Dr. Patrick Slattery’s News Roundup
A service of DavidDuke.com
From PressTV
US troops in Syria to topple govt.: FM Lavrov
Russia says the US military intervention in Syria is illegal, ultimately aimed at toppling the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has told Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter that the intervention without the authorization of the “legitimate” Syrian authorities was a “big mistake.”
“I’ve told our American partners repeatedly that this is a big mistake. Just like they received approval from the Iraqi government, they should have obtained approval from Damascus or come to the UN Security Council,” he said.
“The fact that they went there illegally reflects, firstly, the arrogant stance that Syrian President Assad heads an illegitimate regime,” Lavrov said in remarks published on Thursday.
“And, secondly, in my opinion, the desire to keep their hands untied and be able to use the coalition to attack not only terrorist positions, but perhaps also the regime’s forces later on in order to overthrow it, as it happened in Libya.”
Lavrov said Russia is “the only country engaged in anti-terrorism activities in Syria legally.”
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From Russia Today
NATO greedy for geopolitical space, wants to encircle those who disagree – Lavrov
Published time: 29 Apr, 2016 14:54
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov © Vladimir Pesnya / Sputnik
NATO expansion to the East enables the alliance to deploy forces next to Russia’s borders and then accuse Moscow of “acting dangerously” near the alliance’s bases, the Russian foreign minister told a Swedish media outlet.
“This is a dirty attempt to present things upside down,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter daily.
“NATO military infrastructure is inching closer and closer to Russia’s borders. But when Russia takes action to ensure its security, we are told that Russia is engaging in dangerous maneuvers near NATO borders. In fact, NATO borders are getting closer to Russia, not the opposite,” the Russian FM pointed out.
Speaking about NATO as the EU’s principal military alliance, Lavrov said its existence is an “objective reality” and therefore Moscow is ready for dialogue.
NATO deployments of AMD bases and troops near Russian borders have already violated the basic 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act, the foreign minister noted. Today, NATO is different from what it used to be and Russia pays no attention to its soothing words, but instead reacts to the alliance’s military potential massed near Russia’s borders, Lavrov added.
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From The Independent
Labour MP Naz Shah apologises for backing ‘relocate Israel to North America’ plan
From The Independent
Labour has a ‘serious’ antisemitism problem, Lord Levy says
- Lord Levy, Labour peer BBC
From Ynet News
British Labour member suspended for saying Hitler supported Zionism
Ken Livingstone was suspended by his own party after saying that Hitler supported Zionism ‘before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews.’
Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone was suspended by his own Labour Party after he sparked an outcry on by claiming Hitler supported Zionism on Thursday.
In a BBC Radio interview, Livingstone was asked to comment on the scandal that erupted after his party member Naz Shah called to “relocate” Israel to the United States, and responded, “It’s completely over the top but it’s not anti-Semitic. Let’s remember when Hitler won his election in 1932, his policy then was that Jews should be moved to Israel. He was supporting Zionism – this before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews.”
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From PressTV
Dimona has 1,537 defects: Report
A study has uncovered 1,537 defects in Israel’s Dimona nuclear reactor in the Negev desert, the Haaretz newspaper reports.
The defects at the aluminum core, where nuclear weapons were developed, have provoked safety concerns and fresh questions over Dimona’s future and a dilemma over the secrecy of Israel’s nuclear arsenal.
According to the report, there are growing calls for new safeguards and even a new research center – which could present Israel with a decision on whether to acknowledge for the first time that it has nuclear weapons.
The US-based Institute for Science and International Security estimated in 2015 that Israel had 115 nuclear warheads.
Israel has strongly opposed other regional powers, most notably Iran, obtaining nuclear technology which the country says it wants to generate electricity.
In the 1980s nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, a former technician at Dimona, told a British newspaper that the center was used to create nuclear weapons. He was later jailed for 18 years for the revelations.
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From PressTV
Syria declares ‘regime of calm’ in two major areas
Syria is planning to enforce a “regime of calm” in two major urban areas as militant attacks in the northwestern city of Aleppo kill over a dozen people despite an agreement for the cessation of hostilities.
A statement from the Syrian Army General Command said on Friday that the regime of calm, or a “silent period” as referred to by its Arabic term, will be enforced in parts of Latakia and Damascus regions from 1:00 a.m. (2200 GMT) on April 30.
The partial ceasefire, which lasts for 24 hours in the Eastern Ghouta region east of Damascus and inside the capital, and for 72 hours in areas of the northern Lattakia countryside, does not include the city of Aleppo where militant attacks have escalated over the past few days.
“This is in order to sever the road for some terrorist groups and their supporters, who strive to prolong this state of tension and instability and to find pretexts to target peaceful civilians,” said the statement, which was read by Syrian state TV.
It was not clear whether all militant groups would respect the unilateral declaration, although some hailed it as a positive step.
“This is the first step to recover the reconciliation and it is very important,” said Qadri Jamil, a Syrian opposition figure and one of the leaders of the Syrian Popular Front for Change and Liberation, claiming that Aleppo will be also included in the deal.
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From PressTV
Four-fold increase in Israeli demolitions in 2016, UN says
The United Nations says Israel’s demolition campaign against Palestinian homes and structures across the occupied West Bank has brought about a four-fold increase compared to last year, and left a record number of 808 Palestinians displaced since the start of the current year.
The world body announced on Thursday that a total of 588 Palestinian structures have been razed since January, adding that the demolitions have affected more than 1,000 people as they have lost structures related to their source of income.
The majority of demolitions took place in Area C of the West Bank, which is the largest division in the occupied territory as it comprises 60 percent of the land, and is under full Israeli military control.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said in a statement on April 8 that 124 Palestinians, including 60 children, had been made homeless in a single day as a result of Israeli demolitions in the West Bank.
The UNOCHA said a total of 54 structures, among them 18 donor-funded ones, had been demolished in nine different Palestinian communities. Thirty-four of the structures razed were demolished in the village of Khirbet Tana near the West Bank city of Nablus, displacing 69 Palestinians. A total of 29 of those displaced were children.
The demolitions have raised alarm among diplomats and human rights groups over what they regard as the Tel Aviv regime’s continued violation of international law.
Tensions have heightened in the occupied territories since August 2015, when Israel imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
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From PressTV
Syria plans offensives on Dayr al-Zawr, Raqqah: Russia
Syrian and Russian officials say the Army plans major operations to retake the eastern cities of Dayr al-Zawr and Raqqah and Aleppo from Takiri militant groups.
The Syrian daily al-Watan, citing political and military officials, said the Army and its allies are gearing up for a “decisive battle” to liberate Aleppo.
“The time has come to liberate Aleppo from the contamination of terrorists,” it cited officials as saying.
The report said the Army had sent letters to terrorists, warning them against using civilians in Syria’s second city as human shields.
‘Regime of calm’ in Damascus and Latakia
The report came as the Syrian army declared a temporary truce for the capital, Damascus, and its suburbs, and the coastal province of Latakia.
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From PressTV
Hamas to continue anti-Israel ‘resistance’: Haniyeh
Hamas says it is determined to continue “resistance” against Israel as it warns of an “explosion” amid Tel Aviv’s crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip.
Addressing thousands of residents in Gaza on Thursday, top leader Ismail Haniyeh said, “Hamas and the sons of Hamas are committed to resistance and determined to pursue the intifada (uprising).”
“We say to the Zionist occupier that our people can no longer stand the blockade” which Israel imposed on Gaza in 2006. “It is our right to have a port and an airport,” in Gaza, he added.
Haniyeh warned that there “will be an explosion” unless the regime in Tel Aviv lifts its blockade on the enclave of 1.8 million people.
He made the comments amid rising tensions between the Israeli military and settlers and Palestinian protesters.
More than 210 Palestinians, including children and women, have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces since the beginning of last October.
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From Russia Today
Russia, US agree to ‘regime of silence’ in parts of Latakia & Damascus, Syria
Published time: 29 Apr, 2016 14:15
© Omar Sanadiki / Reuters
A “regime of silence” will start in Syria’s Latakia Province from midnight on Friday and will last for 72 hours, according to the head of the Russian Center for Reconciliation.
“The Russian and US sides in concurrence with the Syrian leadership are introducing a ‘regime of silence’ in northern part of Latakia Province from 12:01am local time on April 30, 2016,” Lieutenant General Sergey Kuralenko said on Friday as cited by TASS.
“During this period, conducting warfare and use of all types of weaponry will be forbidden,” he explained.
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From Russia Today
Donetsk People’s Republic blames Kiev for plotting assassination attempt
Published time: 29 Apr, 2016 11:13
The leader of the Donetsk People’s Republic Alexander Zakharchenko © Igor Maslov / Sputnik
A bid to assassinate the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, allegedly plotted by Kiev has been foiled by the DPR’s security forces.
On Friday, Zakharchenko’s press service confirmed the reports of an assassination attempt, promising to reveal further details later.
A source in DPR’s State Security Ministry said its “operatives… on Thursday detained a group of Ukrainian citizens, who had arrived from territories controlled by Kiev.”
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From Russia Today
‘An enormous mistake’: Italy slams Austrian plans to close part of mutual border
Published time: 29 Apr, 2016 10:21
Brenner railway station, northern Italy, May 28, 2015. © Stefano Rellandini / Reuters
Italy has lashed out at Austria’s plans to build a fence across part of the border separating the two countries. The Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi says it would be a “flagrant breach of European rule,” and the policy of being “utterly removed from reality.”
Vienna wants to close the Brenner Pass in the Alps by erecting a fence up to four meters tall in places, for fear of migrants using the crossing to get into Austria. However, the move has incensed Italian politicians, with Italy’s Interior Minister Angelino Alfano calling it “a waste of money.”
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From Russia Today
Bavaria may introduce Hitler’s Mein Kampf in schools to ‘immunize’ youngsters
Published time: 29 Apr, 2016 01:32
© Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters
The Bavarian parliament has held a discussion on whether Hitler’s notorious ‘Mein Kampf’ should become a part of the school curriculum. The idea was blasted by the country’s Jewish groups who called the book an “antisemitic concoction of hatred.”
The Parliament conducted a plenary session on Thursday with the opposition parties including the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Free Voters pushing for the book to be included in the education program. During the session the politicians discussed whether the new annotated version of ‘Mein Kampf’ should be included in Bavaria’s school programs, and if so, how exactly it should be taught.
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From Russia Today
Fish farms & car dealerships: ISIS increasingly relies on unconventional revenue sources – report
Published time: 29 Apr, 2016 00:55
© USAID Inma / YouTube
Fish farming and car dealing have become an alternative money generating resources for ISIS, after Russian and US-led strikes severely crippled the terrorist’s “traditional” oil smuggling businesses in Syria and Iraq, a new report has revealed.
In order to close a huge gap in once prosperous $2.9 billlion oil trading scheme, the Islamic State (IS, Daesh, formerly ISIS/ISIL) has now increasingly relies on running a network of fishing farms in hundreds of lakes north of Baghdad generating millions of dollars a month, a report by Iraq’s central court of investigation said. The new revenue stream also comes from the captured car dealerships and factories which once belonged to the Iraqi government.
“After the armed forces took control of several oil fields Daesh was using to finance its operations, the organization devised non-traditional ways of paying its fighters and financing its activities,” a report by Iraq’s central court of investigation said, according to Reuters.
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