Russia Begins Operations in Syria: End Game for the US Empire?

[angelburst29]

Russia’s Intervention in Syria Splits US Administration
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160424/1038511751/Russias-Intervention-Syria-Splits-US.html

As the Russia-backed Syrian government pushes on against Daesh forces in a joint effort with the so-called “moderate opposition”, the US administration is debating about Russia’s true intentions and how America should react.

Some officials in Washington genuinely believe Russia has armored ground forces in Syria, claiming Russia moved its own artillery towards Aleppo — unproven information based on anonymous sources in Pentagon, published by Wall Street Journal. These persons believe that if the US fails to react with force, this will be viewed by Moscow as a sign of American timidity, which will further encourage Russia to perform risky and aggressive actions.

These people also believe Washington's inaction will further damage US relations with Gulf states and Turkey (despite Turkey recently hopped on the train of drubbing Daesh in Northern Syria).

On the other hand, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, together with other some other officials, have vetoed any significant escalation of US involvement in Syria. This position is backed by President Barack Obama who continuously refused to be "drawn into a ‘proxy war' with Moscow."

By the "wool" they mean Vladimir Putin's true intentions in Syria. The dispute in Washington revolves around whether Vladimir Putin genuinely seeks to the end civil war in Syria or merely supports President Assad against the so-called "moderate opposition" that seeks to strip Assad of power.

While some say Putin genuinely supported the UN initiative to bring peace to Syria, which was undermined by Bashar Assad by obstructing the Geneva process and ignoring the ceasefire, others believe Putin and Assad are playing on the same team, and, thus had it all planned. Either way, both the Pentagon and White House apparently lost their initiative in the conflict and the only thing they can do now is talk, waiting for whatever development will occur.

Tehran offered Syrian President Bashar Assad and his family an asylum in Iran from where he could safely command his army, but the leader refused to leave the war-torn country, Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said Saturday.

Man of the People: Assad Refused Safe Asylum Offer From Iran
http://sputniknews.com/world/20160423/1038495852/syria-iran-assad-asylum.html

According to the official, quoted by Lebanon's Al Mayadeen broadcaster, the offer was extended by Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' foreign operations wing. Assad reportedly motivated his refusal to flee the state saying that his family is no different from “any Syrian family and they will remain in Damascus.”

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with forces loyal to Assad fighting several opposition factions and extremist groups. Unlike the West, supporting the so-called Syrian moderate opposition, Tehran and Moscow maintain that the Syrian president is the legitimate authority in the country.

Over 60 percent of Germans regret that sitting US President Barack Obama is legally prohibited from running for presidency again, a public opinion poll commissioned by a German newspaper found Sunday.

Majority of Germans Want Obama to Run for President Again
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160424/1038510818/germans-want-obama-again.html

Sixty-two percent of Germans said they wanted Obama to run for a third time, while 34 percent said they were not disappointed about Obama’s absence from the 2016 presidential race, a poll conducted for Bild am Sonntag by German pollster Emnid found.

Only 4 percent said they wanted to see Republican nomination frontrunner Donald Trump succeed Obama as president of the United States, with 83 percent expecting the real estate mogul to fare worse than Obama.

Obama, who is due to stand down after the November vote, said last month he hoped for a Democratic successor in the White House and a Democratic majority in the Senate. Two candidates are seeking Democratic nomination – Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former US State Secretary Hillary Clinton, who is in the lead.

President Obama’s visit to Britain has centered heavily around him lobbying against the Brexit referendum, demanding that Britain remain a part of the European Union, and even threatening to punish Britain if they vote to leave.

BRITS TELL OBAMA, MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS !
http://novorossia.today/114219-2/

Though Obama has previously expressed a preference for a united Europe, he is believed to have been pressured by Prime Minister David Cameron to “bully” voters during his visit, as polls have shown British voters split roughly down the middle on the matter.

They may be split on leaving the EU, but Britons are more uniformly against President Obama’s meddling, with many saying Obama should mind his own business. While the pro-Brexit advocates loudly condemning Obama’s comments as hypocritical, even many who agree with Obama say they resent the “patronizing” Obama.

Even worse, they say, Obama’s comments could easily backfire and bolster the campaign to leave the EU simply to spite the foreign leader arriving in London to issue demands. The US has seen similar “warnings” ahead of votes in other countries going poorly.

Ironically, David Cameron, initially raised the prospect of leaving the EU to try to negotiate better terms with the Union, but as the dispute grew, he’s been left desperately trying to make sure the vote doesn’t pass, warning of an economic calamity if Britain withdraws.

Already picking fights with Russia in the Baltic Sea, and deploying ever growing numbers of ground troops in Eastern Europe, NATO’s latest focus in needling Russia is a major increase in naval presence in the Black Sea.

Challenging Russia, More Provocations By Terrorist Organization NATO, Major Increase In Naval Presence In Black Sea
http://novorossia.today/114233-2/

It makes sense from the position of NATO hawks. After all, the Black Sea includes one of Russia’s most historically important ports, at Sevastopol, and NATO is eager to contest Russia’s ownership of the Crimean Peninsula, in which that port is located.

It’s not going to be simple, however, as the effort will mostly have to come without the direct involvement of either the United States or Britain, NATO’s two biggest navies, and the two nations most eager to stick it to Russia.

That’s because the Montreaux Convention of 1936 strictly regulates the entry of warships from nations without coastal territory in the Black Sea, restricting the size of such ships entering the sea, and allowing those ships to only stay for 21 days.

This means that in practice Turkey is going to have to do the heavy lifting in building a Black Sea fleet, with Bulgaria and Romania the only two other NATO nations with any coast on the Black Sea. That limits their existing fleet strength, as all together the three nations only have a couple dozen frigates and some smaller ships. Russia’s Black Sea Fleet isn’t dramatically large either, but the Russian Navy overall is, and the nation will likely redeploy more ships into the sea as NATO escalates.

Russia's new radar will be able to detect not only ground, but also air targets. The new complex will stay on guard of both the state border and strategically important objects, spokespeople for the United Instrument-Making Corporation said.

Russia determined to intercept any drone violating its airspace
http://www.pravdareport.com/russia/economics/22-04-2016/134249-russia_drones-0/

The new system consists of circular review radar "Forpost" and opto-electronic module "Polyot-1." The systems will monitor the movement of vehicles, people and small drones at a distance of 20 kilometers.

For the time being, the elements of the new radar complex have shown excellent results in their tests, Deputy CEO of the United Instrument-Making Corporation, Sergey Skokov said. According to Skokov, the system is to be integrated into an unmanned aerial vehicle for air surveillance activities.

The opto-electronic module of the system is equipped with a thermal imager and high-sensitivity cameras to monitor territories in a radius of several kilometers around the clock, in all weathers.

The ability to track small objects is a great advantage of the new radar complex. Reports about incidents of violation of Russian airspace by unidentified aircraft have recently made quite a few headlines in Russia. The first report came from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, where an unidentified aircraft was detected at an altitude of ten thousand meters. The aircraft ignored attempts of the Russian air traffic controllers to establish contact with it and left the Russian skies in a while.

According to experts, the unidentified aircraft could be collecting intelligence information. A second message of almost the same content arrived from southern territories of Russia. It was reported that a Russian radar detected an unidentified drone flying in the sky near the Crimean Peninsula. As soon as the UAV approached the border of the Russian Federation, a Russian interceptor took off. The drone was said to be the property of the US military.

Common people may find such incidents outrageous. However, chief editor of National Defense Magazine Igor Korotchenko told Pravda.Ru that aerial reconnaissance was a standard practice. According to Igor Korotchenko, NATO aircraft and drones take part in such operations on a regular basis. "For Russia, it is most important to show our willingness to monitor violations of Russian airspace and be prepared to either force transgressors to land or shoot them down, as the last resort," said Igor Korotchenko.

A Russian Plane arrived in Damascus International airport on Saturday loaded with humanitarian aid from Russian people and government to enhance Syrians’ steadfastness in facing the terrorist war and the unjust economic embargo imposed on them by some Arab, Regional and world countries.

Russian plane loaded with humanitarian aid arrives in Damascus
http://sana.sy/en/?p=75382

Director of Damascus sector at the Russian center for reconciliation Yuri Zrayev told reporters that the plane is loaded with humanitarian aid provided by Russian government and people Syrian people.

The aid, including various relief materials and children needs, will be delivered to a number of orphan houses and hundreds of crisis affected Syrians in al-Rehaibe town in Damascus countryside.

Russia used to provide and deliver big amounts of humanitarian aid to dozens of Syrian towns in different provinces in cooperation and coordination with sides concerned to guarantee the aid reached those who deserve it and not to fall in the hands of terrorists since the aid which International Organizations try to send mostly fall in the hands of terrorists.

A new batch of humanitarian aid offered by Russia was distributed to the locals in al-Rhaibeh city in cooperation with Damascus Countryside Governorate and the Ministry of State for National Reconciliation Affairs.

Humanitarian Aid from Russia distributed to locals in al-Rhaibeh in Damascus Countryside
http://sana.sy/en/?p=75414

Yuri Zrayev, representative of the Russian Coordination Center in Hmeimeem said in a statement that the aid is offered by the Russian people to the Syrian people with whom they have strong relationships.

Zrayev added that the Russian Coordination Center in Hmeimeem continues work to consolidate the cessation of hostilities and to communicate with the armed groups to join the agreement and act to defeat terrorism completely.

A Russian medical team provided patients with medical services in al-Rhaibeh city which is located 50 kilometers to the north east of Damascus Countryside.

Syria condemned in the strongest of terms the holding of a provocative meeting in the occupied Syrian Golan by the Israeli occupation government.

Syria condemns Israeli occupation government’s holding of meeting in occupied Syrian Golan
http://sana.sy/en/?p=74828

In two identical letters to the UN Secretary-General and the head of the Security Council issued on Sunday, the Syrian Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said that the Syrian Arab Republic condemns in the strongest of terms the Israeli occupation government’s holding of this meeting which it stressed is null and void, calling on the UN and the Security Council to intervene immediately to condemn that irresponsible meeting and demanding that this reckless act is never repeated, particularly since the meeting was held on occupied Syrian territory.

The Ministry called on the UN to shoulder its commitments and duties of implementing the UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions which did not recognize the Israeli occupation of Syrian territory, particularly Security Council resolution no. 497 for 1981 which rejects the Israeli Knesset’s decision of ill repute on annexing the Syrian Golan, a decision that not one state in the world recognized and that violates international law and human rights.

The letters pointed out that if UN resolutions no. 242 and 338 are considered the basis for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict, then such Israeli policies prove that Israel has zero respect for the international community and its resolutions.

The Ministry stressed that Security Council resolution no. 497 states that the seizing of lands by force is unacceptable as per the UN Charter, and that the resolution considers Israel’s decision to annex the Syrian Golan and impose its laws, authority, and administration over it null and void and without legal effectiveness on the international levels, and in addition the resolution called on Israel as the occupying force to annul its decision immediately and stated that all the provisions of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 on protecting civilians in times of war are still effective in Syrian territories occupied by Israel.

A video released recently shows that the ISIL has dug a tunnel beneath the ancient al-Tawba hill to steal the invaluable artefacts of the Iraqi city of Nineveh and smuggle them to Israel and Europe via Turkey.

Video Shows ISIL Tunnel to Smuggle Iraq's Ancient Artefacts to Israel, Europe
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950204000382

The video released on Friday by the Arabic section of Sputnik news agency and taken by one of Mosul's residents showed how the ISIL dug the tunnel near the walls of the ancient city of Nineveh to take the antiquities out of the region.

The eyewitness who took the footages of the tunnel said that the ISIL smuggles the ancient artefacts every day, adding that the tunnel is equipped with electrical lamps using a generator.

Also, Amer Abdullah al-Jomaili, a professor at Mosul's university, revealed that 25 pieces of the antiquities have already been smuggled to Israel via Turkey and the rest are being sold in the European auctions.

The city of Nineveh was mentioned in the Bible, dates to the 7th century BC, and was once the largest city in the world.

Syrian Army troops, tipped off by intelligence agents, stopped several ISIL vehicles laden with caches of ammunition and weapons on a road connecting the Northeastern part of Hama province to the Southeastern part of Aleppo province.

Syrian Army Seizes Arms, Explosives Cargo of ISIL Terrorists in Hama Province
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950204000722

The Syrian soldiers ambushed the ISIL convoy of military vehicles on Ithriya-Khanasser road and confiscated the entire cargo.

Several guards of the convoy were also killed or wounded in the ambush.

Three of the ISIL vehicles were fully loaded with different kinds of ammunition and weapons.

Military sources said on Friday that the Syrian army and its allies engaged in heavy fighting with the terrorists in the Northern part of Hama province.

Sources said that one of the notorious field commanders of the al-Nusra Front terrorist group in Hama battlefields was killed in heavy fighting with the Syrian Army troops.

"A senior commander of al-Nusra in Atshan region, nicknamed Abu Moussa, was killed in the Syrian Army's operation in the Northern part of Hama province," sources said.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Or he was referring for something else:

Russian forces in Syria fired on Israeli military aircraft: newspaper

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-russia-israel-idUSKCN0XJ0GY?il=0

Stirring the pot? Israel newspaper makes unsubstantiated claims that Russia fired on Israeli Air Force planes

http://www.sott.net/article/316960-Stirring-the-pot-Israel-newspaper-makes-unsubstantiated-claims-that-Russia-fired-on-Israeli-Air-Force-planes

Thanks guys! :)

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Obama Requests Military Support for Possible War Against Russia

http://russia-insider.com/en/obama-requests-military-support-possible-war-against-russia/ri14043

Originally appeared at Off Guardian

_https://off-guardian.org/2016/04/24/is-obama-preparing-for-a-possible-war-against-russia/

The Nobel Peace Prize winner

According to an April 23rd article carried by Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten (German Economic News), U.S. President Barack Obama is “demanding the active deployment of the Bundeswehr [Germany’s armed forces, including their Army, Navy, and Air Force] to NATO’s eastern borders” at Poland and the Baltic republics, to join the quadrupling of America’s forces there, on and near the borders of Russia. This is an extreme violation of what Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to when he ended the Soviet Union and its NATO-mirror organization the Warsaw Pact, but it’s actually culminating a process that began shortly after he agreed to America’s terms, which included that NATO “not move one inch to the east.”

Furthermore, DWN reports that on April 25th, the U.S. President will hold a summit meeting in Hannover, Germany with the leaders of Germany (Angela Merkel), Italy (Matteo Renzi), France (Francois Hollande), and Britain (David Cameron). The presumed objective of this meeting is to agree to establish in the NATO countries bordering on Russia a military force of these five countries, a force threatening Russia with an invasion, if or when NATO subsequently decides that the ‘threat from Russia’ be ‘responded to’ militarily.

NATO’s encirclement of Russia with forces hostile to it is supposedly defensive — not an offensive operation — against Russia and is presented as such by our media. During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, J. F. Kennedy didn’t consider Nikita Khrushchev’s plan to base nuclear missiles in Cuba to be ‘defensive’ on the USSR’s part — and neither does Russia’s President Vladimir Putin consider America’s far bigger operation of surrounding Russia with such weapons to be ‘defensive’. The U.S. government, and NATO, act as if Russia is threatening them rather than them threatening and encircling Russia — and their news media transmit this lie as if it were a truth and one worthy of being taken seriously. In actual fact, NATO has already expanded right up to Russia’s western borders.

Obama is thus now adding to the economic sanctions against Russia that he had imposed because of Russia’s alleged ‘seizure’ of Crimea from Ukraine after the US and EU engineered coup overthrew Russia’s ally Viktor Yanukovych who had led Ukraine until the coup in February 2014.

Even though Western-sponsored polls in Crimea, both before and after the coup, had shown higher than 90% support by Crimeans for rejoining with Russia, right after Crimeans voted overwhelmingly to rejoin Russia, Obama slapped sanctions against Russia. Nuclear weapons were prepared, both on the U.S.-EU side and on the Russian side, for a possible nuclear war.

This is no mere restoration of the Cold War (which was supposedly based on the capitalist-communist ideological disagreement); it’s getting forces into position for a possible invasion of Russia, pure-and-simple — raw conquest — though no major news-media in the West are reporting it as being such.

The current preparation doesn’t necessarily mean a nuclear war will result from them. Russia might accept whatever the demands ‘the West’ makes of it and thus lose its sovereignty. Alternatively, if Russia stands-its-ground and refuses to yield up its national sovereignty,‘the West’ (the U.S.leadership, and the leaderships in its allied countries) could cease with its evermore-ominous threats and simply withdraw from Russia’s borders.

Basically, by 2013 the U.S. leadership had decided to take over Ukraine and refused to acknowledge the rights of the Crimean people to reject the new dispensation in Kiev and decide on its own future — and, by late February 2014, Russia’s leadership decided toprotect them against the type of invasion that subsequently occurred in Ukraine’s former Donbass region, where the opposition to Obama’s coup was even more intense.

The West keeps asserting that Russia is somehow in the wrong here. However, since even the head of Stratfor has called what Obama did in Ukraine “the most blatant coup in history”, and since the fact that it was a U.S. coup has been documented extensively on cellphone and other videos, and in the most thorough academic investigation that has been performed of the matter — and was even acknowledged by Ukraine’s Petro Poroshenko, a participant in the coup, to have been a coup — and since evidence survives on the Internet of the U.S. Embassy’s preparations as early as 1 March 2013 for the February 2014 coup; and since even the U.S. government’s hired polls showed that Crimeans rejected overwhelmingly the U.S. coup and supported rejoining Russia; the question still needs to be answered: What is the basis of the West’s aggressive actions threatening Russia’s national security other than its own imperialist ambitions towards Russia camouflaged with the lies about an aggressive Russia and an aggressive President Putin the Western mass media have been bombarding the public with? And, that’s a very worrisome basis — worrisome regarding, essentially, a type of dictatorshipin the West, rather than any dictatorship outside it. The aggression and the threat here seem clearly to be coming from the West, against the East.

Back in January, Russian President Vladimir Putin had once again called out American President Barack Obama on Obama’s big lie that America’s “ABM” weapons to disable in-flight nuclear missiles were being installed in Europe in order to protect Europe against Iranian nuclear missiles. Now, however, while the U.S. acknowledges that Iran doesn’t have, and won’t have, any nuclear missiles, Obama is stepping up (instead of ending) those same ABM installations in Europe, close to Russia’s borders. The only real reason they have been installed, as Putin argues, is in order to enable a sudden nuclear attack against Russia capable of disabling Russia’s retaliatory capacity in a matter of minutes.

The only rational response by the Western public to what Obama and his foreign allies are doing is to recognize what is actually happening and to take action against their own leaders, before this increasingly high-stakes confrontation becomes terminal. In this instance, the people of the countries that comprise the political West need to defend themselves against their own national leaders. This is a situation that is frequently encountered in dictatorships.

The key questions are not being asked in the Western press, however; they are being ignored by it. Unless these questions are publicly dealt with — and soon — the answer to them all could well be terminal for millions of civilians in Europe and elsewhere.
The closer things get to a nuclear war, the more difficult it is for either side to back down from it — and this is especially the case with the aggressor, most especially when it falsely claims that it is being aggressed-against.

This is the reason why the lies peddled by the political leadership of the West urgently need to be exposed.

 

[angelburst29]

Obama Requests Military Support for Possible War Against Russia

http://russia-insider.com/en/obama-requests-military-support-possible-war-against-russia/ri14043

Originally appeared at Off Guardian

_https://off-guardian.org/2016/04/24/is-obama-preparing-for-a-possible-war-against-russia/

The Nobel Peace Prize winner

According to an April 23rd article carried by Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten (German Economic News), U.S. President Barack Obama is “demanding the active deployment of the Bundeswehr [Germany’s armed forces, including their Army, Navy, and Air Force] to NATO’s eastern borders” at Poland and the Baltic republics, to join the quadrupling of America’s forces there, on and near the borders of Russia. This is an extreme violation of what Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to when he ended the Soviet Union and its NATO-mirror organization the Warsaw Pact, but it’s actually culminating a process that began shortly after he agreed to America’s terms, which included that NATO “not move one inch to the east.”

Furthermore, DWN reports that on April 25th, the U.S. President will hold a summit meeting in Hannover, Germany with the leaders of Germany (Angela Merkel), Italy (Matteo Renzi), France (Francois Hollande), and Britain (David Cameron). The presumed objective of this meeting is to agree to establish in the NATO countries bordering on Russia a military force of these five countries, a force threatening Russia with an invasion, if or when NATO subsequently decides that the ‘threat from Russia’ be ‘responded to’ militarily.

NATO’s encirclement of Russia with forces hostile to it is supposedly defensive — not an offensive operation — against Russia and is presented as such by our media. During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, J. F. Kennedy didn’t consider Nikita Khrushchev’s plan to base nuclear missiles in Cuba to be ‘defensive’ on the USSR’s part — and neither does Russia’s President Vladimir Putin consider America’s far bigger operation of surrounding Russia with such weapons to be ‘defensive’. The U.S. government, and NATO, act as if Russia is threatening them rather than them threatening and encircling Russia — and their news media transmit this lie as if it were a truth and one worthy of being taken seriously. In actual fact, NATO has already expanded right up to Russia’s western borders.

[...]

This is no mere restoration of the Cold War (which was supposedly based on the capitalist-communist ideological disagreement); it’s getting forces into position for a possible invasion of Russia, pure-and-simple — raw conquest — though no major news-media in the West are reporting it as being such.

The Globalresearch site has the article posted, also, which gives me the impression, the information of Obama "demanding" Merkel add her Military forces with NATO on the Borders with Russia ..... is serious. If Merkel has been trying to stay neutral, this will force her to take sides - for or against Russia?

http://www.globalresearch.ca/obama-requests-eu-support-for-possible-war-against-russia/5521560

Obama, Merkel Meet in Germany’s Hannover for Bilateral Talks (VIDEO)
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160424/1038530989/obama-merkel-talks.html

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Barack Obama are expected to discuss a number of international issues including crises in Ukraine, Libya, Syria and the ratification of the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal.

The event comes as part of Obama's fifth visit to Germany as president of the United States. According to deputy German government spokeswoman Christiane Wirtz, Obama’s Hannover meeting with Merkel may be the last time the leaders get to meet face-to-face during his presidency.

The US and German leaders are expected to discuss a number of international issues. The official agenda includes crises in Ukraine, Libya, Syria and the ratification of the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal. The two leaders' meeting is broadcast live by the N-24 channel.

On Monday, Obama and Merkel are set to continue talks in Hannover in a wider circle – with the participation of the president of France and the prime ministers of the United Kingdom and Italy.



Obama Discusses NATO's Next Moves in Iraq With Merkel
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160424/1038534073/nato-obama-us-merkel.html

US President Barack Obama said on Sunday he discussed with German Chancellor Angela Merkel additional measures to be implemented by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to help Iraq.

 

[angelburst29]

Norway has vowed to increase its military spending by as much as half a billion USD to boost defense capability around its northern border with Russia citing a so-called "Russian threat" ; meanwhile, the country has increased its arms exports to the US by as much as $10 million, which is apparently being used in conflict zones such as Iraq.

Norway Goes Military: Army Spending Skyrockets on 'Russian Threat'
http://sputniknews.com/world/20150429/1021529452.html

The Norwegian government is apparently in the throes of a military fever.

It has pledged to increase military spending by as much as half a billion dollars to boost its defense capability around its northern border with Russia to be able to withstand what it sees as the phantom “Russian threat.”

A Norwegian fighter jet mistakenly fired at an observation turret during target practice earlier this month; no one was hurt in the incident, according to the Associated Press.

Norwegian Warplane Fires on Surveillance Tower With People Nearby
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160424/1038527860/norway-fighter-jet-incident.html

The Norwegian Air Force's F-16 fighter jet accidentally fired at a control tower as three military personnel stood near the facility during drills earlier this year; no one was hurt in the incident, the Associated Press reported.

The news agency quoted Norwegian Air Force spokesman Major Stian Roen as saying that the incident took place on April 13 on the island of Tarva, off the country's western coast.

According to him, the F-16 was due to fire at a simulated target on the airfield about 500 meters away when "something went wrong."

He also said that the observation tower was slightly damaged by the gunfire, and that further details would be revealed after the completion of an investigation into the incident.

Members of the Norwegian military and opposition politicians have reacted furiously to reports that the government proposes to make cuts to the country's armed forces, particularly in the north of the country, NRK reported.

Defense Without People: Norway Cuts Personnel in a Military Shake-Up
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160424/1038530325/norway-defense-cuts-uproar.html

The Norwegian government, a center-right coalition comprised of the Conservative Party and the Progress Party, has come under fire after the leak of defense reforms which propose to cut the number of armed forces and close several bases.

According to a report from Norwegian broadcaster NRK, the defense ministry intends to close nine military bases and cut the number of military personnel by 1,500. Most of those affected will be ground troops, but some coastal defense units and maritime territorial troops are also facing cuts.

The reports have been met with an uproar by representatives of Norway's armed forces and opposition politicians keen on saving local jobs in the areas they represent.

Pal Nygaard, head of the ground forces' union, said that the reforms will have "dramatic consequences" for defense.

"We will be completely paralyzed if the current government goes ahead with such a project. Our ground forces have one brigade; if the second and supporting departments are disbanded, we lose the brigade as a system," he told NRK.

Norway's Officer's Association told NRK that the greatest cuts concern ground forces based in the north of the country. In the region of Troms, 900 members of the armed forces are thought to have been deemed surplus to requirements.

"They are our busiest units. I don't understand the logic, I don't understand how such a decision can be taken," Colonel Bjorn Tore Woll, spokesman for Norway's Officer's Union, told NRK.

Sooner or later, Serbia will become the center of a geostrategic fault line between NATO and Russia, writes Expert Magazine contributor Sergei Belous. There will come a point, the journalist says, when Serbian leaders' game of 'geopolitical splits' becomes impossible to maintain, and they will have to make a choice between NATO and Russia.

Sooner or Later, Serbia Will Have to Make a Choice: NATO or Russia
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160424/1038532643/serbia-nato-russia-analysis.html

Serbia is holding snap parliamentary elections on Sunday, with pundits describing the poll as a litmus test of Prime Minister Aleksander Vucic's pro-Brussels course. Russian analysts joined their foreign colleagues in predicting a victory for the incumbent from the Serbian Progressive Party, who assumed office last April, and initiated the elections two years ahead of schedule.

Vucic's campaign has stressed that membership in the European Union is his party's key goal, but has also said that it wants to preserve good relations with Russia.

In his in-depth analysis for the Russian business magazine Expert, translated and adapted by Oriental Review, Belgrade-based contributor Sergei Belous argues that as the North Atlantic Alliance continues its expansion, while relations between Moscow and the military bloc deteriorate, Serbia will have to make a choice: to ally with NATO, which bombed the country less than two decades ago, or to return to its historical alliance with Russia.

We intentionally set the bar too high for the Serbs to comply. They need some bombing and that's what they are going to get."

"This," the journalist writes, "was how then-US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright described the draft peace agreement devoted to the resolution of the Kosovo crisis in Rambouillet in February 1999, speaking to journalists on the sidelines (off the record, of course)."

"At the time, the Yugoslav delegation stated its willingness to concede many points, with the exception of independence for Kosovo (which was nonnegotiable for the Albanians). But the Yugoslavs did not see the final draft of the accord until the last day of the talks, and as it turned out, two-thirds of that document was entirely new to them (and they were presented with it literally only a few hours before the signing deadline)."

The new draft, Belous recalled, included provisions to see the deployment of NATO troops not only in Kosovo, but throughout the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. According to the agreement, the troops were to be given unrestricted passage and unimpeded access throughout the country, and, moreover, would "be immune from the Parties' jurisdiction in respect of any civil, administrative, criminal or disciplinary offenses."

"Belgrade, feeling like they were being asked to accept terms of occupation and surrender, refused to sign the agreement…NATO then treated this rebuff as a casus belli: after the Serbian government definitively rejected the ultimatum thrust before them in the document, the alliance began missile and bomb strikes in Yugoslavia on March 24, 1999." (Long article continues.)

A deputy chief of the Samara Region police in southern Russia has been found murdered alongside with five of his relatives in their village house.

Deputy Police Chief, His Family Brutally Murdered in Southern Russia
http://sputniknews.com/russia/20160424/1038531410/russia-murder-police-investigation.html

They were reportedly beaten to death. The only survivor of the attack, a 7-year-old girl, is now in a coma.

The incident took place in the Ivashovka village in Samara Region on Sunday, according to RIA Novosti. Forty-nine year-old Andrey Gosht and members of his family died of multiple injuries.

Gosht was deputy head of police of Samara region. Before that he had served as police chief of Syzran, which is the third largest city in Samara region.

Russia's Investigative Committee has started investigating the murder.

The Syrian army on Sunday rejected the claims that the ISIL terrorist group has shot down its fighter jet, saying that the aircraft crashed due to technical flaws.

Syria Rejects Fighter Jet Shooting
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950205000743

The rejection came after news reports by some western and Arab media claimed that the ISIL had captured a Syrian air force pilot after shooting down his MiG-23 airplane in Damascus countryside on Friday.

"The plane had recently undergone repairs and was conducting a scheduled sortie; there was no attack from the ground and it crashed because of a technical flaw," a Syrian military source said.

The source also said that the pilot safely ejected from the aircraft shortly before it exploded in a fireball, but declined to comment on his fate.

The ISIL had claimed that it shot down the Russian-built aircraft after it took off from the Al Dumayr military airbase East of Damascus.

The source refused to confirm that the pilot has been taken by the ISIL.

ISIL claims that it has taken the pilot, but has not presented any photo, footage or proof to substantiate its claim.

The ISIL terrorist group, in an attempt to make its executions methods even more horrifying, locked the groups' defectors in a freezer for a day and killed 45 fellow fighters in a warning to other potential defectors.

ISIL Freezes 45 Fellow Fighters to Death
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950205000377

According to Iraqi media agency Al Sumaria News, the ISIL fighters who were killed by their comrades, attempted to flee the battlefield during recent fights in Iraq.

They were executed by being locked in morgue freezers in Mosul for 24 hours, left for a slow, presumably agonizing death.

Their bodies, then, were reportedly stretched out along the sides of the road at city entrances as a warning to other fighters on the consequences waiting for possible defectors.

ISIL terrorist group has had to resort to more brutal ways to fuel more fear inside or outside its occupied territories, as Iraqi government forces have been retaking major cities and slowly pushing the terrorists back to the Syrian borders.

Despite government's continuous attempts to tighten the security in the capital, the militant group manages to explode car bombs at the middle of Baghdad once in awhile, or even targeting Shia mosques.

As the terror group keeps losing territory to its opponents as well as cash due to air strikes on their oil infrastructure, many of its fighters have deserted.

ISIL often subjects captives to horrific and elaborate execution methods, and films them as part of their propaganda campaign.

According to media reports, their brutal torturing methods so far included drowning men in cages in swimming pool, strapping explosives to the heads of kneeling men connected by wires and burning hostages alive in cages, among others.

 

[angelburst29]

A U.S. proposal to divide Syria into zones of influence is unreasonable, according to Viktor Ozerov, who chairs the Defense and Security Committee of Russia's Federation Council.

New U.S. initiative to divide Syria into zones of influence unreasonable - Russian Senator
http://rbth.com/news/2016/04/24/new-us-initiative-to-divide-syria-into-zones-of-influence-unreasonable-russian-senator_587503

A U.S. proposal to divide Syria into zones of influence is unreasonable, Viktor Ozerov, who chairs the Defense and Security Committee of the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia's parliament, told Interfax on Sunday.

"We should cooperate with the U.S. on a parity basis, and we should not divide Syria into zones of influence," she said when commenting on Washington's new initiative concerning the observance of the truce in Syria.

"Finding zones of responsibility will not work. We, as truce guarantors, need to be certain that this is happening across the whole of Syria's territory.

For this reason, it was no accident that we invited the Americans to cooperate with us as part of the information center in Baghdad. We are ready to cooperate with them today as well," Ozerov said.

The negative experience of creating zones of responsibility was observed in post-war Germany in the past century, he said.

"At that time, all this turned into a problem not only for the German people, but also for entire Europe and the whole of mankind," Ozerov said.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday that the United States had proposed a 24-hour truce monitoring system to Russia.

"We've even proposed drawing a line, an absolute line, and saying, 'You don't go over there, we don't go over here, and anything in between is fair game," Kerry was quoted as saying on Saturday by the New York Times newspaper.

The U.S. secretary of state also said he believed that the Russian side would consider that, and "I think we will get there in the next week or so."

Today, two centers - a Russian center located at the Hmeimim base and an American one in Amman, Jordan - are monitoring the cessation of hostilities in Syria. These centers are receiving all information about A U.S. proposal to divide Syria into zones of influence is unreasonable, Viktor Ozerov, who chairs the Defense and Security Committee of the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia's parliament, told Interfax on Sunday.

"We should cooperate with the U.S. on a parity basis, and we should not divide Syria into zones of influence," she said when commenting on Washington's new initiative concerning the observance of the truce in Syria.

"Finding zones of responsibility will not work. We, as truce guarantors, need to be certain that this is happening across the whole of Syria's territory. For this reason, it was no accident that we invited the Americans to cooperate with us as part of the information center in Baghdad. We are ready to cooperate with them today as well," Ozerov said.

The negative experience of creating zones of responsibility was observed in post-war Germany in the past century, he said.

"At that time, all this turned into a problem not only for the German people, but also for entire Europe and the whole of mankind," Ozerov said.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday that the United States had proposed a 24-hour truce monitoring system to Russia.

"We've even proposed drawing a line, an absolute line, and saying, 'You don't go over there, we don't go over here, and anything in between is fair game," Kerry was quoted as saying on Saturday by the New York Times newspaper.

The U.S. secretary of state also said he believed that the Russian side would consider that, and "I think we will get there in the next week or so."

Number of populated areas that have joined the agreements on the cessation of hostilities has grown to 70, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Number of communities joining reconciliation process in Syria reaches 70
http://rbth.com/news/2016/04/23/number-of-communities-joining-reconciliation-process-in-syria-reaches-70_587417

The number of populated areas that have joined the agreements on the cessation of hostilities has grown to 70, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Facebook.

"A reconciliation agreement has been concluded with representatives of a populated area in the Homs governorate. The number of populated areas that have joined the reconciliation process has grown to 70," it said.

The number of illegal armed groups that have declared their commitment to the cessation of hostilities has reached 50, it said.

Negotiations on joining the cessation of hostilities have also been continued with the field commander of an armed opposition group in the Homs governorate, it said.

The Syrian Army, backed by the Air Force, continued carrying out combating terrorism in various area and provinces of the country.

Command centers and vehicles for Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS terrorists destroyed
http://sana.sy/en/?p=75455

Daraa An army unit targeted Jabhat al-Nusra-linked terrorist groups that launched an attack from the direction of al-Sheikh Hussein and Khleif hills on military posts on the border with Sweida province, a military source told SANA on Sunday.

The attack was foiled, with many of the terrorists getting killed or injured before the rest escaped, the source said.

Another army unit destroyed an artillery position and a command center for Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists in Daraa al-Mahatta neighborhood in Daraa city.

More terrorists from groups affiliated to Jabhat al-Nusra suffered heavy losses as they were targeted after attacking military checkpoints in al-Manshiyeh neighborhood in Daraa al-Balad area in the city.

Homs In the central province of Homs, the Syrian Air Force launched strikes against sites and gatherings of ISIS terrorists in the provinces’ eastern countryside.

A number of vehicles equipped with machine guns were destroyed in the airstrikes to the east of al-Qaryatain city, some 85 km southeast of Homs city.

A large number of ISIS terrorists were also killed as air strikes hit their gatherings, sites and supply routes in the direction of Arak Road to the east of Tadmur (Palmyra) city and in the northern mountains surrounding the city.

Hama An army unit targeted terrorist positions in the town of Kafrnabouda and surrounding villages in the countryside of Hama province on Sunday, a military source told SANA.

The source said that the army that the positions in question were used by terrorists to fire shells and rockets at al-Sqailibiye town 48 km northwest of Hama city, and that the army’s operations resulted in destroying a number of rocket and mortar launchers in al-Jaberiye village and the surroundings of Kafrnabouda, in addition to killing a number of terrorists.

It should be noted that terrorists targeted al-Sqailibiye with 14 rocket shells on Sunday morning, killing one civilian and injuring 4 others, in addition to causing considerable material damage.

In the province’s eastern countryside, the military source said that an army unit, in cooperation with popular defense groups, set an ambush for terrorist groups from ISIS south of Aqareb town, which resulted in destroying a machinegun-equipped armored vehicles and killing many terrorists.

US President Barack Obama is expected to announce the deployment of additional 250 military personnel to Syria on Monday, the US media reported.

Obama to Announce Deployment of Additional 250 Troops to Syria
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160425/1038540735/obama-more-syria-troops.html

The deployment will expand the US military presence in the country from just 50 special operations forces to 250 service members, the Wall Street Journal said, citing senior US officials.

The president signed off on the plan only recently after his advisers convinced him that increased US presence would help the Pentagon make new gains against the Islamic State (Daesh), a terror group outlawed by the United States, Russia and other nations, which is in control of large swaths of Syrian land.

According to the outlet’s sources, the troops will not likely engage in combat operations, although they will be close to the front line. Instead, they will provide intelligence, medical and logistics support to Arab fighters in northern Syria. It is not clear how many of them will be with special operations forces.

Obama is anticipated to announce his decision in Hannover, Germany, where he will inaugurate the Hannover Messe, which is the world’s largest trade fair for industrial technology. The fair will take place from Monday through Friday.

The Russian military brought 4.5 tons of humanitarian aid and provided urgent medical help to Syrians in the Damascus and Aleppo provinces, the Defense Ministry said late Sunday.

Russia Brings 4.5 Tons of Relief Aid to Syrians in Damascus, Aleppo
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160425/1038540487/russia-brings-aid-damascus-aleppo.html

"Ruheiba (Damascus province) and Abtin (Aleppo province) have received 4.5 tons of humanitarian cargoes," the Russian center for reconciliation said in a bulletin.

Aid workers from the Hmeymim-based center in the western Latakia region offered medical assistance to 22 civilians, the ministry said, adding more humanitarian convoys for people in the Damascus province were being loaded.

Russia has been mediating a ceasefire in parts of Syria since February. More than 50 armed groups have so far signed up to the truce with the government. The lull in fighting has enabled Russia to deliver tonnes of aid cargo, mostly food, to residents in the war-torn country.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that al-Nusra Front jihadist group continues focusing its powers northwest of Syria’s Aleppo city and in northeastern parts of the Latakia province.

Al-Nusra Front Focusing Powers Near Syria’s Aleppo City
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160424/1038538477/nusra-focusing-syria-aleppo-latakia.html

Al-Nusra Front jihadist group continues focusing its powers northwest of Syria’s Aleppo city and in northeastern parts of the Latakia province, the Russian Defense Ministry said Sunday.

“According to information received from civilians, Jabhat al-Nusra [al-Nusra Front] terrorist group continues concentrating its forces to north-west of Aleppo and in northeastern regions of the Latakia province,” the ministry said in a daily bulletin posted on its website.

The ministry also reported that Ahrar al-Sham militants shelled settlements in Syrian Latakia province, as well as army positions in the province of Aleppo.

“In the Latakia province, militants of Ahrar al-Sham grouping, which had claimed to belong to the opposition, carried out shelling with mortars and multiple launch rocket systems against Sandran, Beit Smaira and Shmaisa,” the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation said.

According to the bulletin, Ahrar al-Sham militants also attacked positions of the government troops in suburbs of Sheikh Maqsood and Salah al-Din cities in Aleppo province with small arms and mortars

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Kremlin declines comment on US plan to send troops to Syria

http://tass.ru/en/politics/872222

Earlier on Monday, US President Barack Obama, speaking in Hanover, Germany, said Washington would dispatch up to 250 additional personnel to Syria

MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/. The Russian military are in Syria on legal grounds, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday when asked about the Kremlin’s reaction to the US decision to send 250 additional troops to Syria.

"I can only say once again that the Russian contingent is in Syria on legal grounds, in full conformity with international law, on the basis of the Syrian legitimate authorities’ request," Peskov said declining to comment on Washington’s decision.

Earlier on Monday, US President Barack Obama, speaking in Hanover, Germany, said Washington would dispatch up to 250 additional personnel to Syria. Obama also called the threat posed by the Islamic State (terrorist group outlawed in Russia) one of the most serious.

Putin: Foreign foundations’ meddling in Russian education is ‘extremely dangerous’

http://tass.ru/en/politics/872300

Participation of foreign foundations and institutions in Russian education is "extremely dangerous," Putin warns

YOSHKAR-OLA, April 25./TASS/. Participation of foreign foundations and institutions in Russian education is "extremely dangerous," Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Monday.

"Anyone who feels like it engages in education, not only pre-school but also school education - some foreign foundations are meddling, financing somebody," the president said told the ‘Forum of Action’ session of the All-Russia Popular Front.

"Of course, we must be open to all that is new, but these foundations are in no way in line with our traditions, culture," the president said. "This is an extremely dangerous thing," he went on.

"Of course, we must be open to the world and to everything new in order to progress, but we must in no way forget about our cultural roots, our traditions," he said, urging special attention to this problem.

More than 10 Russian Baltic Fleet ships put to sea for exercises

http://tass.ru/en/defense/872298

The minesweepers and small anti-submarine ships will drill missions to protect and defend a water area

KALININGRAD, April 25. /TASS/. More than 10 warships, boats and supply vessels of Russia’s Baltic Fleet have put to sea for exercises that will include artillery and torpedo firing drills, Baltic Fleet spokesman Vladimir Matveyev said on Monday.

"During several days the ships’ crews will conduct at sea ranges artillery and torpedo firing drills aiming at sea, air and shore targets; the forces’ combat readiness in anti-submarine warfare and air defense actions will be checked", he said.

The minesweepers and small anti-submarine ships will drill missions to protect and defend a water area. The fleet’s anti-submarine naval aviation will be also involved in the drills. An amphibious assault beach landing operation will be drilled at the fleet’s Khmelevka range with the task to establish a bridgehead on the imaginary enemy’s shore.

ISIS ARMS STORAGE FOUND AND TAKEN UNDER CONTROL IN DIYALA PROVINCE

http://katehon.com/news/isis-arms-storage-found-and-taken-under-control-diyala-province

"The arms depot contained a large amount of weapons, missiles, bombs and explosives which were used by ISIS ," the Arabic-languaged mainstream media quoted Major General al-Azawi as saying on Monday.

The commander noted that the depot was seized in al-Zour region 45 kilometers to the Northeast of Baquba.

He said that the Tigris Operations take place for putting an end to the ISIL operations in Diyala.

In a relevant development on Wednesday, Iraqi officials announced the seizure of three main headquarters the ISIS during a security operation Northeast of Baquba.

Member of Diyala Provincial Council, Karim Abdullah said in a statement obtained that al-Hashed al-Asha’ri militia of Jabour tribe, active in the area of Sharwin, Northeast of Baquba, conducted an operation in coordination with the security forces, in al-Zour area and succeeded in seizing three main headquarters for ISIS.

The statement added, “The ISIL militants escaped and did not confront the raiding force.”

In a separate development on Wednesday, The Ramadi Governor, Ibrahim al-Awsaj, announced three mass graves containing the remains of 30 civilian and military personnel have been discovered in Southern Ramadi.

Awsaj said in a brief statement that the mass graves were found in the area of al-Mallab in Southern Ramadi,” noting that, “the graves included the remains of 30 persons, most of whom were military personnel along with some civilians, including two children.”

He also added that the graves were opened under the supervision of an investigating judge, while the dead bodies were transferred to the forensic medicine authority.

EXCLUSIVE: Syrian Army Advances Near Palmyra City

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950206001000

The army advanced towards Arak region in the Eastern countryside of Palmyra city and has managed to approach Arak and T3 gas fields.

The Syrian army has won back the strategic cities of Palmyra and Quaryatayn in the part month.

If the army purges terrorists from Arak gas field in the coming days, the next destination will be the strategic city of al-Sukhneh which would mean cutting off ISIL's main supply route between Deir Ezzur and Raqqa provinces.

In a relevant development earlier on Monday, the Syrian fighter jets carried out several combat flights over the ISIL concentration centers near Palmyra and Quaryatayn and targeted the terrorist group's military and supplying vehicles.

The Syrian warplanes bombed a number of the ISIL machinegun-equipped vehicles on a road in the Eastern part of Quaryatayn, which not only claimed the lives of several militants but destroyed the vehicles in large scale.

The Syrian Army's aircraft, in the meantime, targeted a supplying route of the ISIL between the Arak oilfield and Eastern part of Palmyra, which ended in the destruction of most of the column's vehicles.

An ISIL site in the Northern mountain of Palmyra came also under the heavy bombardments of the Syrian jets.

A report said also on Sunday that the Syrian popular forces killed and injured several terrorists in a successful ambush in the Northern part of Homs province.

At least two terrorists were killed and several others were injured when the popular forces ambushed them in the Northern part of the village of Kafar Nan in Northern Homs.

EXCLUSIVE: Popular Forces Fend Off Al-Nusra Front Attacks in Dara'a Province

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950206001200

Over 20 Al-Nusra Front terrorists were killed and 15 others were injured in tough battle with the NDF and Fatemiyoun brigade forces in Sweida border regions, including Khalif and al-Sheikh Hassan hilltops.

Meantime, the Syrian army's artillery units pounded the military positions of Al-Nusra Front terrorist group in Basri Square in Dara'a power plant region, destroying Al-Nusra Front terrorists' gathering center with all the militants inside.

In a relevant development earlier on Monday, the Syrian Army troops stormed the positions and a main command center of the al-Nusra Front in one of the Central neighborhoods of the city of Dara'a and inflicted major losses on the terrorists.

At least eleven members of al-Nusra Front were killed and several more were wounded in the Syrian soldiers' offensives on the terrorist group's centers in Dara'a al-Mahatta.

The army men also repelled Takfiri terrorists' attempts to prevail over the government forces' checkpoint in Dara'a al-Mahatta, which ended in the killing or wounding of several militants.

Also on Sunday, the Syrian army repulsed terrorists' attack on Sheikh Hossein (Tal al-Sheikh Hossein) and Khalif hilltops in Dara'a province near the borders with Sweida.

The Al-Nusra Front terrorists were pushed back from the strategic regions in Dara'a province.

Meantime, a group of al-Nusra Front terrorists were killed as they were trying to attack strategic areas in Manshiyeh region in Dara'a al-Balad near the border with Jordan.

 

[goyacobol]

In light of the dropping oil prices the Saudis may be not as financially pressed as it seems according to this RT article:

Saudi Arabia to set up $2tn mega-fund for post oil era

The world’s largest crude exporter Saudi Arabia plans to create a huge sovereign wealth fund for the country’s most prized assets to prepare for a post oil era, said Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as cited by Bloomberg.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) will eventually control more than $2 trillion and help the kingdom to shift from oil which has seen falling prices strain Saudi Arabia's finances.

According to the Prince, the wealth fund already holds stakes in companies like Saudi Basic Industries (the world’s second-biggest chemicals manufacturer), and National Commercial Bank (the kingdom’s largest lender).

“Undoubtedly, it will be the largest fund on Earth,” said the prince. “This will happen as soon as Aramco goes public.”

As part of the new strategy, Riyadh plans to sell shares of state-owned energy company Saudi Aramco and transform it into an industrial conglomerate. The sale of the company is planned by 2018 or even a year earlier.

“IPOing Aramco and transferring its shares to PIF will technically make investment the source of Saudi government revenue, not oil,” the prince said in an interview at the royal compound in Riyadh on Thursday. “What is left now is to diversify investments. So within 20 years, we will be an economy or state that doesn’t depend mainly on oil.”

According to the fund’s secretary general Yasir Alrumayyan, PIF is expected to increase the proportion of foreign investments to 50 percent by 2020 from the current five percent.

The kingdom is highly dependent on oil revenues, and is suffering a record high budget deficit which is expected to reach $87 billion this year. The crude price crisis has had an impact on the economy as oil sales account for almost 80 percent of the country’s revenue. Saudi Arabia’s foreign reserves fell to $640 billion last year from $737 billion in 2014.

In January Riyadh outlined an ambitious economic development plan aimed at dramatically reducing its dependence on crude prices. The authorities intend to restructure the economy by investing more in other sectors, particularly in healthcare, tourism and IT. The government also announced plans to liberalize the market in order to attract foreign investors.

“It is clear Saudi Arabia needs to reform, diversify, and re-energize its economy, but this will involve more than just increasing investment in non-oil industries,” a professor of security studies at Georgetown University in Washington, Paul Sullivan told Bloomberg. “One cannot order economic reforms like a multiple course dinner.”

As Paul Sullivan, professor at Georgetown University in Washington, observes the plan to divest in The Public Investment Fund (PIF) may not be so easy.

It could hinge on the future of the US petrodollar and the influence of the other players such as the US, Russia, Great Britain, Germany, France, Ukraine, NATO, the EU, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, BRICS, China, Israel, etc....

And perhaps most of all on 4D STS influences by way of advanced technology? There is so much on the board that it is difficult to keep track of the pieces.

Thank you to angelburst29 and sToRmR1dR for the continued stream of "news behind the news".

 

[angelburst29]

In light of the dropping oil prices the Saudis may be not as financially pressed as it seems according to this RT article:

Looks like the Saudi's took out a five year loan for $10 Billion to finance their new venture.

Saudi Arabia takes out $10bn in bank loans
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/c30118c8-0630-11e6-a70d-4e39ac32c284.html#axzz46uBMiq1b

Saudi Arabia is raising $10bn from a consortium of global banks as the kingdom embarks on its first international debt issuance in 25 years to counter dwindling oil revenues and reserves.

The landmark five-year loan, a signal of Riyadh’s newfound dependence on foreign capital, opens the way for Saudi to launch its first international bond issue. It comes as the sustained slump in crude encourages other Gulf governments, such as Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Oman, to tap international bond markets.

 

[angelburst29]

Try not to giggle too loud? Well Hell ...... yeah ..... go ahead!

Obama: 'We Are Fortunate to Be Living in the Most Peaceful...Era in Human History' (Video)
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/obama-we-are-fortunate-be-living-most-peacefulera-human-history

(CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama, speaking in Germany on Monday, said we're fortunate to be living in the "most peaceful" era in human history.

"I want to begin with an observation that, given the challenges that we face in the world and the headlines we see every day, may seem improbable but it's true. We are fortuate to be living in the most peaceful, most prosperous, most progressive era in human history," he said.

"That may surprise young people who are watching TV or looking at your phones," he said, "and it seems like only bad news comes through every day, but consider it's been decades since the last war between major powers."

In the same speech, the president warned against complacency, as "dangerous forces" threaten to take the world backward.

Then he announced that he is sending 250 more American special forces troops to Syria: "They're not going to be leading the fight on the ground," he said, "but they will be essential in providing the training and assisting local forces that continue to drive ISIL back."

After touting world peace, Obama moved on to prosperity and progress:

"More people live in democracies, where they live wealthier and healthier and better educated with a global economy that has lifted up more than a billion people from extreme poverty and created new middle classes from the Americas to Africa to Asia."

Obama noted that tens of millions of people are saved from disease and infant mortality and people are living longer lives.

"Around the world we're more tolerant, with more opportunity for women and gays and lesbians as we push back on bigotry and prejudice," he said. (He notably did not mention transgenders, a topic that is making headlines back home.)

"If you had to choose a moment in time to be born, any time in human history, and you didn't know ahead of time what nationality you were, or what gender, or what your economic status might be, you'd choose today," the president said.

Short time line script of Obama's visit and speech.

President Barack Obama is meeting with the leaders of four European nations as he wraps up his trip to the United Kingdom and Germany
http://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2016-04-25/the-latest-obama-touts-spirit-of-innovation-in-commerce


2:40 p.m. Wrapping up his trip to Europe, President Barack Obama is huddling with President Francois Hollande of France, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi of Italy, Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany.

The five leaders are making quiet conversation around a large table as they pose for photographs before the meeting, but the talk will soon get serious as the leaders are expected to touch on a wide range of topics, including the battle against the Islamic State group, the civil war in Syria and the ongoing migration crisis stemming from that war.

12:15 p.m. President Barack Obama says "we can't turn our backs on fellow human beings who are here now and need our help now."

Obama is speaking in Hannover, Germany. He is crediting German Chancellor Angela Merkel for setting that tone and he is calling for every nation to step up and share responsibility for helping those fleeing violence in the Middle East, including the United States.

Obama says Europe and the U.S. are more secure when welcoming people of all backgrounds and faiths, including Muslims.

12:00 p.m. President Barack Obama says Europe has sometimes been complacent in its own defense.

Obama is urging European countries to step up their spending on defense during a speech in Hannover, Germany.

Obama says he wants good relations with Russia. But he says the global community must keep up sanctions on Russia until it fully implements its commitments under a Ukraine deal struck in Minsk.

11:55 a.m. President Barack Obama says a united Europe is vital to the world, saying it promotes peace and prosperity.

Obama is making the case that a strong Europe is needed to enhance the world's security, and he says that Europe and NATO can still do more, particularly in Syria and Iraq.

Obama says all NATO members should be contributing at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product to defense.

11:50 a.m. President Barack Obama says he's sending up to 250 more troops to Syria to "keep up this momentum" against Islamic State group.

Obama is speaking at a trade fair in Hannover, Germany. He says the additional troops won't be leading the fight on the ground, but they'll be "essential." He says their goal will be to drive IS back from territory.

Obama says existing U.S. special forces in Syria have been critical in lending expertise to local forces. Obama says some of the additional troops he's sending will be special forces.

The president's announcement brings to 300 the number of U.S. forces battling extremists in war-torn Syria.

11:40 a.m. President Barack Obama says when it comes to demonizing minorities, loud voices get attention.

Obama is alluding to American presidential candidate Donald Trump in a speech in Hannover, Germany. He says this is a defining moment.

Obama says inequality and other trends have created concerns and anxieties in the U.S. and Europe that are legitimate and mustn't be ignored. But Obama says they shouldn't lead to a mentality where people blame their problems on each other.

Obama is decrying a mindset of singling out people who look or pray differently, whether it's immigrants or Muslims. Obama says that's the kind of politics that the European system was set up to work against.

11:30 a.m. President Barack Obama says that there's never been a better time for the world. He says if someone had to choose a moment in time to be born, it would be today.

Obama is speaking at a trade fair in Hannover, Germany. He says there is still enormous suffering and tragedy, but people are fortunate to be living in the most peaceful and prosperous era in human history.

He notes that people are living longer and are better educated. He says it has been decades since the last war between major powers and that the economy has lifted billions out of poverty globally.

In the end, he says, people should take confidence "in our ability to shape our own destiny."

11:20 a.m. As President Barack Obama tours the Hannover trade fair, hundreds of people are demonstrating outside against job cuts at the American technology and consulting company IBM.

Some 200 IBM workers staged a noisy rally on the edge of the fairground Monday to protest against the measures they say will cost 900 jobs in Germany.

Demonstrators held up placards reading "Profit, profit, profit, where's the human?" and "We are family? One IBM. Find the mistake."

A union leader called on protesters to "be loud — maybe the president will hear you." Obama is in Hannover to promote American business at the world's largest industrial trade fair.

IBM Germany didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

9:30 a.m. President Barack Obama is putting in a few good words for the "spirit of innovation" that he says turns ideas into jobs and growth.

He commented Monday before setting out on a tour of the Hannover Messe, the world's largest industrial technology trade show, taking place in Hannover, Germany.

The U.S. is sponsoring this year's show and Obama says it's another chance to urge people to buy "Made in America."

Obama is touring exhibits with German Chancellor Angela Merkel as part of their dual push for a U.S.-European free trade pact.

The tour opens Obama's final day of a six-day, three-country trip.

He's also due to deliver a speech in Hannover and meet with European leaders before returning to Washington.

9:45 a.m. President Barack Obama is something of a technology geek and he is in his element at the Hannover Messe.

Obama and his host, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, are checking out high-tech inventions and chatting with developers at the massive industrial technology trade show.

The leaders are learning about minicomputers that send data from a car to the cloud, a sensor that mimics a gecko's feet to pick up objects and ultra-light prosthetics created for para-Olympian cyclists.

They've checked out an electric vehicle battery charger that maker Phoenix Contact says can give an car battery 100 kilometers worth of charge in just five minutes.

And Obama has tried on virtual reality glasses made with what developer Ifm Stiftung dubs the smallest 3D camera in the world.

With the glasses on his face and cameras snapping photos, Obama reached out as if shaking an invisible hand.

He says, "It's a brave new world."

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Syria - Russia Rejects Kerry's New Attempts To Shield The Terrorists

http://www.moonofalabama.org/2016/04/syria-russia-rejects-kerrys-new-attempts-to-shield-the-terrorists.html

The U.S. admits that the upcoming Aleppo offensive by the Syrian government and its allies is designed to hit al-Qaeda and associated terrorist forces and not primarily the "moderate" unicorns the U.S. propaganda blushes about. But the openly U.S. supported forces will also be hit as they are very much integrated with al-Qaeda. The U.S. has for long considered al-Qaeda a secret ally in its attempt to destroy the Syrian state. The French magazine L'Orient Le Jour sees the U.S. relation with al-Qaeda in Syria as part of the attrition strategy the U.S. is waging against Syria (and Russia).

Secretary of State Kerry tried to convince the Russian that al-Qaeda should not be attacked during the cessation of hostilities. But the Russian's did not agree. Al Qaeda is a UN recognized international terrorist organization which, under UNSC resolutions, must be fought. The U.S. only succeeded in downgrading the permanent ceasefire the Russians had preferred to into a temporary cessation hostilities. It thought to use the time to rearm and to regroup its proxy forces.

But then thing went wrong. An offensive along the Turkish border to push away the Islamic State and to seal the border between the Islamic State and Turkey failed. Al-Qaeda convinced other groups, including directly U.S. supported CIA assets, to prematurely attack Syrian government forces south of Aleppo on Tal el-Eis. The attack mad only little progress before it was stopped.

Now al-Qaeda and the U.S. proxies are heavily targeting the government held western arts of Aleppo city:

Elijah J. Magnier ‏@EjmAlrai 13h13 hours ago
#Aleppo observed the most violent day in d history of d war in #Syria causing 21 killed & 95 wounded. Every single street was hit by rebels+

Since the announcement of the cease-fire, over 492 killed & wounded were registered in the only 2 hospitals in regime held area in #Aleppo.

Rebels hell bombs fell on all streets w/o exception while a group of rebels were trying 2infiltrate d city in West #Aleppo, trapped n sewage

This continued today

Elijah J. Magnier ‏@EjmAlrai 2h2 hours ago
17 killed and 92 wounded in #Aleppo regime controlled area today following rebels Hell cannon bombing. #Syria.

These attacks on the population are designed to bait the Syrian government forces into an immediate all-out attack into the al-Qaeda held parts of Aleppo city. I doubt that they will fall for it. The response for now will be more intense bombing in preparation for a well thought out attack later on.

Kerry recently again tried to convince the Russian government of partitioning Syria into "zones of interest". This would shield terrorist forces form further Syrian and Russian attacks:

“We’ve even proposed drawing a line, an absolute line, and saying, ‘You don’t go over there, we don’t go over here, and anything in between is fair game.’ And they are considering that, and I think we will get there in the next week or so.”

The rather harsh public response to that Kerry nonsense came in today:

MFA Russia @mfa_russia
#Lavrov: Splitting Syria into zones of influence is a simplistic idea; the main objective must be to route terrorism @mod_russia @RussiaUN

#Lavrov: US has not fulfilled its promise made two months ago to move “good opposition forces” away from the terrorist front lines in Syria

#Lavrov: The US State Dept. may shy away from cooperation with Russia, but there is no place for shyness in the fight against terrorism

#Lavrov: The UNSC declared Jabhat al-Nusra a terrorist group. Those who want to distance themselves from this group should do so physically

Translation: Get your proxies out of the way or they will get hurt badly.

The U.S. "plan B" of splitting Syria into statelets has been rejected by the Syrian government and its allies.

The Syrian government and its allies are convinced that they can beat al-Qaeda and its various associates on the battle field. They are preparing a large attack against al-Qaeda and anyone nearby. There is little the U.S. can do to help the designated terrorists of al-Nusra in west Syria. But it continues its attempts to split Syria by inserting more of its special forces into north east Syria. These and their Kurdish proxy fighters have the task to take as much of eastern Syria from the Islamic State and others as possible before the Syrian government forces can do so. The thinking is that any captured town will be an asset in future negotiations. It will be interesting to see how the Syrian government and its allies will counter that move.

Russian servicemen deliver humanitarian aid to refugee center in Latakia

http://tass.ru/en/world/872363

Refugees received packages with individual food ratios, canned fish and meat, sugar, flour, dry milk and cereals

LATAKIA (Syria), April 26. /TASS/. Russian servicemen have delivered around 1.5 tons of humanitarian aid to a refugee center in the Syrian city of Latakia, head of the group for forming and delivering humanitarian cargoes of the Russian Coordination center to reconcile the warring parties in Syria Lt. Col. Vitaly Verbitsky said on Tuesday.

"A meeting was held with representatives of Latakia’s governor, and we chose this region not on accident but considering the fact that here are refugees from the settlements of Fua and Kefraya in the Idlib province which are now blocked by illegal armed groups. That’s why we decided to help precisely these 50 families," Verbitsky said.

Refugees received packages with individual food ratios, canned fish and meat, sugar, flour, dry milk and cereals. Children received sweets - waffles, cookies and candy. Russian military medics set up a mobile medical center and provided necessary assistance to everyone who needed it.

According to Verbitsky, refugees arrived from the region of military actions just a week ago and are still getting used to peaceful life. The humanitarian aid is also supposed to help them adapt in a new place and demonstrate friendship between Russian and Syrian peoples.

"Talking about Russian humanitarian aid, it is, of course, very useful and very necessary, as need any kind of support, any help. Russian humanitarian aid is a great symbol of friendship for us, it reminds us and gives us hope that Russia is with us, that Russia will not refuse us, and that our mutual cooperation will strengthen," director of Latakia’s committee on refugees Sahar Issa told reporters.

She reminded that before the war, around 1 million people lived in this province, adding that around 950,000 arrived to Latakia since the start of military actions in the country. The population thus has grown by two times which affects regional infrastructure, she noted. "We face great pressure on infrastructure, on services. There is not enough food, that’s why we are completely coordinating our actions with the Syrian government, with humanitarian organization, so that we can do everything possible," she concluded.

The ceasefire regime took effect in Syria on February 27. Shortly before, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution supporting cessation of hostilities. The document drafted by Russia and the United States was backed by all 15 Security Council member states. The ceasefire regime does not cover the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organizations as well as other groups designated as terrorist by the Security Council.

 

[goyacobol]

In light of the dropping oil prices the Saudis may be not as financially pressed as it seems according to this RT article:

Looks like the Saudi's took out a five year loan for $10 Billion to finance their new venture.

Saudi Arabia takes out $10bn in bank loans
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/c30118c8-0630-11e6-a70d-4e39ac32c284.html#axzz46uBMiq1b

Saudi Arabia is raising $10bn from a consortium of global banks as the kingdom embarks on its first international debt issuance in 25 years to counter dwindling oil revenues and reserves.

The landmark five-year loan, a signal of Riyadh’s newfound dependence on foreign capital, opens the way for Saudi to launch its first international bond issue. It comes as the sustained slump in crude encourages other Gulf governments, such as Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Oman, to tap international bond markets.

angelburst29,

It looks like the PIF idea is probably more "wishful thinking" than factual for Saudi Arabia. The "projected" 2 trillion in assets for the PIF is starting to look highly unlikely.

Gulf States oil exporters could lose over $500bn in 2016 – IMF

After losing $390 billion in revenue due to weak crude in 2015, oil exporting countries in the Middle East could lose from $490 billion to $540 billion this year compared to 2014, AP reports, quoting the IMF data.

According to the IMF, countries heavily dependent on crude like Saudi Arabia will have the biggest budget deficits. Riyadh is trying to diversify its economy, but oil still accounts for 72 percent of its revenue. This will result in about a $90 billion budget hole, says the IMF.

Growth forecast for the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates has been downgraded from 3.3 percent in 2015 to 1.8 percent in 2016. The region's biggest economy Saudi Arabia will grow by about two percent.

"Oil prices are likely to improve from where they are, but they're not going to go back to the figures that we saw in 2013 and 2014 for a long, long time. So this means that many of them have to cut back spending and they also have to try to raise revenue outside the oil sector," IMF Director for Middle East and Central Asia Masood Ahmed told AP.

However, Ahmed praised Saudi Arabia’s efforts to tackle the budget deficit by shifting from oil, calling them "ambitious and comprehensive.”

Last October, the IMF reported Saudi Arabia may run out of financial assets within the next five years if the government maintains its current policies.

"Apart from Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, under current policies, countries would run out of buffers in less than five years because of large fiscal deficits," warned the IMF.

The 2 trillion goal may be partly speculation on selling of Aramco oil company:

Saudi Arabia unveils plan to wean economy off oil

Riyadh has approved a long-term economic blueprint to transform the kingdom’s economy aimed at minimizing the country's reliance on oil.

Titled ‘Saudi Vision 2030’, the plan reveals budget, policy and regulatory changes which are to be realized over the next 15 years to help the country’s economy to survive beyond crude.

Over seventy percent of the country’s income comes from energy exports. With the plunge in crude prices Saudi Arabia ran a record deficit of over $90 billion in 2015.

Riyadh intends to raise its share of non-oil exports in non-oil GDP from 16 percent to 50 percent.

It aims to build a "prosperous and sustainable economic future" for the kingdom, according to the news release. It also gave details on privatization and the creation of what it called the "largest sovereign wealth fund in the world."

"We will smooth the process of listing private Saudi companies and state-owned enterprises, including Aramco. This will require deepening liquidity in our capital markets, fortifying the role of the debt market and paving the way for the derivatives market," the announcement said.

The kingdom plans to sell less than five percent of the state-owned Saudi Aramco oil company. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the company is valued above $2 trillion.

Part of the Aramco share sales would go directly towards creating the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, according to bin Salman.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) aims to invest cash from the country's oil and gas operations into other sectors and will eventually hold more than $2 trillion in assets.

Among the other reforms disclosed in the plan is the introduction of a new visa system, allowing expatriate Muslims and Arabs to work long-term in the kingdom.

They also include investing in digital infrastructure, mining, culture, education and the military.

The Saudi government is currently accelerating subsidy cuts and introduces more taxes, including a levy on luxury items and energy and sugary drinks as well as a value added tax. According to Prince Mohammed the step will bring the kingdom $100 billion a year by 2020.

I guess "financially pressed" is in the mind of the beholder in this case. Anyone want to buy a $2 trillion dollar slightly used oil company?

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Russian Foreign Ministry sees no preconditions for resuming disarmament dialogue with US

http://tass.ru/en/politics/872547

According to the ministry, the Washington-pursued policy of "deterring" Russia is erecting barriers to normal relations and is destabilizing the world situation

MOSCOW, April 26 /TASS/. The Russian side does not see preconditions for resuming a dialogue with the United States on strategic nuclear arms, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a review on "Russia’s Foreign Policy Activities in 2015" posted on the ministry’s website on Tuesday.

"There has been stagnation in our dialogue with the United States on arms control issues. Those contacts were incidental in view of the previous decision of Barack Obama’s administration to stop bilateral military interaction," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"We steadily tried to bring our point home to the Americans that we do not see any preconditions for resuming a concrete discussion on strategic nuclear arms issues except for the continuation of regular sessions of the Bilateral Consultative Commission (BCC) to discuss issues related to the implementation of the START treaty," the Russian Foreign Ministry noted adding that the sides had continued working jointly in multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation formats.

US deterring policy erects barriers to normal relations

According to the ministry, the Washington-pursued policy of "deterring" Russia is erecting barriers to normal relations and is destabilizing the world situation.

"Despite the well-established interaction on most vital issues on the international agenda, Washington has, on the whole, refused to give up its policy of pressure and ‘deterrence’ of Russia. It continues imposing its policy line on the European allies relying on countries with the most pro-Atlantic thinking," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"The fact that the United States has enshrined these goals in its strategic planning documents and military policy is erecting long-term barriers to normalizing the relations and is undermining the basic for security and stability globally, including the Euro-Atlantic region," the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed.

It added that Russia had always been open to cooperation in the solution of global and regional problems on the basis of equality, mutual respect and concern for interests in compliance with international law.

Attempts to put pressure on Russia futile

The ministry has drawn Washington’s attention to the fact that attempts to exert pressure on Russia have no prospects, the US should adhere to the principles of mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs.

"During our bilateral contacts, we consistently pointed to the Americans that attempts to exert pressure on Russia are futile and demanded complying with the principles of equality, mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs," the ministry said. "At the same time, we continued practical cooperation in the areas that meet Russia’s interests and the tasks of ensuring international security."

"We continued to demand solving bilateral problems from Washington, many of which were created artificially by the US prior to the Ukrainian crisis," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "We insisted that the US law enforcement agencies should stop hunting for Russian citizens travelling abroad bypassing the existing agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.".

‘Largest single pledge in history’: US may increase military aid to Israel

https://www.rt.com/usa/341013-usa-military-aid-israel/

The White House has signaled readiness to boost military aid to Israel to a historic high, after a letter signed by 83 Senators advocated for the increase. Aid to Israel currently accounts for more than half the total US military aid budget.

Relations between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been frosty in recent years. Netanyahu canceled his planned trip to the US last month and said he intended to negotiate the increase with the next US president, according to the Times of Israel. Now, however, the Obama administration is saying it is willing to boost military aid to Israel to historically unprecedented levels.

“We are prepared to sign an MOU [memorandum of understanding] with Israel that would constitute the largest single pledge of military assistance to any country in US history,” a White House official told Reuters on Monday.

Earlier in the day, 83 US Senators – 51 republicans and 32 Democrats – sent a letter to the White House urging an increase in aid. The effort was spearheaded by South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham and Delaware Democrat Chris Coons.

“In light of Israel's dramatically rising defense challenges, we stand ready to support a substantially enhanced new long-term agreement to help provide Israel the resources it requires to defend itself and preserve its qualitative military edge,” the letter said.

Among the Senators who signed the letter were Texas Republican and presidential contender Ted Cruz and Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren. Vermont’s Bernie Sanders, who is challenging Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, was notably absent from the list of supporters.

Graham, chairman of the Senate’s Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs offered one possible explanation for Washington’s sudden eagerness to discuss the current aid arrangement, which expires in 2018.

“We’ll have more money this year than potentially next year, because sequestration kicks back in,” he told Times of Israel last month, referring to spending cuts the US government adopted in 2013.

Under the current aid arrangement, Israel receives $3.1 billion a year – almost 53 percent of the $5.9 billion in official foreign military aid handed out by Washington. This deal is set to expire in 2018, however, and Israel has been pushing for an increase to $5 billion.

Following the nuclear deal with Iran in July 2015 – which Netanyahu has vehemently opposed – Washington offered to boost the amount of military aid to Israel to $4.5 billion a year.

Among the programs funded by the US military aid are missile defense systems such as ‘David’s Sling’ and ‘Iron Dome,’ intended to deal with short- to medium-range missiles, as well as the high-altitude ‘Arrow 3’ interceptors.

 

[angelburst29]

Putin signs law on state border between Russia and South Ossetia
http://novorossia.today/putin-signs-law-on-state-border-between-russia-and-south-ossetia/

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law on ratification of a treaty on the state border between Russia and South Ossetia.

The treaty, the text of which was posted on the Kremlin website earlier on Tuesday, had been signed in Moscow in February 2015.

“The administrative-territorial border, which existed between the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic at the time of the USSR’s disintegration and was enshrined in legal acts and supported by relevant map documents” was used as the basis for marking a new state border between Russia and South Ossetia, the treaty said.

“The treaty meets the Russian interests in full measure,” the document said.

Its ratification will make it possible for Russia to establish the state border regime on the aforesaid section without hindering the free movement of citizens between the two states.

While both US and Romanian officials have confirmed that F-22 Raptors stationed this week at Mihail Kogalniceanu air base are meant to deter Russian "aggression," the pilots insist that they come in peace.

F-22 Pilots Claim Romania Deployment Not Aimed at Russia
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160426/1038662694/f-22-pilots-romania.html

On Monday, the Pentagon deployed a pair of F-22 fighter jets to southeast Romania in an effort to deter hypothetical Russian aircraft.

"[The F-22s seek to improve] the defense of Europe, the defense of the North-Atlantic Alliance, to improve the security in South Eastern-Europe…as a result of the aggression by Russia that has brought so much instability to this part of the world over the past two or three years," said US Ambassador Hans G. Klemm.

But, according to the pilots who landed at the Black Sea air base this week, their job is to merely support their NATO allies, not to goad Moscow.

Although Western media habitually describes China as the main troublemaker in the South China Sea and promotes the necessity of Washington's stepping in to settle the maritime dispute, the narrative has nothing to do with what is really taking place on the ground.

What is Really Going on Behind the Curtains in South China Sea?
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160426/1038660463/south-china-sea-beijing-washington.html

The Western media's narrative about China's "aggressive" posture in the South China Sea is not only exaggerated but is completely divorced from reality.

"The South China Sea has been described in numerous western publications as the latest potential 'flashpoint' in the world's geopolitical scene. The rhetoric is particularly heated and ill-informed in about equal proportions, focusing on alleged 'aggression' by the People's Republic of China ('China') in laying claim to a large expanse of water in the South China Sea well beyond its territorial limit (12 nautical miles) or any exclusive economic zone (200 nautical miles) recognized in international law," James O'Neill, an Australian-based Barrister at Law writes in his article for New Eastern Outlook.

[...] First of all, it is not only China who is busy with building artificial islands and deploying its naval forces in the region.

The Spratlys — a grouping of 230 islands, reefs and cays — have long been the focus of worldwide attention. However, it remains largely unspoken that "of the six countries claiming an interest in the Spratlys, only Brunei has failed to construct structures, mostly on stilts, on more than 40 of these islets and reefs," O'Neill writes.

"Yet the Western media again focuses exclusively on the PRC's 'aggressive' reclamation and building activities," he adds.

On the other hand, Western media remains mute about Taiwan's military expansion and construction of artificial islands in the region. However, the Taiwanese maintain a substantial military presence on Taiping Island of the Spratly Group as well as on Tungsha Island.

Furthermore, in the beginning of 2008 Taiwan built a 2,000-meter-long airstrip on Taiping Island. Surprisingly, although the country's maritime facilities were built outside any claimed Taiwanese exclusive economic zone, neither the United States nor Australia expressed any concerns over the matter.

At the same time, according to O'Neill, it is nonsensical to accuse China of violating the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

"The biggest potential loser in any blocking of trade activity is the PRC itself. It makes absolutely no sense for the PRC to engage in any behavior so manifestly contrary to its own economic or political interests," the lawyer emphasizes.

As for Washington's role as an international arbiter, it appears that what the White House is really doing is driving a wedge between the nations in the region. The US has been spotted undermining the Sino-Taiwanese 2008 project aimed at developing oil and gas reserves in the South and the East China Seas.

Much in the same manner the Sino-Philippines 2014 agreement over a grouping of rocks in the South China Sea was sabotaged by Washington, the lawyer narrates.

By meddling into the region's internal affairs, the US is only adding fuel to the fire, Beijing believes. According to China, there is no need to internationalize the problem, as it can be solved efficiently by the parties concerned.

This stance is shared by Beijing's BRICS allies, Russia and India. The latest trilateral communiqué signed by foreign ministers of Russia, China and India states that "all [South China Sea] related disputes should be addressed through negotiations and agreements between the parties concerned."

According to Ankit Panda, The Diplomat's editor, this move clearly indicates that Beijing has received not only Russia's support, but it also now has India on its side, although "since 2013, New Delhi's language on the South China Sea has matched that of the United Sates, Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia and Japan."

However sophisticated the Western propaganda campaign against Beijing is, the analysis of the issue indicates that Beijing is by no means the region's troublemaker. Moreover, it is the source of development and potential prosperity for its neighbors: the China-led New Silk Road project is supposed to facilitate the region's economic growth.

Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) President Gerhard Schindler is expected to leave the office at the chancellorship's request, according to Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

Head of German Intel Agency Expected to Leave Office Amid NSA Spy Scandal
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160426/1038662497/bnd-head-leaving-office.html

Schindler, who has been the head of the only German foreign intelligence service since 2012, is expected to be replaced by administrative official Bruno Kahl, a confidant of German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.

Chief of Staff of the German Chancellery Peter Altmaier is expected to officially announce the BND management change on Wednesday.

BND was pushed into the global spotlight last year when German media discovered the US National Security Agency had used its monitoring station in Bavaria’s Bad Aibling to eavesdrop on numerous EU officials and European businesses

The German military are planning for a long-term military operation against terror group Isis, with plans for a €65 million air base in southern Turkey, Spiegel reports.

Germany to build air base in Turkey for Isis campaign
http://www.thelocal.de/20160425/germany-to-build-air-base-in-turkey-for-isis-campaign

The air base will be built at the site in Incirlik where the Bundeswehr (German army) is currently flying reconnaissance and refuelling missions into Syria, according to a planning paper from the Defence Ministry seen by Spiegel.

The new extension to the Turkish base will include an air controller centre for the German aircraft, accommodation for soldiers and a completely equipped combat headquarters.

Germany is also reportedly in discussions with Ankara about a treaty for stationing German soldiers on Turkish soil for long-term deployments.

German Tornado jets have been stationed in Incirlik for several months, ever since Berlin agreed in the wake of the Paris terror attacks in November 2015 to support France in its military campaigns against Isis.

The Tornadoes use high definition cameras to take detailed pictures of potential bombing targets before Nato allies fly bombing missions, and fly almost daily missions.

The Bundeswehr also has Airbus air tankers at the Turkish airbase to refuel German and allied aircraft and a total of around 200 soldiers stationed there.

The plans foresee that in the coming six months Germany will invest around €10 million in an air controller area which is especially for the German aircraft, a further €15 million in accommodation for around 400 soldiers, and €34 million in building a combat headquarters from where missions will be coordinated.

The Bundeswehr also wants build a care facility for soldiers equipped with a cafe and leisure activities area, which the planning paper estimates would cost €4.5 million.

Most of the projects should be completed by summer 2017.

 

[angelburst29]

‘Largest single pledge in history’: US may increase military aid to Israel

https://www.rt.com/usa/341013-usa-military-aid-israel/

The White House has signaled readiness to boost military aid to Israel to a historic high, after a letter signed by 83 Senators advocated for the increase. Aid to Israel currently accounts for more than half the total US military aid budget.

[...]

Under the current aid arrangement, Israel receives $3.1 billion a year – almost 53 percent of the $5.9 billion in official foreign military aid handed out by Washington. This deal is set to expire in 2018, however, and Israel has been pushing for an increase to $5 billion.

Following the nuclear deal with Iran in July 2015 – which Netanyahu has vehemently opposed – Washington offered to boost the amount of military aid to Israel to $4.5 billion a year.

Among the programs funded by the US military aid are missile defense systems such as ‘David’s Sling’ and ‘Iron Dome,’ intended to deal with short- to medium-range missiles, as well as the high-altitude ‘Arrow 3’ interceptors.

When does the madness - stop?

US to give Israel 'largest military aid package in history'
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/211430#.Vx_Lk7sUWij

White House responds to pressure by Senate, pledges to offer Israel unprecedented level of military aid.

The White House is reportedly planning to accept Israeli demands for increased military aid, following pressure by the US Senate to sign a new Memorandum of Understanding laying out US support to Israel for the next decade.

With the current Memorandum of Understanding set to expire in 2018, Israel has been pressuring the White House to enlarge the annual aid package from $3.1 billion to between $4-4.5 billion.

Israel has stated that it must increase its military spending to cope with growing threats from ISIS and the Iranian regime following last year’s nuclear deal.

Since the signing of the deal last July, Iran has gone on a shopping spree for military hardware, purchasing Russian missiles, submarines, tanks, and fighter aircraft.

On Monday the Senate signed a joint letter calling on the White House to finalize a new Memorandum of Understanding, including a raise in the level of aid offered to Israel. The non-binding bipartisan declaration was adopted by 83 senators, including 51 of the Senate’s 54 Republicans and 32 Democrats.

In response to the letter, a White House official pledged that the new Memorandum of Understanding would include the largest military aid package ever offered to a foreign nation.

“We are prepared to sign an MOU with Israel that would constitute the largest single pledge of military assistance to any country in US history.”

Despite the pledge, the White House has yet to specify how much will be included in the proposed MOU.