RT

Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak said the country is considering an option of payments for oil in national currencies, in particular with Turkey and Iran.

According to him, both countries are interested but there is also a matter of conversion of currencies and their further use. “There is a common understanding that we need to move towards the use of national currencies in our settlements. There is a need for this, as well as the wish of the parties,” Novak said.   Continue reading “Moscow wants to get rid of dollar & euro payments in oil trade with Turkey and Iran”

RT

There are many indications that ISIS, or ISIS-inspired entities, are looking to renew their armed insurgency in the Philippines. As is typically the case, wherever ISIS goes, the US military is not too far behind.

Not many people will be aware that aside from the fact that peace-prize-laureate Barack Obama was bombing at least seven predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East at any given time during his presidency, he was also secretly drone-bombing the Philippines, as well. Obama’s drone campaign, of course, was widely regarded as one of the most effective recruitment tool for groups like ISIS (incidentally, a group now growing from strength to strength in the Philippines).   Continue reading “Here’s why the Philippines may become ISIS’ next caliphate”

RT

A report by the UK House of Commons library has warned that the continued accumulation of wealth at the top will fuel growing distrust and anger over the coming decade unless action is taken to restore balance.

According to the report, seen by The Guardian, if trends seen since the 2008 financial crash were to continue, then the top 1 percent will hold 64 percent of the world’s wealth by 2030. Even taking the financial crash into account, and measuring their assets over a longer period, they would still hold more than half of all wealth.  Continue reading “Richest 1% will own two-thirds of global wealth by 2030”

Mail.com

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is shutting down his Facebook account as the social media giant struggles to cope with the worst privacy crisis in its history. In an email to USA Today, Wozniak says Facebook makes a lot of advertising money from personal details provided by users. He says the “profits are all based on the user’s info, but the users get none of the profits back.”   Continue reading “Apple co-founder protests Facebook by shutting down account”

RT

Thousands of Google employees have signed an open letter urging the tech giant not to work on a US government surveillance engine which could use artificial intelligence to improve the targeting of drone strikes.

“We believe that Google should not be in the business of war. Therefore we ask that Project Maven be cancelled and that Google draft, publicize, and enforce a clear policy stating that neither Google nor its contractors will ever build warfare technology,” reads the letter which was published by the New York Times on Tuesday.  Continue reading “‘Not in the business of war’: Google employees urge company to abandon Pentagon AI project”

Mail.com

ATLANTA (AP) — The nation’s chief doctor wants more Americans to start carrying the overdose antidote naloxone to help combat the nation’s opioid crisis and save lives. Speaking at the National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit in Atlanta on Thursday morning, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams issued his office’s first national public health advisory in 13 years.

Adams said he hopes those who are at risk — as well as their friends and family members — will keep the antidote on hand and learn how to use it. “You don’t have to be a policeman or a firefighter or a paramedic to save a life,” said Adams, who pointed out that more than half of opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. occur at home.  Continue reading “Surgeon general urges Americans to carry overdose antidote”

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NEW YORK (AP) — The father of a man killed by police officers in Brooklyn said his son was bipolar and wasn’t taking his medication, but was not dangerous and didn’t deserve to die. Saheed Vassell, 34, was fatally shot Wednesday evening in Brooklyn by police officers responding to multiple 911 calls about a man threatening people with a gun.

The officers who rushed to the scene encountered Vassell holding a metal object in his hand. In security camera images released by the police, the L-shaped length of pipe looked remarkably like a firearm. Vassell brandished it like a weapon, too, extending his arm and pointing the short-barreled object at several people, causing some to cower in apparent fright.  Continue reading “Father of man shot by NYPD says he was ill, but harmless”

RT – by Eva Bartlett

The US is fine with “rebels” like Al-Qaeda “protesting” in Syria, but when genuinely unarmed Palestinians protest the occupiers who violently expelled them from their homes and land, they are “inciting violence.”

During peaceful protests on March 30 in eastern Gaza, an unarmed Palestinian man walked on farmland towards the fence built by his occupiers. Within minutes, he was shot by one of the 100 Israeli special forces snipers deployed along the fence precisely to quash dissent—by any means necessary—under the old pretext of “self-defense.”  Continue reading “Israeli violence against Palestinians will never end as a result of UN & US hypocrisy”

RT

President Donald Trump has denied that the US and China are engaged in a trade war, despite Beijing announcing it would slap import tariffs on American goods in a tit-for-tat move.

“We are not in a trade war with China,” Trump tweeted. “That war was lost many years ago by the foolish, or incompetent, people who represented the U.S. Now we have a Trade Deficit of $500 Billion a year, with Intellectual Property Theft of another $300 Billion. We cannot let this continue!”  Continue reading “‘We are not in a trade war with China, lost it many years ago’ – Trump”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Wednesday that the U.S. military mission in Syria was coming to “a rapid end” but offered no firm timeline for a withdrawal, even as President Donald Trump has insisted it’s time for American troops to return home.

With allies anxious about a hasty U.S. withdrawal, the Trump administration said it would stay in war-torn Syria to finish off the job of defeating the Islamic State group and was committed to eliminating the militants’ “small” presence that “our forces have not already eradicated.”  Continue reading “White House says Syria mission coming to ‘a rapid end’”

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HONOLULU (AP) — Are there downsides to a low unemployment rate? In Hawaii, which has the United States’ lowest jobless rate at a minuscule 2.1 percent, the answer is yes. Employers are frustrated by their inability to find workers. And unfilled jobs may be slowing the state’s economic growth.

A low unemployment rate is certainly better than a high one. And many employers are responding to the worker shortage by offering higher pay. Still, Hawaii’s experience serves as a cautionary tale for the nation as a whole: Low unemployment can mask underlying problems. Nationwide, the jobless rate is at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent, and economists forecast it could drop another half-point by next year. That would bring the rate to a half-century low.  Continue reading “Hawaii’s low unemployment rate masks underlying problems”

RT

Bahrain has announced that it has struck upon its biggest oil find since 1932. The country’s official news agency reported the discovery of “highly significant quantities of oil and gas” off its west coast Sunday.

The resource, which is said to “dwarf” Bahrain’s current reserves, was found at the end of last year following an order to intensify the search for deposits of crude. “Initial analysis demonstrates the find is at substantial levels, capable of supporting the long-term extraction of tight oil [light crude] and deep gas,” Bahraini Oil Minister Shaikh Mohamed bin Khalifa al-Khalifa told the agency. It is the largest find in nearly 90 years.     Continue reading “Bahrain strikes biggest oil field find in nearly 90 years”

RT

American stocks saw the worst start in April since the Great Depression, as Chinese retaliatory tariffs spooked investors in the world’s largest economy.

The S&P 500 index fell 2.2 percent after the first trading session in the second quarter. This was only ever worse 89 years ago, when it fell by 2.5 percent. Back then, it was a selloff that triggered the Great Depression – the worst economic crisis in US history.  Continue reading “Great Depression 2.0? Worst Q2 start for US stocks since 1929”

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Video shown Monday that was taken by a dashboard camera inside a sheriff’s vehicle shows it hitting a protester and driving away — the latest flashpoint following the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man in Sacramento.

The law enforcement official behind the wheel likely didn’t know he hit someone, Sheriff Scott Jones said at a news conference where the video was shown, noting that he hasn’t spoken to the driver, whose name has not been released.  Continue reading “Dashboard video shows Sacramento sheriff’s car hit protester”

Mail.com

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A big caravan of Central American migrants that has stirred up concerns in the U.S., including drawing tweets from President Donald Trump, has halted its march for a rest at a sports field in southern Mexico.

The U.S. leader warned about “caravans” of migrants heading to the U.S., and others questioned whether the caravan of approximately 1,100 people was moving across Mexico toward its northern border with the intent of crossing into the United States.  Continue reading “Migrant caravan raising concerns in US takes break in Mexico”

RT

Republican politicians in Virginia Beach scrambled to assure their Facebook followers that a post by an impostor group comparing anti-gun “walkout” protesters to the Nazis was in fact a hoax.

A Facebook page claiming to belong to the Republican Party of Virginia Beach published a post on Sunday – riddled with spelling mistakes and accompanied by a photo of children’s shoes at Auschwitz – that claimed the Holocaust could have been prevented if Europe’s Jews had guns.  Continue reading “Virginia Republicans slam gun-control hoaxers who used photo of children’s shoes at Auschwitz”

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BEIRUT (AP) — The most powerful Syrian rebel faction on the fringes of Damascus began abandoning its stronghold in the once rebel-held enclave of eastern Ghouta on Monday, opening the way for government forces to secure full control of the area, after seven years of revolt.

The first fighters from the Army of Islam left the town of Douma around midday as part of an evacuation deal that will hand the town to the Syrian government, reported the state SANA news agency. The rebels were headed to Jarablus, a town in northern Syria where control of the territory is shared between Syrian rebels and Turkish forces.  Continue reading “Largest Syrian rebel group starts leaving Damascus enclave”

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FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A 20-year-old Texas man who as a teenager invoked “affluenza” in his defense after killing four people in a drunken wreck has been released from jail. Tarrant County sheriff’s spokesman David McClelland says Ethan Couch was released Monday from the county jail near Dallas after serving nearly two years for a revoked probation.  Continue reading “Texas man who invoked ‘affluenza’ defense released from jail”

Mail.com

MENDOCINO, Calif. (AP) — An SUV carrying a large family from Washington state accelerated straight off a scenic California cliff and authorities said the deadly wreck may have been intentional. The wreck was discovered last week, days after child welfare authorities began investigating whether the children were being neglected.

Information pulled from the vehicle’s software shows it was stopped at a flat, dirt pull-off area before it sped off the steep rocky face and plunged 100 feet (30 meters), said Capt. Greg Baarts of the California Highway Patrol.  Continue reading “SUV plunge off cliff may have been intentional, police say”

RT

Experts at the Russian anti-virus service Doctor Web have identified 45 smartphone models with viruses installed at the production stage. This could badly affect hundreds of thousands of smartphone users, according to the firm.

“Users told us that their anti-virus program has found malicious software on their smartphones. We’ve analyzed the situation and came to the conclusion the software was in the system area where no virus could get from outside but could only be built in during the production phase,” Doctor Web director general Boris Sharov told RIA Novosti.  Continue reading “Dozens of smartphone models have built-in viruses – IT security specialists”