPs Warn Threat of Nuclear War ‘Now Greater Than it has Been Since Cold War’
A British parliamentary survey has specifically claimed that the breakdown of diplomatic collaboration between countries and development of new technologies significantly add to the risk of a nuclear strike. [...]
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My Way or the Highway: Washington Must Accept Russian Way of Doing Things
Washington's constant attempts to impose its own vision of an ideal state system on Moscow are a huge mistake. While it might be acceptable to more modest, smaller countries, it is not to be tolerated by such a heavyweight, according to Matt Rojansky, Director of the Kennan Institute. [...]
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EU vows to trade with Iran, denounces US decision not to extend waivers to purchase Tehran’s crude
A year after President Trump unilaterally withdrew from the Iran Nuclear Deal, its European signatories, who still honor the agreement, have expressed concern over the US decision not to extend waivers on oil trade with Tehran. [...]
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Bernie Sanders’ supporters ‘frustrated with emerging low-wage police state’
There is a real fear among the powers that be not of what Bernie Sanders is, but what he could become, says political analyst Caleb Maupin. Rallies in support of Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders have drawn thousands across the US. [...]
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US trade deficit soars to decade high of $621 billion despite Trump pledge to bridge the gap
Despite the trade war against China and numerous import tariffs imposed on a number of countries, the US trade deficit hit a 10-year high of $621 billion last year, the US Commerce Department reported. [...]
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Leaking Classified Info Not Such a Big Deal (Except When Whistleblowers Do It)
In what some are calling another example of a two-tiered justice system, the Pentagon said Friday that it would not demote Retired General David Petraeus, who was convicted in 2015 of leaking classified information to his biographer and mistress. [...]
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Purchase of S-400 systems will be ‘devastating’ for Turkey’s F-35 program – Pentagon
Turkey’s planned deployment of Russian S-400 missile defense systems would be “devastating” for the F-35 program to which Ankara has contributed over $1 billion, the Pentagon has warned. “Completion of this transaction would be devastating, not only to the F-35 program, on which the West has placed its modernized integrated air capability, but it would potentially rupture Turkish interoper [...]
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