Thursday, August 11, 2016

Dragonfly drones and lasers: Britain invests £800m in next generation of military technology | Trump Tries to Brand Obama, Clinton With Islamic Stateby webdesk@voanews.com (Katherine Gypson) Thursday August 11th, 2016 at 7:33 PM

Dragonfly drones and lasers: Britain invests £800m in next generation of military technology 

Britain is investing in 'dragonfly drones'
Britain is investing in 'dragonfly drones' CREDIT: ANIMAL DYNAMICS

Britain will spend more than £800million funding next-generation military technology including tiny "dragonfly drones" for gathering intelligence and laser weapons to eliminate missiles.
Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, will today announce an innovation unit which will encourage individuals and companies to pitch ideas to a panel of experts. The best ideas will be fast-tracked with the support of an £800million fund over the next decade.
Projects which will be funded include a "micro-drone" with tiny flapping wings inspired by the biology of a dragon fly, which could have a "huge impact" on operations in urban environments.
The 'skeeter' dragonfly drone
The 'skeeter' dragonfly drone CREDIT: MOD/ ANIMAL DYNAMICS/MOD/ ANIMAL DYNAMICS
It weighs less than two pound coins, is less than five inches long and will be able to fly at speeds of up to 45mph. The drone, which has been developed by a company called Animal Dynamics in Oxford, will be equipped with a camera and a microphone enabling it to carry out covert surveillance.
The unit will also fund new "Quantum Gravimeter" which is being developed with the University of Birmingham to survey underground structures.
Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, said: "This new approach will help to keep Britain safe while supporting our economy, with our brightest brains keeping us ahead of our adversaries.
“Backed by a defence budget that will rise every year until the end of the decade, it will ensure that the UK maintains its military advantage in an increasingly dangerous world.”

Trump Tries to Brand Obama, Clinton With Islamic State

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Donald Trump’s claim that President Barack Obama “founded” the Islamic State may be just the latest controversy in a volatile election season, but those comments could have far-reaching consequences on perceptions of the U.S. internationally and on the continual media dilemma over how to cover remarks by the unconventional candidate. In a campaign rally Thursday, Trump called Obama and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton “the MVPs of ISIS,” reiterating claims from a day...

RedBlueAmerica: Whither Reaganism?

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For 40 years, Ronald Reagan’s ideas — and the idea of Reagan — have guided the GOP: Republican candidates for offices high and low have claimed his mantle, and even Democrats like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have had to contend with his legacy. But Donald Trump is a departure from that tradition.
     

'Politically incorrect' ideas are mostly rude, not brave

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What if the things people have held themselves back from saying for fear of social censure aren't inherently meaningful? The sad thing about so much supposed truth-telling is that their supposed transgressions aren't remotely risky. They're just rude.
     

Putin fans the flames in Ukraine once again

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This is a perfect moment for the crisis in Ukraine to heat up, and worrying developments are afoot, prompting fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin might be planning an invasion or some other kind of hostile action against Kiev after all.
     

US special ops in Syria are told, 'Don't get shot'

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U.S. special operations forces in Syria do many things in the war against the Islamic State. They gather intelligence, build relationships with local communities, help spot targets for air strikes and train and advise local forces on the ground. One thing they cannot do, though, is enter into range of the enemy's fire.
     

Edward Wootten, a Cold War intelligence officer and WWII vet, dead at 91

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A World War II veteran, Wootten spent years with the Defense Intelligence Agency. In 1960, he was posted as an assistant air attache with the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.
     
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Russian hackers of DNC said to scoop up secrets from NATO, Soros

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Security experts say DCLeaks.com shows the marks of the same Russian intelligence outfit that targeted the Democratic political organizations.
     

We finally know who forged Piltdown Man, one of science's most notorious hoaxes

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In 1953, scientists at the British Natural History Museum and University of Oxford reported that the Piltdown fossil was actually a hodgepodge of human and orangutan bones, none of them more than 720 years old.
     

British Military Launches Tech-Innovation Initiative

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Britain is launching an innovation initiative aimed at fast-tracking futuristic defense technology to the front line, the Ministry of Defence will announce Aug 12.
       

Dragonfly drones and lasers: Britain invests £800m in next generation of military technology 

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After Criticism, Trump Adds Women To His Economic Advisory Team - NPR

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NPR

After Criticism, Trump Adds Women To His Economic Advisory Team
NPR
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has released a second list of economic advisers in less than a week, and this time the names are almost all women. The advisers include several longtime GOP fundraisers, including Diane Hendricks, ...
Trump adds diversity to economic adviser list — and more big donorsPolitico
Donald Trump expands his economic team, adds womenWashington Post
now reading: Trump Adds Eight Women to His Economic TeamRealClearPolitics
Forbes -USA TODAY -Bloomberg -CBS News
all 35 news articles »

A wake-up call over electoral fraud 

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Dragonfly drones and lasers: Britain invests £800m in next generation of military technology

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Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Denounces President Ghani as Unfit for Office 

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Comments by the chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, dealt a serious blow to the fragile power-sharing arrangement brokered by the United States.

Russia Strikes IS-Held City in Syria Amid Aleppo Fight - New York Times

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The Indian Express

Russia Strikes IS-Held City in Syria Amid Aleppo Fight
New York Times
BEIRUT — The Russian military sent long-range bombers to strike a series of Islamic State targets in the group's de facto capital of Raqqa on Thursday — a fresh round of airstrikes that Syrian activists said killed at least 20 civilians and came amid ...
SitRep: Turkey, Russia Planning Joint Ops in Syria; Crimea …Foreign Policy (blog)
Airstrikes on ISIS-held city in Syria kill at least 20 civilians, activists sayFox News
Syria conflict: 'Russian air strikes' cut water supply to IS capital RaqqaBBC News
Washington Post-Worcester Telegram-Hurriyet Daily News- ARA News
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Even Pro-Moscow Writer Says Ethnic Russians in Baltic States Will Defend Them if Russia Invades

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Paul Goble

            Staunton, August 10 – In an article that is both worrying and reassuring, a pro-Moscow commentator says that ethnic Russians in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are loyal to these countries and would fight for them if the Russian Federation were to invade them at some point in the future.

            Such a statement is worrisome because it suggests that some in the Russian government are now focusing on the Baltic countries as possible targets for Vladimir Putin’s next round of aggressive action and considering who might be Moscow’s allies and who would be its opponents.

            But it is reassuring because it suggests that at least some in Russia recognize a reality that nationalist commentary in the Baltic countries and Russia often obscures: the ethnic Russians in the three are overwhelmingly integrated in and loyal to those countries in much the same way that ethnic Russians in Ukraine were and are overwhelmingly loyal to Kyiv.

            Writing on the pro-Moscow portal directed at the Baltic countries, Rubaltic.ru, today, Laima Katse says that many Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians remain uncertain about the loyalty of ethnic Russians in their midst and continue to ask whether the latter would shoot at or welcome a Russian invasion (rubaltic.ru/article/politika-i-obshchestvo/100816-loyalnost/).

            “When Putin’s MIGs land in Riga and [Russian] tanks enter Narva, whom will the Russian speakers shoot at? Will they stand in defense of their Baltic Motherlands? Or perhaps they will be supporters of Russian aggression as in Crimea?” are questions, Katse says, that some Baltic politicians and commentators regularly pose.

            Because political leaders are posing such questions, Katse says, scholars in the three questions routinely conduct research on their attitudes; and their studies show that ethnic Russians and Russian speakers in the three Baltic countries are far more loyal than some Baltic politicians and Russian officials expect.

            Last month, the Lithuanian polling company Baltijos tyrimai asked 500 Poles, ethnic Russians and representatives of other national minorities if they would defend Lithuania were it attacked. The survey found that the percentage saying they would was just as high as the percentage of Lithuanians making that declaration (ru.delfi.lt/news/live/issledovanie-chto-delali-by-russkie-i-polyaki-litvy-esli-by-na-strany-baltii-napala-rossiya.d?id=71992604).

            Last year, Katse continues, a similar study was conducted in Latvia. There, the share of ethnic Russians and Russian speakers who said they would defend Latvia in the event of a Russian attack was slightly lower but only slightly than the share of ethnic Latvians who made that declaration (mod.gov.lv/~/media/AM/Ministrija/Sab_doma/2015/Aptauja_2015.ashx).

                And the year before that, in the wake of Russia’s occupation of Crimea, another study asked the same kinds of questions in Latvia and reached the same conclusions: Russians and Russian speakers were just as prepared to defend Latvia against Russians as Latvians were (mirros.hse.ru/data/2014/03/26/1318829585/ mir rossii №1_ 2014 [Pages 87 - 114].pdf ).

                What was especially striking in that study, Katse says, is that only just over one ethnic Russian in four in Latvia declared that he or she felt an attachment to Russia, “and only six percent had a positive attitude toward organizations which promote the Kremlin’s policy on compatriots” in the Baltic countries and elsewhere.

            This month, she continues, a Latvian sociologist reported that ethnic Russians who live and work elsewhere in Europe now identify with Latvia.  They say that they are “Russians from Latvia,” an identity that calls into question the notion of some universal “Russian world” (baltnews.lv/news/20160808/1017202549.html).

            Even Western observers are struck by how pro-Baltic the ethnic Russians of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania now are.  Writing in “Die Welt” this week, Alan Pozener said that the loyalty of the Russian minorities was quite striking given the problems that some of them have in the Baltic countries (welt.de/debatte/kommentare/article157516050/Am-Baltikum-koennte-sich-Putin-die-Zaehne-ausbeissen.html).

            Katse says she too is surprised by this reality and repeats Pozener’s conclusion that Moscow won’t be able to play the ethnic card in the Baltic states successfully at least at the mass level, something she suggests both Baltic governments and the Russian one should take into consideration.


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· · ·

Karelian Calls on Putin to Protect Minorities from ‘Great Power Chauvinism’ 

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Paul Goble

            Staunton, August 11 – Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet state, said that there were two dangers in nationality policy – “local nationalism” among non-Russians and “great power chauvinism” among Russians. These had to be fought, he said, by the non-Russians and the Russians respectively rather than be the subject of mutual attacks.

            For most of the Soviet period, Moscow did far more to combat “local nationalism” than it did to counter “great power chauvinism” because it viewed the basic characteristics of the latter as a lesser evil since it was thought to promote the unity of the state and the former as the greater evil because it was viewed as a threat to that unity.

            With the demise of the USSR, these two terms largely disappeared from public discourse. Instead, the new Russian leadership focused on “nationalist extremism” as such, finding it primarily among non-Russians such as the Chechens but also at least on occasion among ethnic Russians as well.

            Now, in what may be an unexpected development, complaints about “great power chauvinism” have resurfaced; and in what is certain to spark controversy, a representative of the non-Russian segment of the population is calling on the Kremlin to fight it, an appeal that has the potential to further divide Russians and non-Russians, something Lenin tried to avoid.

            Anatoly Grigoryev, president of the Karelian Congress, has sent a letter to Putin calling on him to help combat “great power chauvinism” among Russians in the Karelian Republic and help the Karels and Finns for whom the republic was created (finugor.ru/news/karelskiy-aktivist-prosit-prezidenta-rf-okazat-pomoshch-karelam-i-finnamand nazaccent.ru/content/21554-putina-poprosili-zashitit-karelov-i-finnov.html).

            In his appeal, copies of which were sent to the presidents of Estonia and Finland as well, the Karelian activist says that “the russification of Karels and Finns is being actively carried out in a way that shows that nationality policy there is guided by rather than directed against “’great power chauvinism.’”

            At present, Grigoryev says, Karels and Finns form only two to three percent of the population of their republic. The majority of them do not speak their native languages. In the republic parliament, there are few deputies from these national groups and none of them know their own peoples’ languages.

            Moreover, he continues, “the only Finnish national theater in Russia (in Petrozavodsk) has become a Russian-language institution” and the authorities have refused to support the continued publication of the journal “Carelia” in its former size and frequency.

            But what is most distressing, he suggests, is that the social and economic conditions of the Karels and Finns in Karelia is “clearly worse than the position of the Russian language majority.”  And that too, he argues, is contributing to their “moral degradation and ethnic degeneration.”

            Grigoryev reminds Putin that all this “violates” Russian law and Russia’s international obligations and constitutes “a threat to the state security of Russia.” Given the Kremlin leader’s concerns about that, he must “provide the necessary state support to Karels and Finns living in the Republic of Karelia.


            But his decision to issue an open appeal to Putin, with copies to the leaders of Estonia and Finnland, and his use of the term “great power chauvinism” suggests not only the increasing desperation of the minorities in Karelia but also his own willingness to elevate their fight to a new level, one that seems certain to present real problems for the Kremlin in the future.
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· · ·

Moscow Unlikely to Be Able to Build New Fleet as Soon as It Plans, Norwegian Experts Say

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Paul Goble

            Staunton, August 11 – Moscow has announced an ambitious program to expand its military fleet especially in the Arctic, but Norwegian defense analysts say that the Russian government is unlikely to be able to complete this program in the timeframe it has announced. As they put it, “bragging about new vessels is one thing; building them is another.”

            Many in the West have been impressed and even alarmed by Moscow’s declarations of plans to build a modern fleet in order to project power into the Arctic and elsewhere; and if Moscow were to have such a fleet, it would fundamentally change the balance of forces there and elsewhere given the absence of similar plans in Western capitals.

            But as Thomas Nilson of “The Independent Barents Observer” points out, there is a huge gap between what the Russian authorities have announced and their ability to implement these plans within the short time frames they outline (thebarentsobserver.com/security/2016/08/no-breaks-russias-warship-program-experts-question-timeframes).

            Katarzyna Zysk of Norway’s Institute for Defense Studies, told him that “there is no doubt that Russia is willing to build the new warships,” but its current time frames and scope are “another question” entirely given Russia’s economic difficulties, including those resulting from the sanctions regime.

            Since Vladimir Putin called in 2013 for a boost in Russia’s military presence in the Arctic, Russian naval planners have come up with a variety of proposals for new ships, including next-generation nuclear-powered icebreakers that Moscow claims will be able to “cross the North Pole in any direction, any time of year, in any ice thickness” (izvestia.ru/news/624429).

            Zysk says that Russia’s program envisages three stages: “First, building ships with focus on the littoral zone with the Steregushchij class corvette as the main ship; second, constructing vessels intended for long-range operations, with new frigates of the Admiral Gorshkov class as the main asset, and at the third stage, building a new class of destroyers.”

            If that program is realized, Russia would represent a far larger threat in the region; but the Norwegian expert points out that “Russia has been struggling with implementing the program even at the first stages due to economic, financial, as well as structural problems in the military-industrial complex, which continues to struggle with corruption, ineffective use of resources and exorbitant prices, as well as waning expertise and professional skills.” 

            At present, she says, the Russian navy is enthusiastic as is the Russian political elite, but “the future of the surface shipbuilding programs” has “fragile foundations.”  That is because Moscow “has been prioritizing warfare over welfare in the past few years, financing the military build-up on the expense of health budget, social spending and education. This comes with a high social price, as the steep fall in living standards has demonstrated.”

            Moreover, the shipbuilding effort has been hampered by Western sanctions which have meant that Russian construction firms cannot buy gas turbine engines from Ukraine or diesel engines from Germany as they had planned. There are no good substitutes at present for either, Zysk suggests.

            Kristian Ã…land of the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment agrees. He doubts that Russia will be able to put the new class of destroyers to sea before 2025 “at the earliest,” far later than Moscow claims or that many Western commentators fear. He adds that the icebreaker program is also likely to be delayed given “technological or financial constraints.”

            This will have other consequences for Russia, Zysk says.  “If Russia [ends] up not being able to pay salaries, the naval construction and other military projects will obviously be negatively affected … Broader consequences such as political instability, domestic, as well as in terms of foreign policy, are among likely outcomes,” she says.

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Russia Population Set to Decline by 50 Percent This Century, Moscow Demographer Says 

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Paul Goble

            Staunton, August 11 – Unless there are radical changes in government policies and in the family size preferences of Russians, the population of the Russian Federation will decline by the end of the century from 140 million now to only 70 million in 2100, according to Yury Krupnov of Moscow’s Institute for Demography, Migration and Regional Development.

            Speaking on the “Govorit Moskva” radio station this week, Krupnov said that the recent uptick in the birthrate reflects the increased share of women in prime child-bearing cohorts rather than government policies or changes in the proclivity of Russians to have more children rather than fewer (ng.ru/news/551343.html).

                But that generation of women is about to be replaced by one that be 70 percent smaller in 2025 than the one in 2010, and the result will be a demographic decline far steeper and deeper than even those Russia experienced in the 1990s, the Moscow expert said.  That will half the population of the country by 2100, and Russia will “simply die out.”

            The Russian government has failed to develop a complex of measures to address this challenge, he said, arguing that the Kremlin’s much-ballyhooed “maternal capital will not change the situation.”

            Krupnov also said that those who believe immigration can stave off this disaster are wrong.  Indeed, by failing to prevent the influx of illegal immigrants, he continued, there are now approximately 12 million illegals in Russia, people who live by their own rules and who have become “an unseen state within a state” (utro.ru/articles/2016/08/09/1293170.shtml).


Russia accuses Ukraine of 'terror' attack on Crimea

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Ukraine denies it is attempting to regain control of the disputed territory by force

Turkey coup: Erdogan crackdown causes diplomats to flee country 

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'Time has run out' for fleeing officials, Turkish minister warns

Vladimir Putin may believe time is ripe for another invasion

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The Crimea crisis has come from nowhere but the Russian president has form for military adventures in Olympic years, says Luke Harding
The situation in Crimea looks ominous. Russia’s FSB spy agency said on Wednesday that it had foiled a series of attacks by armed Ukrainians on the peninsula. Minutes later, Vladimir Putin accused Kiev’s pro-western government of choosing terror over peace. Meanwhile, largely unnoticed by the outside world, Russia has been stealthily shipping military vehicles to Crimea, which Putin annexed in the spring of 2014.
What is going on? As ever in the opaque world of neo-Kremlinology, nobody quite knows. But two years after Putin sent “little green men” – actually undercover Russian special forces soldiers – to overrun Crimea, another military offensive seems distinctly possible. Crimea’s “parliament” said Ukraine had already launched an undeclared war. Ukraine says the supposed plot is FSB fiction.
Continue reading...

Russia and Ukraine step up security amid tension over Crimea

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Putin boosts ‘anti-terror’ measures at Ukraine frontier with annexed Crimea as Poroshenko puts troops on combat alert
Russia and Ukraine stepped up security on the de facto border between Crimea and mainland Ukraine on Thursday, a day after Moscow accused Kiev of planning terror attacks on the peninsula.
The alleged incidents, which have raised tensions over Crimea to the highest level since Russiaannexed the region from Ukraine in 2014, took place over the weekend. Russia’s FSB security service claims to have detained a Ukrainian terror cell with 20 homemade explosive devices inside Crimea, and repelled fire from across the border in a separate incident. The FSB said one of its officers and a Russian soldier died during the clashes.
Continue reading...

Hundreds of secret Russian mercenaries are dying in Syria's civil war, report alleges - VICE News

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VICE News

Hundreds of secret Russian mercenaries are dying in Syria's civil war, report alleges
VICE News
The Russian government is allegedly secretly paying young men to fight extremists in Syria, despite the Kremlin's repeated claims that the country's involvement in the war is strictly aerial, according to one report. On Wednesday, Britain-based Sky ...

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Russia accuses Ukraine of igniting border clash in Crimea - Washington Post

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Washington Post

Russia accuses Ukraine of igniting border clash in Crimea
Washington Post
MOSCOW — Russia on Wednesday accused Ukraine of preparing a series of terrorist attacks and of igniting border clashes on the disputed Crimean Peninsula, the latest in a worrying trend of violent incidents along the line of contact between the two ...
Russia accuses Ukraine of attempted Crimea 'incursions'BBC News
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Turkey turns to Russia on Syria amid US flap - CBS News

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CBS News

Turkey turns to Russia on Syria amid US flap
CBS News
The announcement by Mevlut Cavusoglu came a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Russia's Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg for the first time since the countries agreed to mend relations soured by Turkey's downing of a Russian ...
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Russia and Turkey's new friendship is bad news for the WestTelegraph.co.uk 
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The leaders of Turkey and Russia appear to be making up - The Economist

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STRATFOR

The leaders of Turkey and Russia appear to be making up
The Economist
SINCE November, when Turkish forces shot down a Russian jet near the Syrian border, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, has been one of Russia'schief enemies. State media regularly excoriated the Islamist-tinged leader. Vladimir Putin, his ...
Russia Keeps Its Friends Close and Turkey CloserSTRATFOR 
Western nations wary of 'reset' between Russia, TurkeyCBC.ca

Russia and Turkey Vow to Repair Ties as West Watches NervouslyNew York Times 
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Nobody seems to like Russia this summer. Except Donald Trump. - Washington Post

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Washington Post

Nobody seems to like Russia this summer. Except Donald Trump.
Washington Post
This week, America has a new folk hero. Unhappy about having to compete against a swimmer who has tested positive for doping, 19-year-old Lilly King was caught on camera waving her finger at Russian Yulia Efimova. Then she dissed her for "drug ... 
British Military 'Outgunned By Russia'Sky News
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The Olympics Are Back and Tensions Between Russia and Ukraine Are Heating Up - Foreign Policy (blog)

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Foreign Policy (blog)

The Olympics Are Back and Tensions Between Russia and Ukraine Are Heating Up
Foreign Policy (blog)
On August 8, 2008, shortly after the opening ceremonies for the Beijing Summer Olympics,Russia and Georgia kicked off a five-day war. Nearly two years later, following the conclusion of the Sochi Winter Olympics and ouster of former Ukrainian ...
Russia accuses Ukraine of attempted Crimea 'incursions'BBC News
Tensions rising again between Russia, UkraineMarketWatch 
Putin accuses Ukraine of trying to provoke a new conflict over CrimeaReuters
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Stealing a Peek at Russian Economic Recovery Before It Happens - Bloomberg

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Bloomberg

Stealing a Peek at Russian Economic Recovery Before It Happens
Bloomberg
“Applying for a grid connection and making a significant payment for it requires a long-term positive view on economic trends, and a spike in such orders in 2016 indicates to us thatRussian economic agents are feeling much more optimistic than a year ...

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British Military 'Outgunned By Russia' - Sky News

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Telegraph.co.uk

British Military 'Outgunned By Russia'
Sky News
The leaked report, seen by The Times, suggests the UK and NATO are "struggling to catch up" with Russia when it comes to certain aspect of modern warfare. It says that Russia is using technology better and has more advanced 'hybrid' warfare tactics.
Russia can outgun British troops, leaked report suggestsTelegraph.co.uk
Was report on bad guy Russia's military superiority deliberately leaked to score MoD funding?RT
Fears grow Russia is using the Ukraine battlefield to rehearse for war with the WestMirror.co.uk
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NATO Plays It Cool as Russia and Turkey Grow Closer - Foreign Policy (blog)

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Foreign Policy (blog)

NATO Plays It Cool as Russia and Turkey Grow Closer
Foreign Policy (blog)
Ankara and Moscow are rekindling their close ties after a nearly nine-month freeze, brought about by tensions over the civil war in Syria and Russian fury over Turkey's downing of aRussian jet that violated its airspace last November. For much of last ...
The leaders of Turkey and Russia appear to be making upThe Economist
Russia Keeps Its Friends Close and Turkey CloserSTRATFOR 
Russia and Turkey Vow to Repair Ties as West Watches Nervously
 New York Times
 
CNN-Telegraph.co.uk-CBC.ca

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Immigration Sparks Negative Views From U.S. to Russia in Study - Bloomberg

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Immigration Sparks Negative Views From U.S. to Russia in Study
Bloomberg
Immigration is spurring negative attitudes from the U.S. to Russia, according to an Ipsos Mori study that lays bare the attitude to migrants around the world. About 45 percent of more than 16,000 people surveyed in 22 nations said immigration has had a ...

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What Russia and Turkey Bring to Syria - New York Times

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ABC Online

What Russia and Turkey Bring to Syria
New York Times
President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey are major players on opposite sides of the Syrian civil war. Mr. Putin has provided the crucial military support that is keeping Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, in ...
Turkey offers Russia joint operations against Islamic State in SyriaABC Online
Turkey
 
turns to Russia on Syria amid US flapCBS News
 
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Suspected gas attack on Aleppo hours before Russia-backed ceasefire comes into force - Telegraph.co.uk

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Telegraph.co.uk

Suspected gas attack on Aleppo hours before Russia-backed ceasefire comes into force
Telegraph.co.uk
At least four people died and many suffered breathing difficulties when a gas, believed to be chlorine, was dropped alongside barrel bombs on a neighbourhood of the Syrian city of Aleppo on Wednesday, a hospital and a civil defence group told news ...

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Russia Accuses Ukraine Of 'Terrorist' Attack In Crimea - NPR

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NPR

Russia Accuses Ukraine Of 'Terrorist' Attack In Crimea
NPR
President Vladimir Putin says he'll beef up Russia's military force in Crimea, after Russia'ssecurity service claimed that it thwarted a would-be terrorist incursion from Ukraine over the weekend. The Federal Security Service, the FSB, said that teams ...
Russia's Putin Discusses Additional Security Measures for CrimeaWall Street Journal
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Russia's Putin Meets Top Brass to Discuss Security in Crimea
 New York Times
 
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Russian bombers destroy ISIS chemical weapons plant near Raqqa, Syria - RT

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RT

Russian bombers destroy ISIS chemical weapons plant near Raqqa, Syria
RT
Six long-range Tu-22M3s (NATO reporting name: Blinder) took off from airfields in Russia and, having passed through the airspace of several countries, attacked Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorist installations southeast, north, and ...

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Boris Johnson says Britain must 'normalise' its relationship with Russia - Telegraph.co.uk

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Telegraph.co.uk

Boris Johnson says Britain must 'normalise' its relationship with Russia
Telegraph.co.uk
Britain must "normalise" its relationship with Russia after years of hostility, Boris Johnson has told the country's foreign minister. Sergei Lavrov and the Foreign Secretary spoke by phone on Thursday and discussed a possible normalisation of ... 
Britain and Russia must 'normalise' their relations, Boris Johnson tells the KremlinDaily Mail

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Turkey offers Russia joint operations against ISIL - Aljazeera.com

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Aljazeera.com

Turkey offers Russia joint operations against ISIL
Aljazeera.com
Turkey has called on Russia to carry out joint operations in Syria against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, after crucial talks between President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan aimed at ending a crisis ...
What Russia and Turkey Bring to SyriaNew York Times
Moscow Calming Israeli, American Fears of Russia-Turkey-Iran CoalitionThe Jewish Press
Turkey turns to Russia on Syria amid US flapCBS News
Anadolu Agency -Sputnik International -AMN Al-Masdar News (registration)
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Google Fined for Breaking Russian Antitrust Rules With Android - New York Times

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New York Times

Google Fined for Breaking Russian Antitrust Rules With Android
New York Times
Smartphones on display at a Google event in San Francisco. Credit Justin Sullivan/Getty Images. Russian antitrust officials fined Google a mere $6.8 million on Thursday, a penalty that, while small, represents the latest in a growing list of global ...
Russia Fines Google $6.75 Million in Antitrust CaseWall Street Journal
Russia fines Google over Android restrictionsFinancial Times
Russia Fines Google $6.75 Million Over Android Mobile DominanceBloomberg
Mirror.co.uk
all 29 news articles »

Russia Fines Google $6.75 Million in Antitrust Case - Wall Street Journal

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Wall Street Journal

Russia Fines Google $6.75 Million in Antitrust Case
Wall Street Journal
The fine comes ahead of a court appeal later this month by Google against the watchdog's ruling that it violated laws by bundling, or pre-loading, a suite of apps on mobile phones for sale on theRussian market. The legal battle goes to the heart of a ... 
Google Fined for Breaking Russian Antitrust Rules With AndroidNew York Times 
Russia fines Google less than what the company makes in an hourRecode
Russia Fines Google $6.75 Million Over Android Mobile DominanceBloomberg
Android Police
all 34 news articles »

Dispute Between Russia and Ukraine Over Crimea Accusations Escalates - Wall Street Journal

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Wall Street Journal

Dispute Between Russia and Ukraine Over Crimea Accusations Escalates
Wall Street Journal
MOSCOW—Ukraine's president put his country's forces on combat alert Thursday as RussianPresident Vladimir Putin discussed stepped-up security measures in the annexed territory of Crimea, escalating a crisis around the Black Sea peninsula. Ukrainian ...
Russia Accuses Ukraine Of 'Terrorist' Attack In CrimeaNPR
Russia announces war games after accusing Ukraine of terrorist plotReuters
Are Russia's military advances a problem for Nato?BBC News
CBS News -BBC News -Bloomberg
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Britain and Russia must 'normalise' their relations, Boris Johnson tells the Kremlin - Daily Mail

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Daily Mail

Britain and Russia must 'normalise' their relations, Boris Johnson tells the Kremlin
Daily Mail
She said: 'The Prime Minister noted the importance of the relationship between the UK andRussia and expressed the hope that, despite differences on certain issues, they could communicate in an open and honest way about the issues that mattered most to ...

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Turkey to resume airstrikes on ISIS in Syria, asks Russia to fight 'common enemy' - RT

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RT

Turkey to resume airstrikes on ISIS in Syria, asks Russia to fight 'common enemy'
RT
The Wednesday statements signify a warming of ties between Turkey and Russia, whose relationship soured following the downing of the Russian plane last year. Russia retaliated by deploying long-range air defense missile systems to its base in Syria and ...
Syria conflict: Russian strikes 'cut water supply to IS capital of Raqqa'BBC News
Russia's Tu-22M3 demolish ISIS chemical factory in Syria's RaqqaAMN Al-Masdar News (registration)

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Russia announces war games after accusing Ukraine of terrorist plot - Reuters

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Reuters

Russia announces war games after accusing Ukraine of terrorist plot
Reuters
MOSCOW Vladimir Putin summoned his security council and the Russian Navy announced war games in the Black Sea, a day after the Russian president accused Ukraine of trying to provoke a conflict over Crimea, which Moscow seized and annexed in ...
Dispute Between Russia and Ukraine Over Crimea Accusations EscalatesWall Street Journal 
Ukraine troops on high alert amid growing tension with RussiaCNN International

Are Russia's military advances a problem for Nato?BBC News 
NPR-BBC News-Foreign Policy (blog)
all 437 news articles »

The US-Russia Proxy War In Syria47:50 - WBUR

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WBUR

The US-Russia Proxy War In Syria47:50
WBUR
The U.S.-Russia conflict in Syria. Russia's winning. We'll look at Cold War rumbles and a region's future. Lt.-Gen. Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian Military General Staff speaks to the media, as a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry shows a ...
Syria conflict: Aleppo hit by clashes despite Russia aid pledgeBBC News
Russia declares three-hour air strike pause in AleppoAljazeera.com
Aleppo doctors appeal to US as violence continues during Russian 'pause'The Guardian
New York Times- Reuters-Haaretz
all 604 
news articles »

Serbia Gets New Government That Will Pursue EU, Russia Ties - ABC News

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Serbia Gets New Government That Will Pursue EU, Russia Ties
ABC News
Serbia's Parliament approved on Thursday a new, populist-led government of Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, who has promised to pursue the Balkan country's integration into the European Union while maintaining close ties with Russia. The government ...

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US Democrats blame Russia for cyber attacks - Aljazeera.com

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Aljazeera.com

US Democrats blame Russia for cyber attacks
Aljazeera.com
US House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi has said the recent cyber attacks on Democratic politicians and officials was "broad" and repeated the accusation that Russian authorities were behind behind the breaches that caused controversy and division ...

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Poroshenko Puts Troops In Eastern Ukraine On Highest Alert

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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says he has instructed all military units near Russian-occupied Crimea and in the easterly Donbas region to be at the highest level of combat readiness, following Russian allegations of a Ukrainian incursion into Crimea. 

London schoolgirl who left to join Islamic State dead: lawyer

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(Reuters) - One of three schoolgirls who left London in February of 2015 to join Islamic State has died, her family lawyer told Reuters on Thursday.
  

Mysterious Greenland Shark May Live for Centuries, Scientists Say

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An international group of researchers has estimated the little-understood Greenland shark may live as long as 500 years—which would make it the longest-living vertebrate on the planet.

Lawmakers Accuse Military of Skewing Intelligence on ISIS

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A trio of Republican lawmakers put out a preliminary report Thursday accusing the U.S. military’s Central Command of producing skewed intelligence assessments that exaggerated American progress in helping Iraq’s armed forces combat Islamic State.

Canadian Terror Suspect Killed Wednesday ‘Planned Immediate Attack’: Police 

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Adam Driver, the terrorism suspect killed by Canadian police Wednesday night, had planned to detonate explosives in an urban center during rush hour within 72 hours, police said.
The FBI alerted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) that a suspect pledged allegiance to ISIS over video and was preparing for an “immediate attack” in Canada, police said according to the BBC. Authorities identified the suspect as Driver, 24, who had already been under a court order restricting his movements and was being monitored by police after he was arrested for backing ISIS online last year.
“Obviously it was a race against time,” said RCMP Deputy Commissioner Mike Cabana at a news conference Thursday.
According to Cabana, they quickly found Driver in a taxi in Strathroy, Ontario, when he detonated an explosive device in the back of the cab and injured both himself and the taxi driver. He was about to detonate a second when police officers shot and killed him.
In the video the FBI gave police, Driver wore a mask and expressed his plans to carry out an attack. “You will pay for everything you brought against us,” he said.
[BBC]

Uproar Over Egypt's Policy of State-Dictated Friday Sermons - New York Times

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Washington Post

Uproar Over Egypt's Policy of State-Dictated Friday Sermons
New York Times
CAIRO — Inside a large mosque in the Nile Delta, an Egyptian cleric looked over his congregation as he climbed the pulpit clutching a piece of paper and began to speak — delivering a 13-minute discourse on the virtues of personal hygiene. For the ...
Imams should at least abide by unified sermon topic: Endowments MinistryDaily News Egypt

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How the Islamic State Militant Group Was Founded, Gained Influence 

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Known as Islamic State, the group of hard-line jihadists that once dominated large areas of Iraq and Syria is infamous for its sheer brutality, including beheadings, drownings, burning people alive, rape, and the promotion of slavery. Initially a largely Sunni Arab group, IS grew out of the terrorist organization known as al-Qaida in Iraq (AQ-I) led by Jordanian Abu Musab al Zarqawi in 2004. AQ-I fed off the deep sense of Sunni disenfranchisement after the United States decided to disband...