Two Years at the Helm: What is Behind Poroshenko's Political Maneuvers. Ukraine's future is hanging in the balance given the apparent inability of the country's oligarchic and clan system to transform "into anything more transparent" and "rules-based," Yegor Vasylyev, a Ukraine-based analyst specializing in politics and transition of post-Soviet states notes.
"The new Ukrainian authorities failed to give a satisfactory response to the stockpiling questions of the voters. They promised a lot: to finish the anti-terrorist operation within hours, to fight tax avoidance and the use of off-shore tax havens, effective anti-corruption lustration of law-enforcement bodies, a war with oligarchs and a visa-free regime with the Schengen zone within the first year of Poroshenko's presidency.
None of the promises have been fulfilled," Vasylyev writes in his article for New Eastern Europe magazine. Vasylyev offers to take a walk down memory lane back to Soviet times to learn the origins of Ukraine's power clans. Whom exactly does the Poroshenko clan comprise? Russian Military Industry Set to Become Driver of Civilian Economy. Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Rogozin, responsible for the development of Russia's defense industry, announced that by 2020, the country's military-industrial complex would become the driver of the Russian economy. © Sputnik/ Mikhail Mordasov According to the official, this will become possible "only when every defense enterprise…[is] subject to the logic of parallel development in civilian industry.
And not just any production, but high tech products accompanying the production of military products. " Commenting on Deputy PM Rogozin's comments in an article for the independent online news and analysis platform PolitRussia, Pskezin recalled that Rogozin's statements "did not come out of the blue, but only confirmed the government's general course. " In a speech at the Congress of the Union of Machine Builders in April, President Vladimir Putin spoke in similar terms. . © Sputnik/ Alexei Druzhinin © Sputnik/ Vladimir Astapkovich © Sputnik/ Ruslan Krivobok © Sputnik/ Sergey Mamontov.
US Destroyer Committed ‘Gross Violation’ in Encounter With Russian Ship. Military & Intelligence Get short URL MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The russian ship was following its course and didn't violate any international law standards: "US destroyer Gravely made a close encounter with a Russian warship in the eastern Mediterranean on June 17 at a distance of 60-70 meters [197-229 feet] on the port side and crossed the Yaroslav Mudry’s course along the bow at a dangerous distance of 180 meters [590 feet]," the ministry said. It brought to the Pentagon's attention the "gross violation by the Gravely destroyer's commander and crew" of International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea and a similar Russian-US intergovernmental agreement. © AP Photo/ Fabrizio Bensch/Pool The United States Navy has deployed an additional four aircraft carriers on combat duty.
On June 1, the USS Dwight D. On June 6, US Navy destroyer Porter began its 21-day routine patrol of the Black Sea in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. Two Birds With One Stone: Why Erdogan is Mending Ties With Moscow, Tel Aviv. Politics Get short URL Turkish President Erdogan's Monday letter to Vladimir Putin containing his sincere condolences to the family of the Su-24 pilot who was shot down by the Turkish F-16 in November 2015 and apology may have a serious impact on the current geopolitical situation in the Middle East and Europe. But that is not all: on the same very day Ankara and Tel Aviv agreed to mend their relations, ruined six years ago by a maritime clash between Israeli Navy and pro-Palestinian Turkish activists. "The feuds that Turkey set out to end had become intertwined.
. © Sputnik/ Aleksey Nikolskyi Following the shooting down of the Russian jet bomber, trade between Russia and Turkey that had reached $30 billion a year decreased tremendously, Ant points out. What has been the trigger for Erdogan's initiative to ramp up relations with Moscow and Tel Aviv? A looming Brexit has not only prompted Cameron to resign but also upset a balance of power in the European Union. Corbyn digs heels in, appoints new Labour shadow cabinet amid mutiny. EU disintegration ‘practically irreversible’ – Soros. The EU has “ceased to satisfy its citizens’ needs and aspirations,” George Soros said calling on people to “band together to save it.” The billionaire warned the disintegration of the bloc will be almost impossible to avoid. “Britain eventually may or may not be relatively better off than other countries by leaving the EU, but its economy and people stand to suffer significantly in the short to medium term,” Soros wrote in a commentary on the website Project Syndicate.
“The catastrophic scenario that many feared has materialized, making the disintegration of the EU practically irreversible.” Read more The financial collapse in the UK in the wake of Thursday's vote has proved to be worse than any crisis over the past three decades. He predicted “further uncertainty and political risk, because what is at stake was never only some real or imaginary advantage for Britain, but the very survival of the European project.”
READ MORE: Auxit, Frexit, Nexit? Turkey reopens probe into suspected killer of Russian pilot. Erdogan apologizes to Putin over death of Russian pilot, calls Russia ‘friend & strategic partner’ Vladimir Putin has received a letter in which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized for the death of the Russian pilot who was killed when a Russian jet was downed over the Syrian-Turkish border last November, the Kremlin said. Erdogan expressed readiness to restore relations with Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday. The incident involving the downing of the Russian Su-24 bomber led to the worst deterioration of Turkish-Russian relations in recent history, with Russia describing it as a “stab in the back.” “The head of the Turkish state expressed his deep sympathy and condolences to the relatives of the deceased Russian pilot and said ‘sorry,’” Peskov said.
In his letter, Erdogan called Russia “a friend and a strategic partner” of Ankara, with whom the Turkish authorities would not want to spoil relations. Read more In addition, Erdogan expressed readiness to tackle security challenges in the region and fight terrorism together with Moscow, it added. TTIP ‘doesn’t respect EU interests’: French PM Valls says ‘non’ to transatlantic treaty. Israel wants to deliver gas to Europe via Turkey — RT Business. Supreme Court makes major rulings on abortion, gun rights — RT America. The US Supreme Court struck down abortion restrictions in Texas and ruled that domestic violence misdemeanor convictions are grounds to lose gun ownership rights. In the Texas abortion law case, known as Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, the Court threw out a previous ruling by an appellate court in a 5-3 decision. Justices Breyer, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Sotomayor and Kagan were in the majority, while Thomas, Alito and Roberts dissented.
The Texas law, known as HB2, required abortion providers to have facilities similar to surgical outpatient centers. While the state said that the requirement was necessary to protect women’s health, abortion right groups argued that the law was crafted to make it more difficult for women in Texas to obtain abortions. The decision was immediately hailed by the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Justice Clarence Thomas was the only member of the court who would have upheld the Texas statute outright. A Senate committee wants to crack down on spy agencies' cozy relationship with Hollywood. The Intelligence Community is going to have to justify its relationship with Hollywood.
Senators Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein, the Republican chairman and ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, included an amendment in the annual intelligence-spending bill passed late last month that calls for the Director of National Intelligence to submit an annual report to congressional oversight committees detailing how the CIA and 15 other intelligence agencies interact with the entertainment industry. The measure, which defines the entertainment industry broadly, follows a series of reports published by VICE News over the past year detailing the agency's role in the production of 22 entertainment-related projects between 2006 and 2011. They included major motion pictures like Zero Dark Thirty and Argo; reality television series such as Top Chef; the cable drama series, Covert Affairs; and books including The Devil's Light by Richard North Patterson.
Lawmaker opposed welfare fraud protections, charged with defrauding welfare — RT America. An Arizona state representative is facing three felony charges related to fraudulent use of the food stamp program. This comes just months after she voted against a bill that would have given the Arizona Department of Economic Security anti-fraud tools. An indictment unsealed on Monday revealed that state Representative Cecilia Velasquez (D-Litchfield Park) is facing felony charges of unlawful use of food stamps, fraudulent schemes and practices and theft. She withdrew her candidacy from the 2016 election after she was indicted in May, the New York Daily News reported. Over the course of two years from 2013 to 2015, Velasquez claimed $1,726 in food stamps she was not entitled to, the indictment said. Her arrest was the culmination of an investigation that began in November 2014, Arizona Department of Economic Security Director Tim Jeffries said in a statement on Wednesday.
Even though Velasquez will not be running for reelection, she may be forced to resign early. Rush to exit? Politicians clamor for EU membership referendums at home. Euroskeptic parties across the EU have been inspired by the British ‘Leave’ vote with right-wing politicians in the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and France all calling for referendums on their countries’ membership in the bloc. The Netherlands should hold its own referendum on whether to leave the EU as soon as possible, according to the leader of the Dutch anti-immigrant PVV party, Geert Wilders. “It’s a fantastic result! I congratulate the British people for beating the political elite in both London and Brussels and I think we can do the same,” Wilders told Reuters on Friday.
“The Dutch would like to be in charge again of their own budget, their national borders and their immigration policy. READ MORE: It's official: UK votes to leave EU Wilders' Euroskeptic, anti-immigrant PVV party is topping opinion polls in the Netherlands, one of the six founder nations of the union. Read more France's right-wing National Front party joined in the calls for a referendum on EU membership. Putin on Brexit: No one wants to support weak economies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says ‘Brexit’ is the choice made by the British nation and is a comprehensible one, as “no one wants to feed weak economies.” Russia has not and does not plan to interfere with the results of the referendum, he added. Read more “I think it’s comprehensible why this happened: first, no one wants to feed and subsidize poorer economies, to support other states, support entire nations,” the Russian president said at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tashkent.
“Apparently the British people are not satisfied with the way problems are being solved in the security sphere, these problems have become more acute lately with the migration processes,” Putin said, suggesting the second reason for the British people to have voted ‘out.’ The Russian president's comments come in reply to UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s claims that “Putin would be happy if the UK left the EU.” READ MORE: ‘Shocked’ MPs react to British PM David Cameron’s Brexit resignation.
'Beyond comprehension': Global reactions roll in as UK shocks world with Brexit vote. The UK has shocked the world with its historic Brexit vote, choosing to leave the EU despite forecasts that the country would opt to remain. From heads of state to US presidential nominee Donald Trump, reactions across the globe are pouring in. The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, said: “There's no hiding the fact that we wanted a different outcome of yesterday's referendum. I am fully aware of how serious – or even dramatic – this moment is politically...”
US President Barack Obama said he respects the decision of the British people and reassured them that the UK's special relationship with the US will remain. “The people of the United Kingdom have spoken, and we respect their decision,” the president said in a statement. “The special relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States is enduring, and the United Kingdom’s membership in NATO remains a vital cornerstone of US foreign, security and economic policy,” he added.
"Congratulations to the British. UK stealth jets must be repaired in US... despite being made by British arms firm. Electronic systems in Britain’s multi-billion pound F-35 Lightning fighter jets will have to be sent to the US for repair despite being made by UK arms firm BAE Systems. The revelations came as BAE explained the vital importance it places on its US-based electronic warfare (EW) division. Also revealed was the fact that Britain is not privy to the inner workings of the technology mounted on its own aircraft.
The issue appears to be that despite BAE being a UK firm, the technology is produced by its US wing and is therefore subject to American International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). The rules mean some customer states can have “no knowledge of the workings of the innards” of EW technology. Tom Arseneault, operational head of the US branch, BAE Systems Inc, told the Telegraph on Wednesday: “In the F-35 the EW system will be treated like ‘black boxes’. When they need servicing, they will have to be unbolted and sent off and a new one put on.” Washington Uses Ukraine, Turkey as 'Tools to Break Europe Away From Russia' Politics Get short URL The United States prevents Russia and the European Union from rapprochement, using Turkey and Ukraine as a counterforce, French author and specialist in geopolitics Alexandre del Valle said.
"I believe that Washington is interested in a strong Europe, especially if it had closer ties with Russia. This is why [the conflict in] Ukraine and Turkey’s involvement in European affairs are tools the US is using to divide Europe and prevent it from dialogue with Russia," the analyst told RIA Novosti. According to del Valle, the US is pursuing the goal to "destabilize Europe and make it a weak geopolitical actor.
" Del Valle was the author of a report on illegal migration in Europe and the role of the EU’s neighbors in the migrant crisis. He claimed that Turkey along with Albania and Kosovo is a "transit country for illegal migrants. " In November 2015 Turkey shot down a Russian jet Su-24 on anti-terror mission in Syria under pretext that it violated Turkish airspace. Israeli forces ‘mistakenly’ kill 15yo bystander in stone-throwing incident. Israeli soldiers have “mistakenly” killed a 15-year-old Palestinian teen and wounded four other youths in the West Bank, as the IDF tried to quell rioters who were pelting stones at Israeli vehicles on a busy road. The teen, identified by the Palestinian Ministry of Health as Mahmoud Badran, was fatally shot when the vehicle he was traveling in was fired upon by an Israeli military patrol, head of the village council of Beit Ur al-Tahta Abdul Karim Kassem told Reuters.
The incident happened when the group of friends was “returning from a pool in a village near us when they came under fire.” “It is the summer and it’s Ramadan, people leave the village to go to the pool in Beit Sira, they were coming back between 1:15am and 1:30am and suddenly Israeli forces started shooting at their car. No one asked them to stop or asked them for ID,” Ahmed Shami, a cousin of the killed teen, was quoted by Washington Post as saying. Read more. DHS analyst caught with weapons, may have planned violence against senior staff – court documents — RT America. Spies could hack entire towns under new surveillance bill. ‘Freudian slip’: VP Biden says he wants Syrian president named ‘Saddam’ to go — RT America. China creates world’s fastest computer without relying on US hardware for first time. Federal court dismisses Bell appeal in mobile television ruling. The Pentagon Plans To Crush Russia And China With 'Swarm' Weapons.
Peaceful Neighbor: Finland Sees No Russian Threat, Defends Putin Talks. Okinawans Finally Snap After Decades of US Military Depravity. CIA Yet to Hold Anyone Criminally Accountable for Torture Program. New Chemical Weapons Attack In Ghouta, Syria – “Rebels” Gas Syrian Soldiers: Report - The True News. Hawks rising: Dozens of State Dept officials call for US strikes against Assad in Syria — RT America. ‘I don’t need war’: Bulgarian PM rules out joining NATO flotilla in Black Sea. Netanyahu policies may turn Israel into apartheid state – former Israeli PM. Encirclement Continues: NATO Pressuring Russia in the Black Sea. Europe Should 'Make a Break From US' to Avoid Austerity, Re-Embrace Russia.
Going Nuclear: Europe to Build NPPs to Avoid Energy Dependence on Russia. Europe Should 'Make a Break From US' to Avoid Austerity, Re-Embrace Russia. If Cameron ruled out Turkey joining the EU, no one told the British embassy in Ankara. ‘We have just started the war’: Kurdish group claims responsibility for Istanbul attack. State Dept. doesn't know which employees used Clinton email server | Politics. Brexit or Elexit: Leaving May Trigger a New Election, Street Riots. French Senate supports resolution to lift EU sanctions against Russia. 'Revolving door': Google and EU govts’ cross-hiring revealed in new report. ‘Graphic representation of capability’: 2 US aircraft carrier groups deployed in Med. Civil asset forfeiture goes digital: Police tool swipes money from cards before conviction — RT America.
Mission Impossible: Untold Story of US-Saudi 41-Year-Old Secret Agreement. Why the Ghost of 'Soft Coup' is Haunting the Saudi Palace. Le Pen Insists France Give Political Asylum to Julian Assange. UK special forces fighting alongside Syrian rebels on Jordanian border – report. All 18,600 US sailors in Japan slapped with full drinking ban, confined to base. Is Parliament preparing to ignore public vote for Brexit?
Saudi Arabia cuts European crude prices in increased competition with Iran — RT Business. MI5 was bulk collecting public’s data, with little or no oversight. Rise of robot workers makes powerful case for universal basic income – shadow chancellor. NY governor signs pro-Israel executive order to ‘blacklist’ BDS supporters — RT America. ‘No ticket to Europe’: Send refugees back home or settle them on islands, says Austrian FM. Uk.businessinsider. Russia Vows Military Response to NATO’s Moves in Poland, Baltic Region - The True News. US asks Russia not to target Al-Qaeda branch in Syria – Russian FM Lavrov. Lavrov: Russia demands that Turkey withdraw its troops from Iraqi territory.
Government may access citizens’ phone location data without a warrant – US Court of Appeals — RT America. New Brunswick Fracking Ban To Continue Indefinitely. Russia overtakes Saudi Arabian crude output — RT Business. Jail without end? ‘Absurd’ law keeps 4,000 prisoners behind bars indefinitely. Why US Wants to Be Friends With Russia Again and What Stands in the Way. Idea That US's New Destroyer is 'Invisible' is a 'Fairy Tale for Fools' Pentagon-Linked Analysts Push Preemptive Strike on Russia, Missile Defense. 'Extremely Unlikely US Will Pack and Go Home After Raqqa Liberation'
'Hopeless Quest': 3 Reasons Why US Cannot Contain China Even If It Wants to. The Pentagon’s dark money: Billions of federal dollars are vanishing into thin air. All scientific papers will be accessible for free by 2020, EU announces. EU 'shouldn't try to be a superstate' says Polish FM. Armed to the Teeth: US Plans to Turn Vietnam Into Bulwark Against China. Bases Don't Matter: NATO Cannot Attain Military Superiority Over Russia. Nuclear America: RT special report on state of US nuclear facilities — RT America. Putin: Romania ‘in crosshairs’ after opening NATO missile defense base. ‘Hatchet to liberty’: New senate bill expands FBI’s warrantless surveillance powers — RT America. Poroshenko appoints former NATO chief Rasmussen ‘non-staff adviser’
Netherlands to grow human embryos for research. Businessinsider. US Congress Impose More Oversight on Weapons Sales to Saudis - Lawmakers. Should the US Government Give a Million Dollars to Each Citizen? Come to the Table: German Vice-Chancellor Joins Calls for End to Sanctions. UK Gov't Review Into Sharia Law 'Hijacked' by Counter Extremism Agenda. China Responds to G7 With Plan for 'New Maldives' in South China Sea. Impossible to Ensure European Security 'Without Cooperation With Russia" It Takes Guts: This is Why Putin is West's Most Indispensable Ally. Greece, Italy and Malta close off airspace to Libyans amid NATO operation rumors. ‘Human remains everywhere’: Family of 11 killed in alleged Saudi coalition strike in Yemen.
Why the Neocons Hate and Fear Donald Trump. Somnolent Europe, Russia, and China. China's Bases: Why Beijing is Bolstering Its Military Presence Overseas. If She Wins: These Three Clinton Decisions May Ruin US Foreign Policy. 'Go East': Why EU Should Stop Building NATO Bases and Turn to Russia, China. The Space Race is History: NASA Burns Billions, Relies on Russia for Basics. ‘Significant security risks’: State Department says Clinton violated email security rules — RT America. Why Obama Accused Russia of Showing No Interest in Nuke Reduction.
Push for Raqqa: Moscow ready to ‘synchronize’ efforts with US to recapture ISIS capital – Lavrov. Eurogroup reaches ‘breakthrough deal’ on $11bn Greek bailout payment. Caught by the fuzz: Spain’s ‘muzzle law’ sees woman fined over ‘All Cats Are Beautiful’ bag (PHOTOS) — RT Viral. 'Sparking regional tinderbox': Beijing irked by US-Vietnam arms deal despite public praise.