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

[angelburst29]

A former Speaker of the House sexually abused four teenage boys including one whom he paid more than $1 million in hush money, according to prosecutors. Defense attorneys now want the 74-year-old to be spared jail time.

Prosecutors: Former US House Speaker Sexually Molested Four Boys
http://sputniknews.com/us/20160410/1037786961/prosecutors-former-house-speaker-sexually-molested-four-boys.html

Prosecutors in a court filing Friday, said former House Speaker Dennis Hastert agreed to pay $3.5 million to a person whom he sexually abused before his life in politics. According to the filing, the victim described as “Individual A” was 14-years-old at the time of the abuse. The filing describes the accounts of four people who claim Hastert sexually abused them when he was a wrestling coach at Yorksville High School in Illinois.

The alleged abuse detailed in the court documents spans from 1965 to 1981.

According to the document, Individual A told prosecutors the abuse took place at a hotel room after Hastert and about 15 students returned from wrestling camp. Individual A said Hastert inappropriately touched him after offering to message a groin injury he had complained of earlier. The victim said Hastert told him he would stay in his room while the rest of the boys stayed in other rooms.

The other former wrestlers say Hastert touched them inappropriately in the locker-room of Yorkville High School after he offered to give them messages. Two of them say Hastert performed sex acts on them.

"It is profoundly sad that one of their earliest sexual experiences was in the form of abuse by a man whom they trusted and whom they revered as a mentor and coach," the filing read.

Prosecutors also wrote that Hastert made his victims "feel alone, ashamed, guilty and devoid of dignity."

Hastert pleaded guilty in October to breaking bank laws in order to pay off one of his victims.

Between 2010 and 2012, Hastert made 15 withdrawals of $50,000 each. After learning that withdrawals larger than $10,000 are flagged, he began taking money out in smaller increments.

These “restructured” withdrawals caused him to break a law meant to identify money launderers and other criminals.

Court records indicate Hastert managed to pay one of his victims about $1.7 million.

Hastert is scheduled to be sentenced on April 27.

Citing deteriorating health and humiliation, attorneys during a defense filing Wednesday requested from the presiding judge that their client be spared jail time and instead be given probation. Prosecutors recommended that he serve up to six months in prison.

A defense fund for embattled former speaker of the US House of Representatives Dennis Hastert has been established ahead of trial for a series of illicit cash withdrawals, local media reported Friday.

Defense Fund Established for Embattled Former US House Speaker Hastert
http://sputniknews.com/us/20150731/1025241233.html

In a Federal Election Commission report filed late Thursday and disclosed by the Politico website, Hastert donated $10,000 to the J. Dennis Hastert Defense Trust from his political action committee (PAC), which he terminated on June 30.

Hastert, 73, who served as speaker in 1999-2007, entered a not guilty plea last month to charges of lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Prosecutors allege he withdrew $1.7 million in cash from various bank accounts in increments of less than $10,000 to evade the filing of Currency Transaction Reports.

When questioned by the FBI, Hastert reportedly had said he made the withdrawals because he didn’t trust the US banking system. Hastert’s indictment, however, alleges he agreed to pay $3.5 million to a longtime associate to keep alleged sexual misconduct accusations under wraps.

Hastert’s trial date is yet unknown, while defense motions challenging the charges and seeking evidence for a trial are due by August 31.

Commenting on former House Speaker Dennis Hastert's indictment for illegal banking and lying to investigators, blogger and Sputnik Radio contributor Brad Friedman noted that he and other independent journalists have been covering Hastert's illegal activities since the mid-2000s, and that he does not find the new allegations at all surprising.

Dennis Hastert's Indictment is Icing on Cake of Thoroughly Corrupt Career
http://sputniknews.com/us/20150602/1022864318.html

Commenting on the case in this week's 'The BradCast' for Sputnik Radio, Friedman noted that he first began covering Hastert's shady activities in the mid-2000s, when former FBI translator and whistleblower Sibel Edmonds testified to the existence of FBI wiretaps revealing that Hastert had accepted bribes from Turkish criminals, which then-president George W. Bush hushed up by invoking the state secrets privilege.

In 2009, Edmonds also testified in a separate case that Hastert "was one of the primary US [officials] involved in operations and activities that are not legal, serving not the interests of the United States but of foreign governments and foreign entities." In her words, quoted by Friedman, "the concerns would be in several categories: the acceptance of large sums of cash or laundered cash, laundering it to make it look legal for his campaigns and for his personal use," in return for "favors" and "certain actions" from Turkish government and business interests. Edmonds similarly testified to the existence of a secret townhouse in which Hastert engaged in certain "immoral activities," without delving into the details.

Friedman noted that Edmonds' revelations, long discussed by alternative media, have been ignored by the mainstream media. He also commented on the absurdity of the indictment itself, which focuses on the illegal transfer of funds, rather than other allegations made against the former congressman, including bribery and payoffs by foreign entities and hush money.

Hastert, who served in the US House of Representatives for 20 years, succeeded Newt Gingrich as Speaker of the House in 1999, and retired in 2006 when the Democratic Party took control of the House. He is scheduled for an arraignment hearing on June 4 in the federal courthouse in Chicago.

 

[bjorb]

[quote author= Angelburst29]Supercarrier Ford to join Navy fleet in September

The most expensive warship ever built, the $12.9 billion aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), is expected to join the U.S. Navy's fleet in September, a Navy official says.[/quote]

Seriously, how many more aircraft carriers do they need? I lost count already. Not only that, why invest tents of billion in floating vehicles that can be countered by maneuverable ICBM's. Costing only a dime compared to that.

Russia is able to intercept incoming missiles and ICBM. What makes them think that Russia wouldn't be able to hit a slow enormous moving target.

 

[angelburst29]

Several Iraqi policemen claim to have seen US aircraft dropping weapons and munitions for Daesh terrorists in a region west of the Anbar province on Friday.

‘US plane drops arms for Daesh in Iraq’ (Videos)
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/04/10/460049/Iraq-police-Daesh-weapons-US-plane/

In a video posted on Iraq’s al-Maaloomah news website on Sunday, they are purportedly heard saying that the American plane had also jammed their communication devices in the Hadisah Island district.

"There is an American aircraft seen at four o’clock in the morning on Friday over the Hadisah Island district of the Anbar province, delivering weapons and munitions to Daesh criminals,” one of the policemen says.

"The plane proceeded to jam radar devices of the police regiment stationed in Hadisah Island to prevent contact between the affiliates and the headquarters of the regiment," he added.

The man said they had seen a military vehicle of Daesh arriving in the region a few minutes later and transferring the weapons to the place the group controlled.

In the video, the man and his associates are heard appealing to Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to follow up the issue.

The Iraqi army and the volunteer Hashd al-Shaabi forces liberated the district from Daesh terrorists just last month.

US military surge On Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Baghdad where he said Daesh was losing ground, including more than 40 percent of the territory that they once controlled in the country.

The United States, which withdrew its forces from Iraq in 2011, has redeployed several thousand as part of a coalition, which it says, it is leading against Daesh.

President Barack Obama is reportedly weighing an increase in the number of American troops in Iraq but Kerry said there had been no formal request from the Iraqis and the issue had not been raised on Friday.

US officials said last week Washington was also considering to greatly increase the number of its special operations forces deployed to Syria.

The US, they said, looked to “accelerate recent gains” against Daesh.

Critics, however, questioned motives behind the plan, citing Washington's failure to commit troops when Daesh was overrunning Syrian and Iraqi cities one after another.

Military might projection On Saturday, the US Air Force deployed B-52 bombers to Qatar, the first time they have been based in the Middle East since the end of the Persian Gulf War in 1991.

"The B-52 demonstrates our continued resolve to apply persistent pressure on Daesh and defend the region in any future contingency," said Charles Brown, commander of US Air Forces Central Command.

Brown said the bombers would be able to deliver precision weapons and carry out a range of missions, including strategic attack, close-air support, air interdiction, and maritime operations.

The US has seen its projected military might overshadowed by a relatively successful Russian campaign in Syria. Washington's recent flexing of muscles is seen as part of a bid to reassert its dominance.

Arms shipment history In October 2014, Daesh released a new video in which it bragged it recovered weapons and supplies that the US military intended to deliver to Kurdish fighters in the Syrian city of Kobani.

Some Iraqi MPs have also accused the US of deliberately arming Daesh, citing an arms air-drop case in Tikrit, but government officials have rejected it was intentional.

In Syria, the US military has airdropped tons of ammunition to militants while softening its opposition to using the materiel to attack President Bashar al-Assad.

On Friday, the US government's Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website detailed arms shipment to militants in Syria, showing it delivered 3,000 tonnes of weapons in December 2015 despite a ceasefire.

A UN-brokered ceasefire for Yemen is expected to come into effect in the run-up to peace talks in Kuwait.

Yemen ceasefire to take effect Sunday midnight
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/04/10/460083/Yemen-Houthi-Taiz-Hajjah-Ahmad-Ansarullah-Hadi/

The ceasefire is due to begin at midnight (2100 GMT) Sunday. It will initially go into effect in the war-ravaged Ta’iz and Hajjah provinces.

This as sporadic fighting was reported in several regions around the capital, Sana’a, on Sunday. Twenty people were killed as Saudi warplanes carried out several airstrikes across the capital to prevent advances of Houthi fighters.

The truce was announced by the UN special envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed as a step to calm the situation ahead of the negotiations to be held on April 18 in Kuwait.

It was endorsed by Houthi Ansarullah movement and resigned president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi’s loyalists. Both sides said earlier this week that they submitted their documents on terms of the truce to the UN envoy.

Local reports said that a number of Saudi mercenaries and Hadi loyalists were deployed to Nihm, near Sana’a.

The deployment is aimed at launching a military operation to seize the control of the capital if the upcoming talks fail to end the conflict.

Brigadier General Ahmed Asiri, the Saudi military spokesman, warned Ansarullah movement and Hadi loyalists that war will be the only option if the upcoming talks fail.

France will deliver the Mistral-class helicopter carriers in June-September 2016.

Mistral Helicopter Carriers to Arrive in Egypt in June-September
http://sputniknews.com/military/20160410/1037794367/mistral-delivery-egypt.html

The Mistral-class helicopter carriers will be delivered to Egypt in June-September 2016, the French ambassador in Cairo said Sunday.

"The delivery of Mistrals will take place between June and September this year, "Andre Parran said during a press conference in the Egyptian capital.

The Mistral-class carriers were built for Russia in France, but France later reneged on the deal and decided to sell the ships to Egypt.
The ships are designed to carry 16 Ka-27/29 Helix anti submarine/assault and Ka-52 Hokum B strike helicopters.

America's leading think tank says the so-called war on terror is a hoax.

Rand Corporation: Terrorism is random, insignificant, has declined since 1970s
http://truthjihad.blogspot.com/2016/04/rand-corporation-terrorism-is-random.html

Since 9/11/2001, we have been living in a terrorized world of "heightened alerts" and "threat levels raised to orange." The war on terror has been used to double the US military budget, stage disastrous and illegal wars of aggression, and eviscerate the Constitution.

But now the Rand Corporation tells us:

"Using the Global Terrorism Database, the researchers find an absence of clustering for terrorist events around trigger events since 1994, no increases in terrorism on significant dates, and a decline of terrorism in the West since the 1970s, suggesting that the threat of terrorism should not affect individuals' behavior and decisions in the United States and Western Europe — not even in the wake of a significant terrorist event."

If there is no reason for the alleged threat of terrorism to affect anyone's behavior or decisions, WTF have we been doing for the past 15 years?!

Do Significant Terrorist Attacks Increase the Risk of Further Attacks?
http://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE173.html

 

[angelburst29]

Iraqi intelligence sources disclosed that the Israeli spy agency, Mossad, is hatching plots against the country's volunteer forces (Hashd al-Shaabi).

Intelligence Sources: Mossad Plotting against Iraq's Hashd Al-Shaabi
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950122000659

"Hashd al-Shaabi is the only group that is resisting against the Zionist regime's plots in Iraq," an Iraqi intelligence source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told FNA on Sunday.

He reiterated that Mossad has recently taken measures against the international supporters of Hashd al-Shaabi because such support is against Israel's interests as the Israeli officials have been criticizing Iraq's volunteer forces.

The commanders of the Iraqi volunteer forces have always warned of Mossad's plots against their country.

In relevant remarks in December 2014, a senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Mossad of training ISIL terrorists operating in Iraq and Syria.

Alexander Prokhanov said that Mossad is also likely to have transferred some of its spying experiences to the ISIL leadership, adding that Israel’s military advisors could be assisting the Takfiri terrorists.

Prokhanov said ISIL is a byproduct of US policies in the Middle East.

The Syrian army and popular forces continued their advances in the Southern part of Aleppo province, killing a number of Ahrar al-Sham movement terrorists, including their notorious commander.

Ahrar Al-Sham's Top Aleppo Commander Killed
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950122001467

Abdullah Mohammed al-Hasm, a Kuwaiti national and commander of Ahrar al-Sham Movement in Southern Aleppo, was killed in heavy clashes with the Syrian army on Saturday night, but his death was confirmed on Sunday evening.

Several other terrorists were also killed along with Mohammad al-Hasm in Southern Aleppo.

No further detail is available on the death of the top terrorist commander.

In a relevant development on Sunday, the concentration centers of al-Nusra Front in at least three neighborhoods of the Northern city of Aleppo were heavily pounded in the Syrian Army troops' fresh round of offensives.

The Syrian soldiers stormed the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front's positions in the neighborhoods of al-Jazmari, Youth Housing, and Bani Zeid, which claimed the lives of many terrorists and pinned them down behind their strongholds.

In the meantime, the Syrian army men targeted supplying lines of al-Nusra terrorists near Handarat refugee camp and al-Shaqfa farms in the Northern part of the province, which inflicted heavy damage on the terrorists' military and supplying vehicles and slowed their logistic movements down.

 

[Pierre]

[quote author= Angelburst29]Supercarrier Ford to join Navy fleet in September

The most expensive warship ever built, the $12.9 billion aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), is expected to join the U.S. Navy's fleet in September, a Navy official says.

Seriously, how many more aircraft carriers do they need? I lost count already. Not only that, why invest tents of billion in floating vehicles that can be countered by maneuverable ICBM's. Costing only a dime compared to that.

Russia is able to intercept incoming missiles and ICBM. What makes them think that Russia wouldn't be able to hit a slow enormous moving target.
[/quote]

Such event happened in 2014:

As the Russian jet approached the US vessel, the electronic device disabled all radars, control circuits, systems, information transmission, etc. on board the US destroyer. In other words, the all-powerful Aegis system, now hooked up - or about to be - with the defense systems installed on NATO’s most modern ships was shut down, as turning off the TV set with the remote control.

The Russian Su-24 then simulated a missile attack against the USS Donald Cook, which was left literally deaf and blind. As if carrying out a training exercise, the Russian aircraft - unarmed - repeated the same maneuver 12 times before flying away.

In addition the jamming system is not a bulky device requiring a stationary ground base, it can be mounted on various military vehicles:

Russia's new Richag-AV radar and sonar jamming system can be mounted on helicopters, ships and other military equipment to jam potential adversaries' weapons systems from distances of several hundred kilometers away; it has been hailed by developers as having no analogue anywhere in the world.

 

[angelburst29]

Haven't found a english version yet, but yesterday Putin was taking part in the media forum in St. Petersburg:

http://<iframe width="560" height="...XM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/51685/videos

At one point he even was interpreting a german speaking guest into russian, for the audience :D
[...]

Here is that portion where Putin was interpreting from german to russian:
https://www.rt.com/news/338957-putin-translates-german-wimmer/

http://<iframe width="560" height="...VU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

More information has surfaced on the German speaking guest and he is a highly (HONEST) respected former retired high-ranking German politican.

Who Is the Famous German Who Has Putin as His Translator? (Video)
http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/who-famous-german-who-has-putin-his-driver/ri13807

Vladimir Putin was engaged in one of his characteristic town hall press conferences when retired high-ranking German politican Willy Wimmer rose to ask a question. Wimmer doesn't speak Russian, but fortunately a Dresden KGB-veteran fluent in German, and current President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, was there to interpret: (Video).

This no doubt must have had people wondering how important this man must be, in order to secure Vladimir Putin's services as his interpreter.

One wonders if it was actually Wimmer who, as related by Ronald Reagan, in the last days of the USSR managed to secure Mikhail Gorbachev's services as his personal driver: (Video).

But in all seriousness, in my view Putin once again showed off his great erudition and down-to-earth approach, something rarely seen in other contemprary polticians.

In the comment section:

Who is Willy Wimmer?

Willy Wimmer was the German secretary of defense under Helmut Kohl who knew about the promises that had been given to the Soviet Union that NATO would not expand eastward.

He was highly worried when it did.

At the time of the war against Serbia Wimmer was head of the German OSCE-section. He was very much against that war. But it shocked him when he noticed that during the war, the troops of European countries were not allowed to contact directly their own national commanders, but that written contact between German armed forces and their national military leaders had to pass US censorship. At the end of war the US-foreign secretary declared at a conference with European partners that the reason for the war against the Serbs had not been the alleged "genocide of Kosovarians" (which has never taken place), but that the US just had to correct a mistake made by Eisenhower who missed to build a NATO base in Yugoslavia after WWII. Wimmer was so disgusted about the cynical US intention behind that war that he wrote an open letter to chancellor Schröder and called Schröder to act on it, as Germany had been involved.

If anybody understands German, he or she can find the letter here:
http://www.perseus.ch/PDF-Date...

***

I have once again read Wimmer's letter: It was really explosive:

He wrote to Gerhard Schröder that the war against Serbia had to be just the beginning of the following geopolitical plan, announced by the US foreign ministry as early as May 2000:

The US foreign ministry said that NATO had to expand as far as the former medieval European Roman Empire (with today's France, Germany, Italy and Sweden at its core): in the Balcans it had to integrate all countries apart from Serbia, which had to be excluded, in the North it needed the full control of the Baltic See (which means blocking St Petersburg's access to the sea), in the South the Nato controlled landmass should contain every country up to Turkey. To achieve that goal Europeans had to give up to reduce wars to those approved by the UN and to fully follow US-command. The wish of peoples for self-determination (which means: the slogans of any country where the US could initiate some color revolutions) was reason enough to use military to fix that country's alliance with NATO. Where international law formed an obstacle, it had to be removed.

The goal was from the beginning the full exclusion of Russia from Europa and its complete strangulation.

Wimmer finished with the warning words that the US alarmingly wanted to create a situation exactly mirrowing the one NAZI-Germany had created on continental Europe the moment they had started WWII against Russia in 1941.

It's no wonder that the Russian president appreciates him, as he was an early and lonely warner and a fair caller in the desert for peace with Russia. No other European diplomat at that meeting showed any reaction to the war-mongering US plans.

***

Putin was KGB analyst in East Germany for at least a decade. I'm pretty sure he's fluent.

He is.

If the speech he gave at the German Bundestag (our parliament) in September 2001 in German was written by himself, his German might be better than that of Angela Merkel. (Her speech only consists of sterotypes. People call it "IKEA-German".)

Here one of the links:
Wladimir Putin - Rede im Bundestag auf Deutsch (Vollversion)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVTsD0pl2zY

Published on Jun 25, 2015

25 September 2001. Auftritt des russischen Staatspräsidenten Wladimir Putin im Deutschen Bundestag mit seiner Rede in deutscher Sprache über die deutsch-russischen Beziehungen und den Vorschlag zur wirtschaftlichen Zusammenarbeit von Lissabon bis Wladiwostok.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

British intelligence archives: Navalny is a MI6 & CIA agent

http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/04/british-intelligence-archives-navalny.html

Translated by Ollie Richardson for Fort Russ
10th April, 2016

_https://antimaidan.ru/news/7061

The former head of Boris Berezovsky's security service spoke about the relationship between famous blogger Alexey Navalny and the British MI6 intelligence service. He succeeded in exporting about 60 servers containing a huge amount of correspondence and documents.

"23rd December, 2007 - to the head of the Secret Intelligence Service A. Belt.

Report of agent Solomon about ending Navalny's verification and the assignment of the pseudonym "freedom".

Had a conversation over an encrypted communication channel between the employee and the CRS (SIS) and agent Solomon. The agent got approval for a confidential cooperation with Alexei Navalny. It was mentioned that it is necessary for Navalny to arrange financial support to carry out the tasks within the framework of special operation “Shiver” to undermine the existing constitutional order in the Russian Federation. Navalny has a nickname of "freedom", reads one of the documents.

Agent Solomon is the notorious William Browder, head of Hermitage Capital, inspirer of the Magnitsky act, and a person who made a fortune in Russia in the 90's.

Operation "Shiver" had already been developed at Langley in 1986. The documents were signed by then-CIA Director William Casey. The main goal of the project was to "change the constitutional and political system in Eastern Europe and the USSR".

Tasks are described in as much detail as possible: to change the political and constitutional state system, to acquire control over financial flows, and to extract assets from emerging economies.

The USSR has not existed for a quarter of a century, however, the project "Shiver" is still relevant.

"Browder spreads lies, and all his company is based solely on lies. Navalny is his student and successor of his ideas. They partly work together, working in parallel. They absolutely face the same direction," said Pavel Karpov, a former investigator of the Moscow Criminal Investigations Department. He is one of those who has stirred Browder's "snake nest" and opened schemes of tax evasion and illegal purchase of shares in Russia under the leadership of Hermitage Capital.

Here is an example of correspondence between Navalny and Browder in 2006:

"Let me very frankly formulate what I want to offer. I will teach you to grab the monsters of the Russian economy by the balls. Soon you will become a hero of the minority shareholders and can have their reputational capital. Probably, and political. In return I ask you to support me when my problems come out. Am I clear?" asks Browder to Navalny. "Your information in exchange for the loyalty of my potential. However, I'm afraid you banked on the wrong figure. I could have problems even in my party. There I seem to be a nationalist," — says Navalny.

Then, under the leadership of Browder, and with his financial support, the still unknown blogger opened the cycle of revelations. At the same time the scene appears banker Vladimir Ashurkov. He dealt with money matters for "revelatory activities".

"Agent "freedom" was acquainted with the first phase of the secret denunciation of the conviction of corruption and embezzlement of Russian state assets. To implement the first phase of the plan, agent "freedom" was funded to the amount of 100 million rubles. The first part of funds, 7 million rubles, will be transferred to our authorised representative of the Moscow Helsinki Group until January 26th. Agent A. Belt".

The activities of the Hermitage Capital in Moscow has been completely phased out as auditor Sergey Magnitsky was appointed to clean up any traces that remained.

"People say that he was Browder's lawyer. This is an outright lie! He was an accountant, who was engaged in tax evasion for Browder, i.e. registered companies through which money was withdrawn from. As I was told by Magnitsky himself, these millions were withdrawn by his own chief, who, as I learned later, was Mr. Browder," recalls journalist Oleg Lurie.

When Magnitsky was arrested, Navalny wrote to Browder, "William, sincerely sorry. People get used to like those who suffer in our country I'm not saying that the suffering of Sergei is your trump card, but the more these journalists and people will learn about this suffering, the less they will want to know what is happening".

Browder's goal was to create the maximum noise possible with information, however the situation abroad with the "legal auditor" responded little.

"20th September 2009. To the Director of Central Intelligence.

A conversation between agent Solomon and an employee of MI6.

Further growth of public resonance will be gone unless we make adjustments to the plans of our ongoing special events. In his message to the agent, based on information available for it, he noted the deteriorating health of Magnitsky. It was proposed to the agent, through authorized persons in the penitentiary system of Russia, to organize a disruption of medical assistance to Magnitsky. The deterioration of his health will be designated as a medical error that could lead to his death. Please pay special attention to this information", — stated the documents.

Magnitsky was literally sacrificed. In November 2009, he died in the hospital of the "Matrosskaya Tishina" detention facility, and Browder announced that the prisoner was tortured, he was also refused medical care. And then there was the "Magnitsky list".

Here is what is said in the secret documents about it:

"January 23, 2010. Sash reports on a meeting with the agent "freedom", during which he gave the agent $300,000 for the upcoming program to support the "Magnitsky list" on social networks. The report of the agent Sash also said that the project is linked with the death of Sergei Magnitsky, and already in the early stages it greatly undermined the credibility of Russian citizens in the Russian judicial and law enforcement system. This leads to growing chaos in the Russian judicial and law enforcement system, a reduction of its credibility, and a reduction in the credibility of Vladimir Putin. Agent A. Belt".

All this time, Browder warned Navalny against political activity.

"We have our own tasks. Bill asks you to be careful. Urge you not to interfere in the electoral process — it is not your task. Monitoring, reporting — Yes. Protests — no," — said in his message.

Apparently, the situation has since changed.

It is noteworthy that the Skype accounts of Browder and Navalny, where they started talking in 2006, are still operational. But we failed to contact subscribers.

Roscosmos: Russia Will Continue Supplying US With RD-180 Rocket Engines

http://sputniknews.com/business/20160411/1037800304/rd180-rocket-engines-us-russia.html

Russia intends to continue supplying RD-180 rocket engines for US Atlas V rockets for at least several more years, the head of Roscosmos State Corporation said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the head of Roscosmos State Corporation, Russia will secure a number of major contracts in this area in the course of 2016.

"I must say frankly that the United States buy our engines not out of charity <…> they are currently the best of all existing in the world in terms of price/quality. We are confident that the situation with the purchase of engines will last several more years," Igor Komarov told RT broadcaster in an interview.

In 2014, US Congress passed a law demanding the United States phase out its reliance on the Russian-made RD-180 rocket engines.

However, in the two years after implementing a purchasing ban on the RD-180 engines, Congress has been forced to lift that ban to ensure the United States access to space.

Jordan Interested in Purchasing Russian Su-34 Bombers – Reports

http://sputniknews.com/military/20160411/1037799233/jordan-interested-russian-sukhoi.html

Amman is conducting consultations with Russian manufactures on acquiring a small number of fighter-bomber jets.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Amman is conducting consultations with Russian manufactures on acquiring a small number of Su-32 (export version of Su-34) fighter-bomber jets, local media reported Monday, citing officials working for Russian aircraft producers.

"We hope that the interest will lead to pre-contract negotiations in the near future," the Russian official told the Kommersant newspaper.

However, Jordan has not filed any official purchasing order yet, the Russian media outlet added.

In late March, the Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said Russia’s anti-terror air campaign in Syria had raised the popularity of the Su-34 fighter-bombers, which several Middle Eastern countries were interested in buying.

Russia has also been carrying out negotiations with the Jordanian side for the supply of several Mi-26 helicopters used both for military and transportation purposes, according to a source in Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation.

Russian Troops Conduct Live Fire Drills in Eastern Military District

http://sputniknews.com/military/20160411/1037801409/russia-military-fire-drills.html

Russian Eastern Military District radiation, chemical and biological defense troops conducted live fire drills as part of tactical exercises held in the Zabaikalsky Territory, the district’s spokesman said Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – "Over the course of the exercises with the soldiers, a tactic of carrying out combat operations with the use of so-called pockets of fire has been worked out," Alexander Gordeev said.

The shooting was carried out in single shots and bursts out of flame throwers armed with various types of ammunition on targets simulating enemy weaponry, hardware and an assembly of manpower, the spokesman added.

Some 40,000 servicemen to take part in Victory Day parades on May 9 across Russia

http://tass.ru/en/defense/868614

Overall, Victory Parades will be held in 26 cities of the country

MOSCOW, April 11. /TASS/. Some 40,000 servicemen and over 800 items of hardware will take part in military parades on May 9 in honor of the 71st anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory in World War II, Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Overall, Victory Parades will be held in 26 cities of the country.

"The most large-scale parade will be held on Red Square in Moscow. It will involve more than 10,000 servicemen, over 170 items of military hardware, including more than 70 aircraft and helicopters," the statement said.

The Syrian city of Al-Nasr joined the reconciliation process

http://www.interfax.ru/world/503026

At the same time the city was delivered the first batch of Russian humanitarian aid

Moscow. 11 April. INTERFAX.RU -. The Syrian city of Al-Nasr, whose population exceeds 10 thousand people joined the reconciliation process in that country.

The agreement on accession to reconciliation and cease-fire was signed by the three parties - representatives of the council of elders of Al-Nasr, the Syrian armed forces and the Russian Centre for Reconciliation, headquartered on the basis of aerospace forces (VKS) of the Russian Federation in the city Hmeymim.

Simultaneously with the conclusion of the contract in the Al-Nasr was delivered the first batch of Russian humanitarian aid to the inhabitants of this village, and arrived with a humanitarian convoy of Russian military doctors conducted a survey of several dozen people and provide emergency medical care to needy Syrians.

Al-Nasr is located nearly 100 km from Damascus, on the border with the province of Homs. This is the second settlement, signed an agreement with the authorities in the north-east of the capital and the first in the region with such a large number of inhabitants.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

BREAKING:

Three Suicide Bombers Blow Themselves Up Near Police Department in Russia

http://sputniknews.com/russia/20160411/1037805218/suicide-bombers-russia-stavropol.html

Three suspected suicide bombers detonated themselves near a police department in the Stavropol Region in Southern Russia.

"Three suicide bombers allegedly detonated themselves near the police station in the Novoselitsk District of the Stavropol Region. The terrorists died, and around five explosions were heard," a law enforcement source told RIA Novosti.

Stavropol police have confirmed the attack on the police department.

"An attack occurred on the police department in the Novoselitsk District, information is being clarified," the source said.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

Islamic State regains Syrian stronghold near Turkey border: monitor

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-militants-idUSKCN0X80J9

Islamic State militants took back a stronghold in Syria near the border with Turkey on Monday, four days after losing it to a grouping of rebels, a monitoring group said.

The ultra-hardline Islamist group seized the town of al-Rai from factions fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army, part of months of back-and-forth fighting in northern Aleppo province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

Islamic State has declared a cross-border Islamic caliphate in Syria and neighboring Iraq and is also battling other insurgent groups caught up in Syria's civil war, some of them backed by Turkey and Western powers.

It has made steady gains near the Azaz border crossing with Turkey since last May, but has been pushed back in a number of areas in recent months by rival rebels and Syrian government forces supported by Russian air strikes.

Iraq forces fight to retake chemical attack town in Bashir area

http://ekurd.net/iraq-fight-retake-town-bashir-2016-04-11?

KIRKUK,— Iraqi Shiite paramilitary forces have launched an operation to retake a town from which the Islamic State group launched a chemical weapons attack that killed three children, commanders said Sunday.

“The operation aims to liberate Bashir, after we succeeded several days ago in cutting off supplies to (IS) in the Bashir area,” said Abu Ridha al-Najjar, who is leading the operation.

Sheikh Maitham al-Zaidi, the commander of Furqat al-Abbas, one of the groups involved, also confirmed that the operation had begun.

Safe Skies: Russia Delivers S-300 Air Defense System to Iran

http://sputniknews.com/military/20160411/1037803549/s300-russia-iran.html

Tehran received the first batch of S-300 air defense systems from Moscow.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia has made the first contracted delivery of the S-300 air defense systems to Iran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hussein Jaber Ansari said Monday.

“We announced earlier that this contract, regardless of some obstacles in the past, is on the stage of completion and today I announce that the first batch of this equipment has already been delivered to Iran, and the delivery of the next party will continue in the future,” Mehr news agency quoted Ansari as saying.

The $800-million Russia-Iran contract to deliver five Russian S-300 systems to Iran was signed in 2007. It was suspended after the adoption of UN Security Council sanctions on Iran in mid-2010. In 2011, in response to the suspension of the deal, Iran filed a $4-billion suit against Russia in the Geneva Arbitration Court. In April 2015, Russia resumed the talks on S-300 deliveries following a framework agreement on the landmark deal ensuring the peaceful nature of Tehran's nuclear program.

In July 2015, Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Kozhin said that Russia would deliver a modernized version of the S-300 air defense system to Tehran, which was being updated for Iran's specific needs.

1st delivery of Russian S-300 air defense system arrives in Iran - Iranian FM

https://www.rt.com/news/339153-iran-russia-s300-delivery/

The first delivery of the Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile system has arrived in Iran, the country’s Foreign Ministry has announced.

“We had already announced that despite several changes in the time of delivery, the deal is on its path of implementation and today I should announce that the first part of this equipment has arrived in Iran and delivery of other parts will continue,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Jaberi Ansari told journalists, Mehr news agency reported.

He said the delivery came through the Caspian Sea, which both Iran and Russia border.

Russia’s sale of S-300 missiles to Iran has a bumpy history. The deal was first signed in 2007, but was suspended by Russia under pressure from the US and Israel. Moscow said the delivery would destabilize regional security at a time when Tehran was accused of having a clandestine nuclear weapons program.

The contract was revived last year after Iran and six leading world powers signed a nuclear deal, which addressed concerns over a potential nuclear breakout by Tehran.

The S-300 system now being delivered by Russia is the result of a new deal signed with Iran in November, and is an upgraded version of the one that Tehran initially purchased. The delivery is expected to be complete by mid-2016.

Iran confirms delivery of first batch of Russia’s S-300 air defense missile systems

http://tass.ru/en/defense/868633

"The first batch of the Russian S-300 air defense missile systems has arrived in Iran," the TASNIM news agency of Iran quotes the ministry official as saying

TEHRAN, April 11. /TASS/. The first batch of Russia’s S-300 air defense missile systems has been delivered to Iran, press secretary of the Iranian Foreign Ministry Hossein Jaber Ansari said on Monday.

"The first batch of the Russian S-300 air defense missile systems has arrived in Iran," the TASNIM news agency of Iran quotes the ministry official as saying.

Russia and Iran has concluded a contract on the supply of five battalions of the S-300 system in 2007, however, in autumn 2010 Dmitry Medvedev, who held the post of the Russian president then, banned the supply of these systems to Tehran due to the UN sanctions imposed on Iran. The contract worth more than $800 million was cancelled and the advance payment was returned to the Iranian side.

Later, Iran lodged a $4 billion lawsuit at an international court in Geneva against Russia’s arms export agency over Russia’s nonfulfillment of its obligations under the contract. According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, "through lengthy and complicated negotiations" Russia succeeded in settling this dispute in court.

In spring 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted the ban on the S-300 missile system delivery to Iran.

S-300 (NATO reporting name SA-10 Grumble) is a missile defense system designed to fire surface-to-air missiles at aerial targets such as helicopters, warplanes and cruise or ballistic missiles.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Al-Nusra Front Deploys Up to 10,000 Terrorists Near Aleppo - Russian MoD

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160411/1037831108/nusra-front-offensive-aleppo.html

According to the Russian General Staff, al-Nusra Front terrorist group has deployed up to 10,000 militants near the Syrian city of Aleppo ahead of a major offensive.

"It is known that a large-scale offensive is planned [by al-Nusra terrorists] to cut the road linking Aleppo and Damascus," Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy said Monday.

He added that al-Nusra Front has been fighting to the north and south of Aleppo.

Syrian government forces are not planning to storm Aleppo, their efforts are focused on preventing a blockade of northern Syria, Sergei Rudskoy said.

"Terrorists continue attacks on Sheikh Maqsoud and al-Zagra in the outskirts of Aleppo," head of the General Staff's Main Operational Directorate Rudskoy said.

"If these attacks are successful, the northern parts of Syria could fall under blockade again. That's why all actions by the Syrian army and the Russian aviation are aimed now at thwarting al-Nusra Front's plans," the general stressed.

The flow of weaponry and militants reinforcing the Nusra Front terrorist group continues across the Turkish-Syrian border, including through areas controlled by US-backed opposition groups, the Russian General Staff said.

"Despite the progress in the implementation of the ceasefire regime, the supplies of weapons and militants from the Turkish side [of the border] to reinforce Nusra Front terrorists continue, including through areas controlled by US-backed opposition groups."

Russia has asked the United States to curb massing of militants near Aleppo, Rudskoy said.

According to Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader Halqi, the Syrian army supported by the Russian combat aircraft were planning to take control over Aleppo.

The number of settlements that have joined ceasefire regime in Syria has increased to 61, the Russian General Staff said Monday.

Syria says Turkey, Saudi Arabia ordering truce violations

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/04/11/460215/Syria-Daesh-Turkey-Saudi/

The Syrian foreign minister has lashed out at Turkey and Saudi Arabia for undermining a truce agreement currently in force in the war-ravaged country.

Walid al-Muallem said on Monday that terrorist groups were breaking the ceasefire in Syria on the orders of Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

The top Syrian diplomat said in his meeting with United Nations Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura in Damascus that militants are continuing to stage attacks on government positions in a bid to foil forthcoming peace talks.
Muallem said Syria is still committed to dialogue without preconditions, adding that the government will continue its efforts for reaching a political solution in the UN-sponsored talks beginning on April 15.

"Muallem reaffirmed in his meeting with De Mistura the Syrian position on the political solution to the crisis and the commitment to Syrian dialogue under Syrian leadership, without pre-conditions," the official Syrian news agency, SANA, said.

In a press conference after the meeting, De Mistura said cessation of hostilities in Syria was fragile, noting that the truce needs to be sustained.

"We did raise and discuss the importance of protecting and maintaining and supporting the cessation of hostilities, which is, as you know, fragile but is there," he said.

The truce agreement, engineered by the United States and Russia, has been in effect in Syria since the end of February.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned on Monday that “any violation is certainly dangerous for the yet unstable and fragile ceasefire" in Syria.

"Russia has consistently been working to minimize and subsequently eliminate any violations, and has been doing it, as you know, together with the United States of America within the framework of existing mechanisms,” he said.

Officials in Russia’s reconciliation center in Syria’s Hmeymim airbase said five cases of truce violations were registered in Syria on Sunday. They said, however, that the ceasefire regime is generally holding in most provinces across Syria.

The truce agreement excludes Daesh and Nusra Front, two major terrorist groups operating in east and north of Syria.

De Mistura added that the upcoming round of negotiations in Geneva on April 13 aimed at ending the country's five-year war would be "crucially important".

"The Geneva talks' next phase are crucially important because we will be focusing in particular on the political transition, on governance and constitutional principles," he said. "We hope and plan to make them constructive and we plan to make them concrete."

Syrian FM: Terrorists' Ceasefire Violations Ordered by Saudi Arabia, Turkey

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950123001275

"Terrorist groups are breaking the ceasefire in Syria at the orders of Turkey and Saudi Arabia," Muallem said in a meeting with UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura in Damascus on Monday.

He underlined that the militants continue to stage attacks on government positions in a bid to ruin the upcoming peace talks.

"Syria is still committed to dialogue without preconditions, Muallem said, adding, "The government will continue its efforts to reach a political solution in the UN-sponsored talks slated to begin on April 15.

The terrorists have violated the ceasefire in Syria several times in the provinces of Lattakia, Homs and Hama, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

"Two cases of the violation of ceasefire by the terrorist groups occurred in the coastal province of Lattakia, one in Hama province and one more in the Central province of Homs," the ministry said.

A report said on Thursday that the Syrian army backed by the National Defense Forces (NDF) started military operations to cut the main supply route of the militants along a strategic road in Lattakia.

"If they manage to cut the road (linking Al-Hanboushiyah and Nariyah) in Jabal Turkmen, the Takfiri terrorists will be forced to find another route to transport their supplies through," a source said.

He said that the Syrian forces are "trying to cutoff the main supply route from Turkey".

Russia and the United States reached an agreement on the ceasefire in Syria on February 22. The ceasefire took effect at midnight on February 27, Damascus time (22:00 GMT on February 26). The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution endorsing the Russia-US agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Syria on February 26, shortly before the ceasefire came into force.

The cessation of hostilities does not apply to designated terrorist groups operating in Syria, including ISIL (also known as Daesh) and Jabhat al-Nusra (Nusra Front), a group affiliated with al-Qaeda.

ISIL Takes Over Yarmouk Refugee Camp from Al-Nusra Front

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950123001164

The ISIL is now in full control of Yarmouk camp after five days of fierce clashes with the al-Nusra Front.

On Sunday, the ISIL had asked al-Nusra terrorists to surrender themselves.

The Yarmouk crisis started in 2012 when the terrorist groups took control of the Palestinian refugee camp and displaced over one million Palestinians. The terrorist groups have been trying to make the Yarmouk camp and its surrounding areas the main center of their operations.

The ISIL had sieged Yarmouk refugee camp for several months when it was in al-Nusra Front's control.

In a relevant development on Sunday, provincial officials disclosed that the Al-Nusra Front and ISIL terrorists had engaged in fresh clashes in the Southern countryside of the Syrian capital, inflicting heavy fatalities on both sides.

"The ISIL and its rival terrorist group of al-Nusra Front opened heavy fire at each others' strongholds in several axis of al-Yarmouk refugee camp in the Southern countryside of Damascus, which ended in the killing or wounding of tens of terrorists," the sources said.

Islamic State regains Syrian stronghold near Turkey border: monitor

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-militants-idUSKCN0X80J9

Syria: ISIL Inflicts Heavy Defeat on Rival Terrorist Groups in Aleppo

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950123001059

The ISIL forced Ahrar al-Sham, Free Syrian Army and al-Nusra Front to retreat from the town of al-Rai and ten villages, including Tal Safer, Qantarah, Qarah Quz, Qasajik and Tata humus after hours of clashes.

The intense infighting between the ISIL and its rivals inflicted a heavy death toll on both sides.

On Saturday, terrorists of Ahrar al-Sham, Free Syrian Army and al-Nusra won a battle against the ISIL and captured al-Rai, the villages of Wuquf, Hadabat, Mull Yaakoob and Tjaljah Sharqiyah in the Northern and Eastern parts of al-Rai.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Three Suicide Bombers Blow Themselves Up Near Police Department in Russia

http://sputniknews.com/russia/20160411/1037805218/suicide-bombers-russia-stavropol.html

Three attackers of south Russia police station identified — sources

http://tass.ru/en/world/868776

According to the investigators, the attackers are: Zaur Akayev, born in 1983, Ramazan Khaibulayev, born in 1991 and Isai Abdulatipov, born in 1996

MOSCOW, April 11. /TASS/. Investigators have identified three attackers on a police station in Russia’s North Caucasian Stavropol region on Monday morning, sources in the Russian Investigative Committee told TASS.

"Thanks to prompt cooperation of investigators of the Russian Investigative Committee and operatives of the regional police and Federal Security Service (FSB) departments the three men who staged today's attack on the administrative police building of the Novoselitsky district and later blew themselves up have been identified. They are persons with previous convictions, including for murder, residents of the Kitayevskoye settlement of the Novoselitsky district: Zaur Akayev, born in 1983, Ramazan Khaibulayev, born in 1991 and Isai Abdulatipov, born in 1996," the Investigative Committee said.

According to investigators, at around 10:00 am on Monday, Akayev, Khaibulayev and Abdulatipov tried to penetrate into the administrative building of the Novoselitsky district police department during which they exploded grenades. Policemen opened fire on them and the attackers blew themselves up. The explosions damaged the police station building and cars parked nearby. There have been no reports about casualties.

The criminal case over the attack (attempt on the life of law enforcement officers) has been opened by the Investigative Committee’s investigation bodies for the Stavropol region.

Deputy Chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee Boris Karnaukhov arrived at the Novoselitskoye settlement for coordinating the work of the team of police investigators. To ensure a prompt and full investigation, the criminal case has been referred to the Russian Investigative Committee’s main department for the North Caucasian Federal District.

Police station in Russia’s south damaged by blasts staged by militants

http://tass.ru/en/world/868766

Two attackers were killed by police and one blew himself up in an attack at a police station in Russia’s Stavropol territory in the North Caucasian Federal District,

MOSCOW, April 11. /TASS/. Criminal proceedings have been instituted over an attack at a police station in Russia’s Stavropol territory in the North Caucasian Federal District, the Russian Investigative Committee told TASS on Monday.

"At around 10:00 am today, three unknown men tried to penetrate into the administrative building of the Novoselitsky district police department during which they exploded grenades. Two attackers were killed by police and one blew himself up," the Committee sources said.

"The explosions damaged the police station building and cars parked nearby. There have been no reports about casualties," the sources added.

The criminal case has been opened by the Investigative Committee investigation bodies for the Stavropol region.

Deputy Chairman of the Investigative Committee Boris Karnaukhov arrived at the Novoselitskoye settlement for coordinating the work of the team of police investigators. To ensure a prompt and full investigation, the criminal case has been referred to the Russian Investigative Committee’s main department for the North Caucasian Federal District.

‘Time to build new Syria’: Russian deputy defense minister speaks of op & peace in RT exclusive

https://www.rt.com/news/339223-russia-syria-peace-antonov/

Moscow’s current objective in Syria is to ensure that peace process gains pace so that people can return to normal life, Russia’s deputy defense minister, Anatoly Antonov, told RT in an exclusive interview.

Although the situation in Syria is “very fragile and very volatile…Russia and all other countries must do their utmost to strengthen this fragile peace, so that no one is able to undermine it,” Anatoly Antonov told RT.

Nurturing peace is one of the primary goals for Russia in Palmyra - a cradle of ancient civilization and a UNESCO world heritage site - after it helped Syria liberate it from terrorists last month, Antonov said. The operation was a major strategic victory for Damascus and Moscow, which provided air support for Syrian troops. It was also “a pivotal moment of the Syrian operation.”

Russian sappers are currently deployed in Palmyra disposing of improvised explosive devices and landmines planted by Islamic State [IS, formerly ISIS] when it was in control of the city. Moscow sees a major opportunity for international cooperation in this work, Antonov said.

“Our military engineers started mine clearance at this place, which is a legacy of the entire humanity. I believe the mine clearance issue is so big and vital in Syria that it would be right for the international community to offer its contribution and joined the Russian military’s effort,” he said, adding that Moscow has proposed such cooperation to the UN and international organizations dealing with demining.

The Russian military is also delivering humanitarian aid and help organizing vital industries disrupted by the Syrian war.

“Footage shown on television recently shows our troops organizing the baking of bread. What we do is try to make life easier for the common people, so that they can breathe in and feel this truce,” Antonov said. “Enough with war, it’s time to build a new Syria.”

Russia sent its warplanes to Syria and started airstrikes on terrorist forces in September. Over five months, with Russia’s help, the Syrian troops turned the tide of battle. This paved the way for a shaky truce with militias that were willing to seek a political transition in Syria.

Russia pulled out part of its Syrian deployment in March, but continues to help Damascus in its continued fight against terrorist organizations like IS and Al-Nusra Front, which are not party to the ceasefire.

“During our operation, much has been done. We delivered a huge blow to the terrorists, destroying many weapons caches, militants, their command and control structures as well as miscellaneous groupings,” Antonov told RT.

“We also targeted terrorism financing,” he added. “Everyone perfectly knows where terrorists’ money comes from – illicit oil trade. Everyone knows how the stolen oil is being smuggled from Syria, and where the money goes.”

The deputy minister was alluding to Turkey, which Russia accuses of profiting from the war in Syria. In November last year, Moscow released intelligence saying that Turkey’s leadership personally benefits from having commercial ties to IS.

Many subsequent media reports, including those of RT, shed light on flourishing illicit trade in oil, stolen artifacts and other goods, and also supply routes, between Turkey and the terror group.

Antonov spoke to RT ahead of the 2016 Moscow Conference on International Security – a reputed political event which will gather senior military and security decision-makers from all over the globe on April 27-28 in Moscow. It will feature representatives from at least 80 countries, three deputy prime ministers, 20 defense ministers, 15 chiefs of staff, 10 international organizations and military delegations.

Combatting international terrorism in Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and beyond will be at the heart of the conference’s agenda.

Russian Bomb Squad Demined 117 Mines in Syria's Palmyra in Past 24 Hours

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160411/1037834255/mines-syria-russia-squad.html

The Russian bomb squad has demined 20 hectares of Syria's city of Palmyra.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Russian bomb squad has demined 20 hectares in the historical part of Syria's ancient city of Palmyra in the past 24 hours, clearing a total of 117 explosive devices, the Russian General Staff said Monday.

"In the past 24 hours, the Russian sappers have cleared six kilometers of roads, 20 hectares of territory and three buildings in the historical part of Palmyra," Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi, head of the General Staff's Main Operational Directorate, said in a statement.

"A total of 117 explosive devices have been destroyed, including a powerful bomb with equivalent of 120 kilograms of TNT," Rudskoi added.

The Syrian armed forces, backed by militias and the Russian Aerospace Forces, recaptured Palmyra from the extremist group, outlawed both in Russia and the United States, on March 27, nearly a year after militants took hold of the city and destroyed much of the UNESCO World Heritage Site's artifacts.

Daesh Seizes 11 Localities on Syria-Turkey Border in Aleppo Province

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160411/1037835005/daesh-syria-aleppo.html

Daesh terrorists have captured 11 localities in the north of the Aleppo province near the Turkish border, local media reported Monday.

DAMASCUS (Sputnik) — According to the Al Mayadeen broadcaster, the localities were under control of the Free Syrian Army.

Meanwhile, the Syrian government forces have repelled an assault of terrorists on a locality in the south of the Aleppo province, adjacent to the Damascus-Aleppo highway.

On Sunday, a military source said the Syrian government army had repelled a joint attack by several terrorist groups on the outskirts of the settlement of Berna near the city of Aleppo. Government forces repelled another militant attack in the Khan Tuman settlement near Aleppo, while the Syrian city’s residential quarter of Saif Dawla was shelled by terrorists, according to the source.

Russian officer killed near Palmyra awarded Hero of Russia title

http://tass.ru/en/defense/868788

Aleksandr Prokhorenko was killed on March 17, 2016 while directing the strikes of Russian planes in the area of Tadmor, Homs province, Syria

MOSCOW, April 11. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a decree to award the Hero of Russia title to Senior Lieutenant Aleksandr Prokhorenko (posthumously) for courage and heroism displayed in performing his military duty, the Kremlin’s press-service has said.

Prokhorenko was killed on March 17, 2016 while directing the strikes of Russian planes in the area of Tadmur, Homs province, Syria. When surrounded by Islamic State militants, he requested friendly fire.

Prokhorenko was born to a working class family in the Orenburg Region on June 22, 1990.

In 2007 he graduated from a secondary school with honors (silver medal) and applied for and was admitted to the Orenburg Higher Air Defense Missile Academy. In 2008, when the Academy was closed, he was transferred to the Academy of Ground Troops Air Defense Academy of the Russian Armed forces. Graduated with top honors. His latest position was in the Special Operations Force. Participated in the Russian military operation in Syria. The Orenburg authorities have made a decision to give his name to a city street.

Bombing attack in eastern Afghanistan kills 12, injures dozens

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/04/11/460251/Afghanistan-Jalalabad-Nangarhar-Khogyani-Waziri/

At least 12 people have lost their lives and dozens sustained injuries in a bombing attack in eastern Afghanistan, officials say.

The attack took place when a bomber stormed a bus which was carrying Afghan army recruits in the provincial capital of Jalalabad in Nangarhar Province on Monday.

"In the attack, 12 army recruits were killed and 38 others were wounded," said Attaullah Khogyani, the spokesman for Nangarhar province.

Afghanistan's Defense Ministry spokesman General Dawlat Waziri confirmed the incident and the death toll, saying the attacker struck the bus while riding a motorized tricycle.

"The recruits were being transferred from Jalalabad to Kabul," said Waziri, putting the number of injured at 26.

The head of a regional hospital in the province, however, put the death toll at 13.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack on his Twitter page.

Taliban militants regularly target military and government installations in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is gripped by insecurity 15 years after the United States and its allies attacked the country as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror.

The war removed the Taliban from power but insecurity is still rampant in the country despite the presence of thousands of foreign troops.

 

[angelburst29]

U.S. Navy Officer Possible Death Penalty If Guilty Of Espionage Charges
http://novorossia.today/u-s-navy-officer-possible-death-penalty-guilty-espionage-charges/

U.S. Navy officer charged with spying, possibly for China, Taiwan
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-espionage-idUSKCN0X80DL

A U.S. Navy officer with access to sensitive U.S. intelligence faces espionage charges over accusations he passed state secrets, possibly to China and Taiwan, a U.S. official told Reuters on Sunday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, identified the suspect as Lieutenant Commander Edward Lin, who was born in Taiwan and later became a naturalized U.S. citizen, according a Navy profile article written about him in 2008.

A redacted Navy charge sheet said the suspect was assigned to the headquarters for the Navy’s Patrol and Reconnaissance Group, which oversees intelligence collection activities.

The charge sheet redacted out the name of the suspect and the Navy declined to provide details on his identity.

It accused him twice of communicating secret information and three times of attempting to do so to a representative of a foreign government “with intent or reason to believe it would be used to the advantage of a foreign nation.”

The document did not identify what foreign country or countries were involved.

The U.S. official said both China and Taiwan were possible but stressed the investigation was still going on.

The suspect was also accused of engaging in prostitution and adultery. He has been held in pre-trial confinement for the past eight months or so, the official added.

USNI News, which first reported Lin’s identity, said he spoke fluent Mandarin and managed the collection of electronic signals from the EP3-E Aries II signals intelligence aircraft.

I wonder if there is a connection between some 100 Turkish Special Forces crossing the border into Syria (so they could intentionally fire rockets back into a safe zone in Turkey) and then blame the Syrian's?

Some 100 Turkish Special Forces Troops Cross into Syria - Source
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160407/1037665710/turkish-forces-cross-syria-border.html

Rockets from Syria hit Turkish town Kilis, at least 4 injured
https://www.rt.com/news/339222-kilis-turkey-syria-rocket/

Rockets fired from Syria have landed on Turkish territory, injuring several people in the southeast border town of Kilis, local media report.

At least four people were injured in the shelling, according to Anadolu news agency, which said five rockets hit the center of Kilis.

The rockets are believed to have been fired from a region in Syria controlled by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants, the Daily Sabah reported. This is yet to be confirmed by the authorities.

Turkish artillery retaliated by shelling the positions inside Syria from where the rockets were fired, it added.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Demolition Campaign: Israeli Occupation Army Destroys Palestinian Homes in West Bank

http://www.globalresearch.ca/demolition-campaign-israeli-occupation-army-destroys-palestinian-homes-in-west-bank/5519728

IOA destroyed 523 Palestinian structures in 3 months

The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) knocked down 523 Palestinian homes and civilian structures in the West Bank since the start of 2016, with an increase of 275% from last year, a Palestinian center reported Sunday. A report by the Land Research Center (LRC) said the Israeli occupation army demolished 188 civilian structures sheltering 854 Palestinians. Nablus province, in the northern occupied West Bank, hit a record high of 58 in the number of demolished homes. The Tana makeshift village was also subjected to three demolitions during the months of March and February.

The IOA further destroyed 41 homes in Occupied Jerusalem, 33 in al-Khalil, and 28 in Tubas. Several Palestinian buildings were also demolished in Jabal al-Baba and Abu Nawar Bedouin communities.

The demolition campaign also targeted homes in Silwan, Beit Hanina, al-Tur, Sur Baher, and al-Mukbir areas. According to the center, “such a ferocious campaign” on Palestinian residential structures has seen an increase of 275% compared to the first three months of 2015, when 190 Palestinian structures were knocked down. Most of the demolitions were carried out either under the unlicensed construction pretext or on account of the inhabitants’ involvement in anti-occupation activism. Israel’s demolition policies have often targeted buildings located in the Israeli-controlled Area C, which covers 61% of the occupied West Bank. The area has been a breeding ground to Israel’s illegal settlement construction and expansion.

Israel Rejects 20% Increase in US Aid as “Compensation” for Iran Deal

http://www.globalresearch.ca/israel-rejects-20-increase-in-us-aid-as-compensation-for-iran-deal/5519514

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a US proposal to increase its annual financial and military support to Israel by 20 per cent as “compensation” for the deal signed with Iran. Sources close to the US-Israeli negotiating circles said with the additional 20 percent, the US support to Israel will reach $3.6 billion a year.

America’s financial and military support constitutes 20 per cent of Israel’s security budget.

According to the American-Israeli agreement signed in 2008, over the past decade Israel has received nearly $30 billion in addition to annual grants of nearly $50 million as compensation for the decline in the dollar.

It is due to receive more than $3.2 billion this year.

Israel demanded the US increase its financial and military support as compensation for the nuclear deal struck with Tehran in 2015 which it claims has accelerated the arms race with the Gulf states and adversely affects Israel’s strategic position.

Israel Seeks to Divert Attention from Its Execution of Wounded Palestinian Prisoners

http://www.globalresearch.ca/israel-seeks-to-divert-attention-from-its-execution-of-wounded-palestinian-prisoners/5519703

An Israeli soldier has been detained, as a result of a video showing him shooting a severely wounded Palestinian as he lay motionless on the ground. The IDF soldier is seen in the video footage, cocking his weapon and shooting the wounded man in the head. However, the IDF soldier will not be prosecuted for murder, only manslaughter – and there would be no prosecution at all of this extrajudicial execution but for the existence of this highly inconvenient video.

But, astonishingly, in a recent poll carried out by an Israeli TV station, most of the respondents supported the killing.

It has also been reported that prior to this execution, a group of Democratic Congressmen had asked the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, to investigate the alleged involvement of Israeli government forces in these extrajudicial execution killings of Palestinians.

To counter the worldwide condemnation of its illegal occupation and settlement, the Israeli government sends out teams of emergency response teams to anywhere in the world wherever there is an earthquake or civil catastrophe, in a highly publicised propaganda effort to divert attention from its brutal occupation of Palestinian land and its illegal blockade of essential goods into Gaza in its failed attempt at regime change.

These so-called ‘search and rescue’ responders sent out, in a blaze of publicity propaganda, to Haiti, Japan and Nepal to offer assistance to victims of national disasters, are singularly absent in their own country to help victims of their own government-sponsored military brutality unmatched by any other Western army where there is a proven culture of military discipline and moral authority.

Netanyahu for the first time acknowledged the Israeli strikes on Syria

http://www.interfax.ru/world/503199

Moscow. 11 April. INTERFAX.RU - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday for the first time, said that Israel was slapped on Syria's territory to disrupt the supply of weapons to the militants of the Lebanese movement "Hezbollah", according to the Israeli publication Haaretz.

"We act where the need to act, including areas beyond the border We put dozens of punches to stop." Hezbollah "to obtain weapons that change the balance of power at the root," - said the Prime Minister during a visit to the Golan Heights, near the border with Syria .

Netanyahu did not elaborate on what exactly strikes in question, and when they were deposited, the newspaper notes.

Haaretz said that previously appeared in the media message that Israel has repeatedly slapped in Syria and Lebanon in order to destroy weapons designed to "Hezbollah".

Israel PM admits strikes in Syria for first time

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/04/11/460270/Israel-Hezbollah-Lebanon-Netanyahu-Syria/

Israel has launched dozens of strikes in Syria, the regime’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admits for the first time.

Visiting Israeli troops in the occupied Golan Heights on Monday, Netanyahu said Israel carried out the attacks to prevent alleged arms transfers to Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah.

"We act when we need to act, including here across the border, with dozens of strikes meant to prevent Hezbollah from obtaining game-changing weaponry," he added.

The Israeli premier did not give any time frame for the strikes in Syria. He also did not elaborate on what kind of strikes the Israeli army had carried out.

It was the first time an Israeli official has admitted to launching strikes in Syria, after several media reports that Tel Aviv conducted such attacks.

"We are also working on other fronts, near and far, but we do it intelligently," Netanyahu said, adding that Israel may itself "enter the battlefield."

Hezbollah has been aiding Syrian forces in their fight against Takfiri militants across the Arab state over the past few years.

Lebanon has seen acts of terror associated with the militancy in Syria. Daesh and al-Nusra Front terrorists have been active on the outskirts of the Lebanese town of Arsal, located on the border with Syria.

Israel launched two wars on Lebanon in 2000 and 2006. About 1,200 Lebanese, most of them civilians, lost their lives during the 33-day war in the summer of 2006.

On both occasions, Hezbollah fighters gave befitting responses to the Tel Aviv regime’s acts of aggression, forcing the Israeli military to retreat without achieving any of its objectives.

The Tel Aviv regime has resorted to an intelligence and psychological campaign against Hezbollah to compensate for its fiascos in the two wars on Lebanon.

 

[angelburst29]

The United States considers the upcoming parliamentary elections in Syria as not legitimate, US Department of State deputy spokesperson Mark Toner said on Monday.

US Views Upcoming Syrian Parliamentary Election as Not Legitimate - DoS
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160411/1037841326/us-syria-parliamentary-election.html

Toner explained that Washington believes that the ultimate solution to the ongoing conflict in Syria is a political transition and the upcoming elections are premature.

"We would view those elections as not legitimate in the sense that they don’t represent the will of the Syrian people," Toner stated when asked about the April 13 vote.

Earlier in the day, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said the Syrian peace talks in Geneva due to begin on April 13 will cover the topics of political transition, governance, and the constitution.

The previous round of Syrian talks in Geneva finished on March 24. The round saw all delegations submit their settlement proposals to Syrian Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, who then produced a final paper with points of convergence between the parties.

The White House and intelligence officials are considering declassifying documents known as the "28 pages" which could show the possible existence of a Saudi support network for the hijackers involved in the 9/11 terror attacks.

60 Minutes: Classified '28 Pages' May Shed Light on Saudi Ties to Terrorism
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950123001319

The discussion of the documents, which have been locked away for 13 years, comes as President Obama plans a trip to Saudi Arabia this month, the Hill reported.

Former Sen. Bob Graham, who helped author the report, told “60 Minutes” the classified information outlines a network of people he believes supported the hijackers while they were in the US.

He said the hijackers were "substantially" supported by Saudi government, as well as charities and wealthy people in that country.

"I think it is implausible to believe that 19 people, most of who didn't speak English, most of whom never been in the United States before, many of whom didn't have a high school education -- could've carried out such a complicated task without some support from within the United States," Graham said.

The 28 pages were cut from a report on the 9/11 terror attacks in 2003 by the Bush administration in the interest of national security. Porter Goss, who was Graham’s co-chairman during the inquiry, said the FBI refused to declassify the information at the time.

Goss, who later led the CIA, told “60 Minutes” he saw no reason then, or now, for the material to be locked away. Goss and Graham met with the FBI director to try to sway him, but had no luck.

Those interviewed by “60 Minutes” who have read the 28 pages describe the material as similar to a police report or grand jury file, and say it lays out the possibility that the hijackers who settled in Southern California had official Saudi assistance.

Graham said he believes the US classified the pages to protect its delicate relationship with its ally, Saudi Arabia.

 

[goyacobol]

Here's Farrell's latest speculations on the Panama Papers and Putin:

So what's up with the Panama Papers? Joseph has some typically high octane speculations:

Putin Denounces "Panama Papers" As U.S. Plot To Destabilize Russia

Putin to Declassify Documents That Bear Some "Very Interesting Names"

Mossack Fonseca: The Nazi, CIA And Nevada Connections... And Why It's Now Rothschild's Turn

Link to video: https://youtu.be/_gGF_IOjyIw

http://<iframe width="702" height="...Iw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

This is a bit late in response but I do find Joseph Farrell to be mirroring a lot of what the sessions are saying. Either he is using our material or he is tuning into some very "accurate" stuff when "convenient". I have checked some of his other YouTube videos or videos that he is the lecturer and he is very interesting to say the least.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Turkey Shells Syrian Government Forces in Syrian Latakia - Russian Military

http://sputniknews.com/military/20160412/1037850522/turkey-latakia-shelling.html

The Turkish army has shelled Syrian government forces stationed in the Latakia province near the Turkish border, the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Syria has been mired in civil war since March 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups.

"Once again, Syrian territory came under shelling by the Turkish Armed Forces. Between 8:30 a.m. and 9:20 a.m. [6:30 — 7:20 GMT] on April 10, 2016, Turkish artillery shelled Syrian government positions in the Latakia province from the town of Metisli in Turkey. At 13:00, an artillery strike hit the town of Gebelli from the same positions," the center said in a daily bulletin posted on Monday on the Russian Defense Ministry's website.

The ceasefire in Syria worked out by Russia and the United States took effect on February 27. The cessation of hostilities does not apply to groups designated by the United Nations to be terrorist organizations, such as Daesh and the Nusra Front, outlawed in a number of countries worldwide including Russia.

Turkey aiding al-Nusra ahead of major Aleppo strike: Russia

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/04/12/460301/turkey-syria-alnusra-russia/

As Turkey continues to aid al-Nusra Front, some 10,000 militants of the Takfiri terrorist group have converged around Syria’s northwestern province of Aleppo, says Russia's General Staff.

“Despite progress achieved in securing a ceasefire, Turkey continues to funnel men and arms to al-Nusra Front,” said Lieutenant General Sergey Rudskoy, the head of the Main Operative Department of the Russian General Staff, on Monday.
On February 27, a US- and Russia-sponsored ceasefire was brokered between the Syrian government and dozens of militant groups operating in the country. Daesh and al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra are excluded from the truce.

“Al-Nusra’s men and materiel are being allowed to pass through areas that the US has designated as being controlled by the opposition,” he added while noting that Russia has on multiple occasions called on the US to aid in limiting al-Nusra’s operations.

Rudskoy stressed that over 8,000 al-Nusra terrorists have gathered on the southwestern outskirts of Aleppo and 1,500 more are positioned in the city’s north.

In the last 24 hours, over 300 militants, a tank and 20 armed off-road vehicles have arrived in the city’s vicinity, he added.

“It is reliably known that the militants are planning a large-scale offensive with the aim of cutting off communication between Aleppo and Damascus,” he said. “If they are not stopped, we could see a blockade of the northern parts of Syria.”
Last month, Russia set up a center at Hmeimim airbase in Latakia to monitor the ceasefire.

"The number of settlements that have joined the reconciliation process and signed relevant agreements with the Syrian authorities has risen to 61. A total of 47 statements of intention on cessation of hostilities have been signed with the leaders of armed groups of moderate opposition," Rudskoy added.

Syria has been grappling with a deadly conflict it blames on some foreign states for more than five years. The militancy has left over 470,000 people dead so far, according to a February report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research.

Military Uniforms for Jihadists Seized in Spain Came From Saudi Arabia

http://sputniknews.com/military/20160412/1037851158/jihadi-fighters-uniforms-spain.html

Nearly 20,000 military uniforms destined for the Daesh and al-Nusra Front extremists seized by Spanish police in early March arrived in Spain from Saudi Arabia, local media reported Monday.

MADRID (Sputnik) – Police discovered uniforms and military accessories in three shipping containers — two in the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and one in Algeciras, a port city in the south of Spain — all reportedly linked to an international network of companies.

These containers, apparently, were brought to Spain from Saudi Arabia, the El Pais newspaper claimed. At the same time, according to the daily, the uniforms, probably originating from one of the NATO countries, were supposed to be shipped to the Turkish port of Mersin, and then to be sent to the Bab al-Hawa, an international border crossing between Syria and Turkey.

The uniforms have been detected as a result of the searches that were conducted after the arrests in early February of seven people suspected of terrorist-related activities. The detainees allegedly provided logistical and financial support to terrorist groups operating in Syria and Iraq.

Al-Nusra Front Seeks to Worsen Humanitarian Situation in Aleppo

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160412/1037850141/nusra-front-aleppo-situation.html

The al-Nusra Front terrorist group is seeking to worsen the humanitarian crisis in the Syrian city of Aleppo by cutting its communication with Homs, the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation said.

HMEIMIM (Sputnik) — Earlier on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry called on the United States to work through various channels to prevent the concentration of Nusra Front militants around Aleppo. The Russian General Staff said that some 9,500 militants are present around Aleppo in preparation for a major offensive.

"The al-Nusra Front seeks to aggravate the humanitarian situation in Aleppo by establishing control over the road linking Aleppo with Homs," commander of the center, Lt. Gen. Sergei Kuralenko said on Monday.

Over the past week, the al-Nusra Front has transferred over 1,500 fighters to the vicinity of Aleppo from other areas of the country, Kuralenko added, noting that the militants have been grouping mainly to the south and to the southwest of the city.

A US-Russia-brokered ceasefire came into force across Syria on February 27. It does not apply to terrorist groups such as Daesh and al-Nusra Front, both outlawed in Russia.

Eighty-two civilians killed in Aleppo within a week - reconciliation center

http://tass.ru/en/world/868866

266 civilians have been wounded, the head of the Russian center for reconciliation center said

HMEIMIM (Syria), April 11./TASS/. Eighty-two civilians have been killed and 266 have been wounded in shelling of Syrian Aleppo by Jabhat al-Nusra gunmen in the past seven days, the head of the Russian center for reconciliation of warrying parties, Lieutenant General Sergey Kuralenko said on Monday.

"Jabhat al-Nusra, declared a terrorist organization recognized by the UN Security on May 31, 2013, continues provocations aimed at disrupting the cessation of hostilities regime in the Syrian Arab Republic," Kuralenko said. "Most active combat activity of Jabhat al-Nusra is fixed in Aleppo province," he added.

On April 7 and 8, Jabhat al-Nusra militants took the offensive, seizing two streets of the city. From April 3, terrorist groups of the organization have continued attacks on positions of government troops in the southwestern part of Aleppo province. Repelling the attack, the government troops have destroyed more than 250 terrorists, as well as two tanks and other hardware.

South and west of Aleppo, Jabhat al-Nusra has established full control over groups earlier named among the opposition. Despite measures taken to establish a ceasefire, Jabhat al-Nusra continues attacks on positions of Syrian army in the northern part of Latakia and in the south of Idlib province.

Armed groups of Jabhat al-Nusra try to worsen the humanitarian situation in Aleppo, establishing control over the road connecting Aleppo and Homs. More than 1,500 gunmen have been redeployed from other directions to strengthen the group’s forces in the area of Aleppo city.

Jabhat al-Nusra continues concentrating forces in the south and southwest of the city, concentrating there a group of up to 8,000 gunmen.

"Seeking to reduce the number of fatalities among civilians and prevent the destruction of residential buildings and facilities of city infrastructure, the government troops use artillery fire and airstrikes selectively," Kuralenko said.

A ceasefire regime brokered by Russia and the United States on February 22 officially came into effect in Syria at midnight Damascus time on February 27. This does not cover terrorist groups such as Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra, both outlawed in Russia, and other groups recognized as terrorist by the United Nations Security Council.

An hour before the ceasefire came into force, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution in support cessation of hostilities in Syria. The document was initiated by Russia and the United States and won support from all the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council.

The Taliban in Afghanistan, announced the beginning of "spring offensive"

http://www.interfax.ru/world/503244

Moscow. 12th of April. INTERFAX.RU - The Afghan Taliban on Tuesday announced a "spring offensive".

In a statement published on the Internet, they announced their intention to "launch a major offensive against the enemy positions across the country."

The onset of this year was called "Operation Omar" who died in the memory of the leader of "Taliban," Mullah Omar.

Deputy Governor of Daraa province said a thousand have returned to civilian life militants

http://www.interfax.ru/world/503233

Moscow. 12th of April. INTERFAX.RU -. More than one thousand fighters handed over their weapons in the province of Daraa and a half months, the ceasefire is observed as the Syrian army and illegal armed groups, he told reporters on Tuesday, Deputy Governor Awad Suidan province.

As part of the process of national reconciliation of the warring sides in Syria in the town of Al-Kin Daraa province it was delivered about 500 sets of Russian-Syrian humanitarian aid. In addition, children from local schools received gift sets, which include candy, cookies and waffles.

"As for a truce in the province of Daraa, we are seeing a very big shift in the truce for six weeks more than 1,000 militants surrendered their weapons, and we have done so that they are fully returned to civilian life in the country", - said A.Suidan.

He added that the contract conditions of the cease-fire in Daraa province, brokered by Russia, are fully respected not only by the Syrian army, but also by representatives of illegal armed groups.

Deputy Governor also expressed his gratitude to Russia for giving humanitarian aid, which, according to him, is "a sign of love and friendship" between the Russian and Syrian peoples.

The representative of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria, Colonel Yuri Zraev, was also present at the distribution of humanitarian assistance, it noted the particular importance in the light of the proximity of the Al-Keen to the line of contact with the terrorist forces.

"Part of the territory of the province controlled by illegal armed groups, especially the IG and". Dzhebhat en-Nusra "This town is at the forefront, two kilometers from here the position of the militants. It is quite a difficult rally, but we wanted to get here and to deliver humanitarian aid because people have a problem with food, "- said Yu.Zraev.

As Deputy Governor, representative of the Russian Center said there has been progress in the reconciliation process, which, in his opinion, caused by such a resounding success of the Syrian army, as taking Palmyra.

"At the moment, the positive is observed in the province in regard to the reconciliation process. The process is very complicated, but if we compare the statistics and analysts last month, which is a positive trend, there is progress. This is primarily due to the victory, which won government troops in Palmyra, and other recent successful operations, "- said the officer.

He also pointed out that five years of war in Syria harassed not only civilians, but also representatives of illegal armed groups, who are increasingly get in the way of reason and refuse to fight.

The Russian military brought humanitarian aid to the Syrian city Alkino

http://www.interfax.ru/world/503226

Moscow. 12th of April. INTERFAX.RU - Russian military delivered 3 tons of humanitarian aid in the settlement of the Syrian province of Daraa Alkino, according to Center for Reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria.

"Russian Center for Reconciliation delivered 3 tons of humanitarian aid to the town Alkino Daraa province," - said in the newsletter of the Center posted on the website of the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense.

It notes that the medical staff of the Center provided medical assistance to 24 local residents.

Continued formation of the humanitarian convoy for the residents of the province of Homs, also said in the document.