Rus­sians buy last goods from H&M, IKEA as stores be­gin exit
News | Today's latest from Al Jazeera (RSS)

Both Swe­den-based H&M and Nether­lands-based IKEA had halt­ed sales in Rus­sia af­ter Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.
Published On 10 Aug 2022

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News | Today's latest from Al Jazeera (RSS)

Trump re­fus­es to an­swer ques­tions in NY probe into his com­pa­ny
Ex-pres­i­dent in­sists he did ‘noth­ing wrong’ but says he in­voked Fifth Amend­ment be­cause he had ‘ab­solute­ly no choice’.
Published On 10 Aug 2022

Economic Reduction and Inflation Expansion – Everything’s Out of Stock and Nothing Is Cheaper
Strategic Culture Foundation (RSS)

By Tom LUONGO

“I was into pain reduction and mind expansion, but what I’ve ended up with is pain expansion and mind reduction. Everything hurts now, and nothing makes sense.“

— CARRIE FISHER, POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE

So, Davos finally got the mini-me version of Build Back Better through a deeply divided Senate over the weekend. It’s a terrible bill and will be a worse law, but at least it’s only about 12% of the original cost.

I guess it’s true what they say, the US must be broke, even new layers of tyranny...

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 Iran Deal Gets Stuck Once Again. Can the EU Rescue It From the Jaws of Procrastination?
Strategic Culture Foundation (RSS)

As Iran and the West pass a new deadline, it is Israel at least that has signalled recently that a deal at some point is ‘inevitable’.

The deal with Iran and the West – the so called ‘Iran Deal’ or JCPOA – is about to be signed. Or it is never going to be signed – depending on who you listen to. But as Iran and the West pass a new deadline, it is Israel at least that has signalled recently that a deal at some point is ‘inevitable’.

It’s hard though to pinpoint a particular time when the deal might pass through the hands of inexperienced and inept negotiators though on the Iranian side, led by Bagheri Kani who seems unable to take on the task at hand, handicapped not least by his limited command of English or his tendency to get distracted by banal, trivial details which slows down the talks to beyond ‘dead slow’ to almost ‘dead in the water’.

Of course, there is legitimate and worthy criticism levelled at Joe Biden who not only missed an opportunity in his first few months in office to try and work with the Western-educated Zavad Zarif – whose diplomatic élan extended to taming the conservatives in Iran while charming western journalists at the same time – but who has now put himself in a position which makes him look like Trump. Presently, it is Biden who is sticking to a ‘maximum pressure’ campaign of crippling sanctions while expecting to be taken seriously negotiating at the same time a deal which the Americans cannot guarantee won’t be scrapped the moment a new president takes the Oval Office.

That doesn’t stop the new team for asking for a miracle though. Iran is demanding a guarantee that the United States will adhere to the agreement and not pull out as Trump did in 2018. “This is something that cannot be promised given the U.S. political system, and the Iranians know it,” an intelligence source told Al Monitor recently. This leads some sceptics to believe that perhaps Iran is not serious about reaching an agreement but wants to keep dialogue open indefinitely – a negotiating tactic in itself which could be carried out for months if not years.

Others look at the sticking point of the Iranian elite guard. We have been led to believe that declassifying this group from the list of terrorists which the U.S. has, is central to a deal being struck, given that this was a Trump move once he pulled out of the deal in 2018.

Perhaps though, as some have speculated, there’s more there than meets the eye, given that the IGRC is a financial conglomerate all of its own and is hit hard by having its ability to trade beyond borders impaired. Could the U.S. keep it on the list but remove the sanctions against it?

Another sticking point from the Biden camp which, as each day passes, appears to be the frog sitting in the metal pale of boiling water, about to die as the temperature reaches the lethal level – unable to detect the subtle changes as each minute passes.

President Joe Biden’s Middle East advisor Brett McGurk recently said that negotiations with Iran had been exhausted, telling a group of think tank experts last week that it is “highly unlikely” the 2015 nuclear deal will be revived in the near future.

Some hope though is placed with Europe’s own Mr Bean, aka Josep Borrell a man so interminably boring and who lacks personality – so much so that he actually complained to a western journalist recently about Russia’s foreign minister...

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UK running low on monkeypox jabs – Sky News
RT World News (RSS)

The outlet claims there are “only around 5,000 doses” left due to “supply issues”

The UK is going to suffer from a scarcity of monkeypox vaccines in the near future, with only “around 5,000 doses of the jab left,” Sky News reported on Wednesday, citing anonymous sources.

The article claimed that reservations for inoculation were “already closing as a result” in some parts of the country. The report attributed the shortages to “supply issues.” 

According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), as of Monday there were 2,914 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the country.   

As the report explains, various sm...

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Danish foreign fighter says he fears deportation from Ukraine
RT World News (RSS)

The 32-year-old “viking volunteer” claims he could be sent home and may face time in prison after Kiev rejected his visa

Danish national Karl “Storm” Balderson could face deportation from Ukraine and then face time in prison after Kiev authorities rejected his visa, the fighter claimed on his social media on Monday.

Balderson traveled to Ukraine in early March, shortly after Russia launched its special military operation, to join Kiev’s International Legion. The 32-year-old blogger claims to have taken part in battles near Bucha and Irpen and has been seen alongside the Wiking Team, whic...

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G7 issues demand to Moscow
RT World News (RSS)

The foreign ministers representing the group have urged Russia to give the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant back to Ukraine

Russia must cede the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant it seized in early March back to officials in Kiev, the Group of Seven (G7) has declared.  

“We demand that Russia immediately hand back full control to its rightful sovereign owner, Ukraine, of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” says a statement released on Wednesday, penned by the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US. 

According to the diplomats, the move is necessary to ensure the facility’s “...

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Dublin-based aircraft lessors among firms hit by Russia’s $10bn plane seizure
All: BreakingNews.ie (RSS)

Russia has so far seized 433 passenger jets leased from foreign companies, worth $10 billion.

Donald Trump says he took the fifth amendment in New York investigation
All: BreakingNews.ie (RSS)

Mr Trump arrived at New York attorney general Letitia James’ offices on Wednesday morning.

Woman wanted in the UK remanded in custody after arrest in Galway
All: BreakingNews.ie (RSS)

Farah Damji (55) was arrested on Wednesday by gardaí at a property in rural Co Galway

Chinese court rejects appeal in landmark #MeToo case against state TV host
WION - world News Releases (RSS)

A Chinese court rejected an appeal in a landmark sexual harassment case on Wednesday, dealing a blow to the country's fledgling #MeToo movement.

mailto:wionnewsweb@gmail.com

Top 10 news: Thirteen killed in Russian strikes near Zaporizhzhia plant, and more
WION - world News Releases (RSS)

Ukraine on Wednesday accused Russia of rocket strikes near a Russian-held power plant, that the former says has killed 13 civilians and injured 11,

mailto:wionnewsweb@gmail.com

RT News (Telegram)

Former Twitter Employee Guilty of Spying for Saudi Arabia

Ahmad Abouammo, a former media partnership manager for Twitter's Middle East region, has been convicted of spying for the Saudi govt.

Abouammo was found guilty on six charges, including acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government, money laundering and fraud.

The tech executive apparently received hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for personal information of Saudi dissidents.

Abouammo’s defense unsuccessfully argued, that he merely accepted gifts for doing his job, without breaking the law.

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RT News (Telegram)

❗Indonesia interested in organizing meeting between Putin and Zelensky on sidelines of G20 summit - ambassador in Moscow (TASS)

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RT News (Telegram)

Trump “Declines” to Testify in Meeting with New York Attorney General Finance Probe

Former US president Donald Trump said he refused to testify in the civil investigation of his business in New York, after appearing at the Attorney General's office on Wednesday.

"I declined to answer the questions under the rights and privileges afforded to every citizen under the United States Constitution," Trump said on Truth Social.

The investigation is trying to assert whether Trump Organization inflated real estate values.

The statement comes after the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, in a separate investigation, regarding a potential misuse of classified documents by the last administration.

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Without Palestine, There is No Arab Unity: Why Normalization with Israel Will Fail
MintPress News (RSS)

It seemed all but a done deal: Israel is finally managing to bend the Arabs to its will, and Palestine is becoming a marginal issue that no longer defines Israel’s relations with Arab countries. Indeed, normalization with Israel is afoot, and the Arabs, so it seems, have been finally tamed.

Not so fast. Many events continue to demonstrate the opposite. Take, for example, the Arab League two-day meeting in Cairo on July 31 – August 1. The meeting was largely dominated by discussions on...

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 Russia, Turkey Launch New Economic ‘Roadmap’
Strategic Culture Foundation (RSS)

The Putin-Erdogan meeting in Sochi has rapidly accelerated Russian-Turkish economic initiatives and financial ties. These include bypassing western sanctions, integrating money transfers, and trading outside the dollar.

By MK BHADRAKUMAR

In inter-state relations, the question is always one of balance and political opportunity. Statesmanship lies in striking the balance and seizing the opportunity thereof.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 4-hour meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi on Friday becomes an outstanding example of how two powers who have rivaled each other in history can still craft a common destiny by balancing their interests and create new opportunities to navigate their way forward in an uncertain world.

It is seldom that the outcome of a high-level working visit can be foretold with absolute certainty. Yet, that was what Erdogan did as he headed for Sochi. He said, “I believe that (today’s meeting) will open a whole different page in Turkish-Russian relations.”

The agenda of the Sochi meeting was based on a message Putin had transmitted to Erdogan via the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksey Overchuk, who visited Ankara on 14 June. Overchuk is a politician who is more of a technocrat in economic management. Indeed, the Turkish president happily received him.

Needs-based relationship

From Putin’s side, Russia has an acute necessity today to open up trade and economic channels to mitigate the west’s barrage of sanctions, while, from Erdogan’s side, it is a top priority to generate ballast for the Turkish economy to lift it out of its crisis.

Equally, Russia and Turkiye are sailing in the same boat – they need to generate fresh resources without being subject to western sanctions in the current international environment where Moscow and NATO are confronting each other. From the Russian viewpoint, the relationship with Turkiye has become highly consequential, since it is both a NATO country and a Black Sea power.

Importantly, Erdogan’s agility and stamina to project strategic autonomy and pursue independent foreign policies is well-known to Moscow, as evident in the collaboration with Russia that he pioneered: the $20 billion Akkuyu nuclear power plant which Rosatom will complete by next year (to supply 10 percent of Turkiye’s energy needs), and the S-400 missile defense system purchase that Ankara clinched while defying Washington’s diktat and sanctions.

Putin’s proposal, which Overchuk presented to Erdogan, detailed a road map to circumvent the US and EU sanctions by finding trade routes outside the channels of the American banking system that would have a “win-win” outcome by way of generating cash flow for both economies.

Bypassing the dollar… and US sanctions

Following his talks with Putin in Sochi on Friday, Erdogan revealed to the Turkish journalists accompanying him on the plane that bilateral trade with Russia shall now be carried out partially in rubles and lira – instead of dollars – and that the Central Bank is working on the arrangement.

He further disclosed that five Turkish banks are preparing to work with the Russian credit card system Mir (which will make it easier for Russian nationals, especially tourists, to spend money in Turkiye.)

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksander Novak, who is also the co-chairman of the joint economic commission with Turkiye, signed an agreement on Friday with the Minister of Commerce Mehmet Mus providing for Ankara to purchase natural gas from Russia “partially” in rubles — n...

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US ac­cus­es Iran­ian op­er­a­tive of plot­ting to kill John Bolton
News | Today's latest from Al Jazeera (RSS)

Jus­tice De­part­ment says IRGC mem­ber of­fered $300,000 to as­sas­si­nate Don­ald Trump’s for­mer na­tion­al se­cu­ri­ty ad­vis­er.
Published On 10 Aug 2022