EU-DIGEST: 9/1/18

9/30/18

German Turks: The Third-Generation Surprise - by Susanne Dieper

A new study by the Centre for Turkey Studies and Integration Research (Stiftung Zentrum füTürkeistudien und Integrationsforschung) at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany recently surveyed citizens of Turkish descent living in Germany.

According to the survey, approximately 89% of those questioned feel a strong or very strong connection to Turkey, while 81% feel that way about Germany.

More striking are the numbers for those who feel a very strong connection: 61% feel that way about Turkey and only 37.5% about Germany.

Despite darkening political news from Turkey in recent years, this represents a significant increase in positive feelings for Turkey in the last several years.

Aside from a more heated debate about integration in Germany in the last several years, which was in no small measure also directed at Muslims and those of Turkish descent living in the country, another factor weighs in heavily.The Turkish government has made it a foreign policy priority to reach out to people of Turkish descent who live in Germany. Among its different priorities, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs include its role as “meeting the needs and bringing solutions to the problems” of Turkish citizens living abroad.

The underlying message? Germany treats you badly and does not really consider you a citizen of its country, but we do and we want to help you.

Note EU-Digest: Obviously this does not do much good to making new immigrants strengthen their ties with their new home country. In this respect, the European Union could benefit from adapting to the American system, Specially when it comes to the naturalization process of new foreign born citizens, There in the final stage of this process, new American Citizens are assembled in a group before a judge, pledging their alliance to the United States of America, this also implies not serving in foreign armies. At the end of the ceremony, each new citizen is given either a small US flag or a pin with the US flag.

Read more: German Turks: The Third-Generation Surprise - The Globalist

9/29/18

Germany - Turkey: Erdogan and Merkel clash on freedom of the press

Merkel and Erdogan Clash in Berlin Over Turkish Reporter

China - US Relations: China warns US it wont be blackmailed on trade

China warns US it will not be 'blackmailed' on trade

9/28/18

Denmark - terrorism: Danisn police temporarily major bridges an ferries to Denmark

Via euronews: Danish police operation temporarily shuts major bridges, ferries to Sweden, Germany

9/27/18

US Economy: American Corporate Executives warn Trump of the disastrous results his Tariffs will have on US Economy

Health: Sex after 60 is good for your health

For full report also see :

https://www.newsmax.com/Health/health-news/sex-after-60-health/2018/09/26/id/883583/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=mixi&utm_campaign=newsmax

The Netherlands: Dutch Police seven over plot to attack large event

Dutch police arrest seven over plot to attack large event

Read full report at:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/27/dutch-police-arrest-seven-over-plot-to-attack-large-event?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

Turkey-Germany Relation: Expectations that Bilateral ties will improve

Turkish president will meet Chancellor Merkel to discuss bilateral ties, Turkish currency crisis and situation in Syria.

Social Media: Facebook tricked you once again on security matters

Facebook Tricked You Into Thinking 2-Factor Authentication With A Phone Number Was For Security Reasons Only

For the complete report go to :
http://flip.it/jI16bM

9/26/18

EU students learning far more languages than their American Counter Parts

Via euronews: European students are learning more languages than their American counterparts

EU-IRAN Relations: How will the EU bypass US sanctions against Iran

Via euronews: How does the EU plan to bypass US sanctions against Iran? | euronews Answers

Read full report at:

https://www.euronews.com/2018/09/26/how-does-the-eu-plan-to-bypass-us-sanctions-against-iran-euronews-answers

China rejects US warships to visit Hong Kong as tensions rise

China Rejects U.S. Warship’s Visit to Hong Kong as Tensions Rise

9/25/18

France versus USA: Macron versus Trump at UN - two different ideologies

Via euronews: Macron vs Trump at the UN General Assembly

UN: Donald Trump speech at UN, another disaster

Trump 'didn't expect' UN speech reaction he got

Read motr at :
http://flip.it/mHu-l9

9/24/18

Saudi Arabia: Horn of Africa under increased influence of Saudi Arabia.

Air pollution: rotting our brains, but no one does anyting about it

Air pollution rots our brains. Is that why we don’t do anything about it?

9/23/18

UN: All eyes on Donald Trump tomorrow what kind of crazy stuff he might be saying

Via euronews:

All eyes on Trump as world leaders gather for UN General Assembly

https://www.euronews.com/2018/09/23/all-eyes-on-trump-as-world-leaders-gather-for-un-general-assembly

‘EU wants to become a nuclear power’ - by Marco Giannangeli

President Trump has urged all Nato member states in Europe to follow the US example and spend four per cent of GDP on defence.

Britain’s departure from the EU next year will leave France as the only nuclear power.

President Macron’s comments came after six months of intense debate and it was raised in February by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Poland’s former prime minister and now head of its ruling party.

And German foreign policy spokesman Roderich Kiesewetter said: “If the United States no longer wants to provide this guarantee, Europe still needs nuclear protection for deterrent purposes.

9/22/18

Czech Republic: Prague plans a month of celebrations

The celebration of the 100th anniversary of Czechoslovakia will run for an entire month in Prague, starting Sept. 28 with the unveiling of the restored Astronomical Clock in Old Town Square and culminating Oct. 27–28 with the reopening of the National Museum in Wenceslas Square.

The Společné století project has over 350 events focused on Czech-Slovak relations, which take place in all regions of the Czech Republic.

Read more: Prague plans a month of celebrations | Prague TV - Living Like a Local!

Iceland has made it illegal to pay women less than men

A new law in Iceland has made it illegal to pay women less than men.

Read more: The European Banking News Network - Iceland has made it illegal to pay women less than men

EU events: Germany′s Oktoberfest gets underway in Munich

Munich's mayor, Dieter Reiter, has tapped the first keg of beer to open Germany's most famous festival. Six million visitors are expected over the next two weeks.

Read more: Germany′s Oktoberfest gets underway in Munich | News | DW | 22.09.2018

9/21/18

Denmark: One of Denmark’s biggest banks reports on its Estonian shambles - Danske Bank’s money-laundering scandal

“THE bank has clearly failed to live up to its responsibility,” said Ole Andersen, chairman of Danske Bank, on September 19th. Well, indeed. The findings of an inquiry into the laundering of money, much of it from Russia, through Danske’s Estonian branch are sobering. The euro amount rinsed through the branch’s books runs to 12 digits and Danske missed chance after chance to stop the sluice. To no one’s surprise its chief executive, Thomas Borgen, has resigned.

Read more: Denmark’s biggest bank reports on its Estonian shambles - Danske Bank’s money-laundering scandal

EU: Green Energy: One third of EU electricity from renewable sources

Electricity generated from renewable sources contributed more than 30 percent to the total electricity consumption in the EU in 2016, Eurostat figures show. Hydro power is the most important source, followed closely by wind power and then solar power. In five countries, more than half of electricity consumed was from renewable sources: Austria (73 percent), Sweden (65 percent), Portugal and Denmark (both 54 percent) and Latvia (51 percent).

Read more: One third of EU electricity from renewable sources

Canada - Tariffs: Trump Tariffs Are Becoming More Stick Than Carrot in Nafta Talks

Canada seeks protections from a President Trump who treats tariffs like a 'toy':

For the complete report go to:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-20/trump-tariffs-are-becoming-more-stick-than-carrot-in-nafta-talks

9/20/18

Austria: May humiliated by Salzburg ambush as she fights to save Chequers Brexit Plan in Austria: by Dan Sabbagh, Daniel Boffey and Pippa Crerar

Theresa May was left fighting to save her Chequers Brexit plan and with it her authority as prime minister after she was ambushed at the end of the Salzburg summit when EU leaders unexpectedly declared that her proposals would not work.

The prime minister was thrown on to the defensive – just over a week before the Conservative party conference – when EU leaders led by Donald Tusk and Emmanuel Macron rejected her Chequers plan as it stood, prompting hard Brexit Conservatives to demand it be abandoned.

May was also set an October deadline for a solution on the Irish border issue just hours after informing Leo Varadkar, the Irish taoiseach, in a private breakfast meeting that she felt it would be impossible to come to a compromise within such a timescale.

A clearly nervous and angry May told reporters that EU leaders were engaged in “negotiating tactics” designed to throw her off course. “I have always said these negotiations were going to be tough,” she said. “And at various stages of these negotiations, tactics would be used as part of those negotiations”.

The assault on May’s plan came shortly after a lunchtime meeting of EU leaders in the Austrian city, where they discussed the Brexit talks in May’s absence. EU council president Tusk declared that Chequers “would not work” while French president Macron said it was “not acceptable”.

A combative Macron accused British Brexiters of lying about how easy it would be to negotiate an exit from the EU on terms favourable to the UK.

“Those who explain that we can easily live without Europe, that everything is going to be alright, and that it’s going to bring a lot of money home are liars,” said Macron. “It’s even more true since they left the day after so as not to have to deal with it.”

Read more: May humiliated by Salzburg ambush as she fights to save Chequers plan | Politics | The Guardian

Spain: Trump suggested Spain build Sahara wall to stem migrants

Spain's foreign minister revealed that US President Donald Trump suggested building a wall along the Sahara desert to stem the arrival of migrants, as he plans to do on the Mexican border.

"Closing ports is not a solution, and neither is building a wall along the Sahara like President Trump suggested to me recently," Josep Borrell told a lunchtime gathering this week, according to a video released by Spanish media.

"'Just build a wall that borders the Sahara'," he quoted Trump as telling him.

"'But do you know how big the Sahara is?'," the minister responded.

The reported comments come as EU leaders are locked in talks in Salzburg over how to deal with the number of migrants arriving in Europe.

Spain is at the frontline of this issue, having overtaken Italy to become the number one point of entry for migrants coming to Europe by sea or by land from Africa.

Many of these cross the Sahara to Morocco and on to Spain across the Mediterranean or over two high fences into the Spanish overseas territories of Ceuta and Melilla in northern Morocco.

Trump's proposed wall along the US-Mexico border, which spans 3,200 kilometres (2,000 miles), could cost up to $20 billion (17 billion euros) according to some estimates.

The Sahara desert, meanwhile, spans all of northern Africa from the Red Sea in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, or close to 5,000 kilometres.

Read more: Trump suggested Spain build Sahara wall to stem migrants - The Local

Germany: Rights Groups and Journalists to protest Erdogan visit to Germany

Germany: Rights groups and journalist associations to protest Erdogan visit

The Desirable World Order ?: China teams up with Russia to aim for 'desirable world order'

Donning a blue apron, Russian President Vladimir Putin poured batter into a pan and tossed it.

He was cooking with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and the pair were making a traditional Russian pancake called a blini.

The culinary showmanship reflected a larger trend: Russia and China are developing a closer, albeit uneasy friendship.

Before last week's blini-making, the two leaders had just discussed military and economic cooperation on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum, an annual event held in this far-eastern Russian city.

Read more: China teams up with Russia to aim for 'desirable world order'

9/19/18

EU Politics: Why Macron’s ‘Third Way’ Is EU’s Best Option - by John Lloyd

The largest question in democratic politics in Europe is: who’s in charge?

The issue was illuminated in the latest standoff in the European Parliament, where the body voted on Wednesday to sanction Hungary for its illiberal policies. And in Sweden, where the far-right did well enough in last Sunday’s election to ensure that its borders are tightened. And in Britain, where a preliminary accord on Brexit now seems nearer.

The ideals of a more united European Union demand clarity. A decision has to be made on whether or not a European federation, erasing sovereignty in participating nations, is desired, and by whom.

It had seemed easy before our times. Treaties – of Augsburg in 1555 and of Westphalia in 1648, arrived at after years of carnage – groped towards a principle that nation states were the natural order of international relations. The treaties didn’t stop wars or dismantle all empires, nor did they usher in an era of religious tolerance. But they meant that countries which could claim the allegiance of citizens within defined borders were the basic unit of power.

Who was in charge? Clearly the ruler – increasingly, as time went by, put in place by the will of the people. The older states, like Britain and France, were experienced in this. The newer creations, as Germany and Italy in the latter half of the 19th century, strove to catch up. In the 20th century, anti-imperialist momentum, promoted most of all by the United States, rolled on and created many new nations. Nation-statism became the prevailing world order.

But the greater carnage of World War Two and Nazism impelled a few thinkers and activists in devastated Europe to see nationalism not as a prophylactic against war, but as a prime cause of it. Economic interdependence and slow but steady integration of governments would take the place of the “balance of power” among states which had so clearly failed.

Power would no longer be precariously balanced, but unified in one pacific entity: a federal Europe, dedicated to peace, with contiguous nations joining on condition they observed the rules of the club: cooperation, democracy, equality, freedom of speech, the market and the press and respect for civil society. The values of Western liberalism, incarnate in a new kind of governing power – which had renounced the old kind of power.

However, a club has rules, borders which cannot be breached. Hungary, a member since 2004, was this week judged to have crossed them. A report by a Green Party member of the European Parliament from the Netherlands, Judith Sargentini, found that the Hungarian administration, led by the increasingly authoritarian Viktor Orban, had comprehensively violated the independence of the judiciary, the press and the academy, and had become massively corrupt. As a result, the parliament voted – for the first time in its history – to sanction Hungary by depriving it of voting rights in the EU’s Council of Ministers.

Orban, denouncing the move as one cooked up before the debate, was wholly defiant, saying that Hungary “will not accede to this blackmail.” It was, he said, an attack on the Hungarian state and people by countries that had allowed floods of migrants to enter Europe, and were trying to force Hungary to do the same.

Orban sees himself as upholding true Christian values, bearing the flame of a militant Christianity gone flabby in West European hands, and indifferent to, even encouraging of, an invasion of Europe by mainly Muslim immigrants. He will continue, and confidently – since the parliament’s vote to censure must be approved by the leaders of the 28 member states (including a still-Brexiting Britain), and there he has allies, above all in Poland and Italy, who can vote to veto it.

The Hungarian standoff has illuminated, cruelly but necessarily, the issue of authority.

The question is also one put before the Union by Emmanuel Macron, the leader most clearly opposed to the nationalist-populists. In pressing for a more robust advance to closer European integration, only the French president has put the issue squarely: who’s for federation? And who isn’t?

Macron’s fellow leaders had voted for a euro currency which was as much a mechanism for greater integration as a new means of exchange, agreeing to “ever closer Union” – while at the same time recoiling from a more strongly integrated banking and financial order which, the German governing center-right parties and the northern nations fear, would mean more irresponsibility from the southern countries.

Orban counts on these divisions. He sees the present strengthening of the nationalists, understands the reluctance of the Union to do more than make declarations, and meanwhile bides his time.

Macron, who has forced the pace and the need for a decision, has, however, also provided a third way between integration and the exit chosen by the United Kingdom. He has proposed a Europe of concentric circles, with an integrating core and increasingly weak adhesion to the Union in those states locating themselves in the spaces further from the center.

This is the way that should be taken: one which accommodates those countries that see the Union as an embryo state, and those which see it as a free trade arrangement with better inter-state cooperation on selected issues. Were it adopted, it would liberate the EU from its self-created dilemma – how to get the Union closer where many of the members wish to remain at a distance. They wish to do so because they wish to retain national sovereignty – as, it seems, the people who vote for them do. The nation state makes clear who is in charge; the European Union has deferred the issue to a future ideal state.

Orban grasps that one large truth, and has erected his semi-authoritarian rule upon it. Meanwhile, the Brits have chosen. The Hungarians, Poles and Italians have moved into the hostile camp. Others wish to remain ambiguous. But the time for ambiguity is running out.

Read more: Why Macron’s ‘Third Way’ Is EU’s Best Option • Social Europe

Malta: Winter getaway: The Mediterranean island with 'the best climate in the world'

Malta’s up-and-coming capital took centre stage when it was crowned 2018’s Capital of Culture, but there’s much more to the enigmatic island than Valletta.

Certain countries have a habit of stealing the limelight when it comes to culture. Tourists seeking their fix of classical and renaissance history typically flock to Greece or Italy, piling into packed attractions that have been snapped more times than Kim Kardashian’s backside.

Rome and Athens might be home to some of Europe’s most famous historical sights, but one nearby island offers all that and then some.

Megalithic temples, turquoise lagoons, stretching beaches and a spattering of historic cities, Malta is a bitesize country packing an ancient punch. The little anomaly in the Mediterranean is a veritable sponge, soaking up 7000 years of history, remnants of which are still peppered across the island today.

Read More: Winter getaway: The Mediterranean island with 'the best climate in the world' - The Local

Colombia: Potential Colombian cocaine production jumps 31 percent

Illegal coca plantations in Colombia reached record levels last year following a 17 percent increase from 2016 to around 423,000 acres (171,000 hectares), the United Nations said on Wednesday.

The UN Office on Crime and Drugs (UNODC) said that translated to a potential 31 percent increase in cocaine production from last year to almost 1,400 tons.

Coca leaf is the primary ingredient in the production of cocaine and current plantations generate 33 percent more leaves than they did in 2012.

"I want to express my deep concern about the amount of money that is moving around illicit drugs," said Bo Mathiasen, the UNODC representative to Colombia, at a press conference in Bogota.

Colombia remains way ahead of the rest of the world in terms of illegal coca plantations, while it is also the top producer of cocaine, much of it destined for the United States, the biggest consumer of the white powder.

Read more: Potential Colombian cocaine production jumps 31 percent | AFP.com

European Railways: Coming soon: Amsterdam to Berlin in four hours on the train

NS and ProRail are committed to cutting down travel time between Amsterdam and Berlin to just four hours, and they have the support of the government behind them. This week, members of NS, ProRail and the government will travel to Germany to put the wheels in motion, so to speak, and make such a journey possible in a few years.

In addition to talks in Germany, NS is planning on ordering 12 new locomotives, which will be able to travel on tracks in both the Netherlands and Germany. This saves time, as locomotives will no longer have to be changed at the border.

According to ProRail chief executive Pier Eringa, NS, ProRail, KLM and Schiphol all agree that taking the train is a good alternative to flying. Eringa also states that both travelling modes should be seen as complementary to one another, not competing, and that the train should be taken, when possible, instead of a flight.

These four previously mentioned companies want to put trains in a stronger position when it comes to short distance travel. Of course, for trains to be seen as an alternative to a short distance flight, the price will need to be more competitive.

Read more: Coming soon: Amsterdam to Berlin in four hours on the train

The Netherlands - Traditional Food : Top 5 Dutch restaurants in Amsterdam

The traditional food of the Netherlands has faced a lot of flak for being plain, simple, and perhaps a touch too bland for the international palate – but there are a number of restaurants in Amsterdam that prove those assumptions wrong.

Whether you’re looking for traditional stamppot, a hearty stew to warm the cockles after a cold day, or bitterballen, a deep-fried meat snack that is oh-so addictive when paired with a beer, we’ve found the top five Dutch restaurants in Amsterdam where you can experience Dutch haute cuisine first hand.

For the complete report go to: Top 5 Dutch restaurants in Amsterdam | Out

9/18/18

Germany: World′s first hydrogen train rolls out in Germany

Commuters in Germany now have a chance to ride the world's first hydrogen train as the country moves to replace old diesel-powered engines. Instead of exhaust fumes, hydrogen trains produce only water.

A French-made hydrogen train took its first scheduled trip from the station of Bremervörde in Lower Saxony on Monday, marking a world first for the new transport technology.

Two Coradia iLint engines will replace diesel trains on the 100-kilometer (62-mile) route linking the towns of Cuxhaven and Buxtehude, with 14 other hydrogen trains set to be introduced across the state by 2021. The new-type engines are produced by the French company Alstom.

"The world's first hydrogen train is entering into commercial service and is ready for serial production," Alstom CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge said during the unveiling ceremony in Bremervörde, which will serve as a refueling site.

The new trains carry a hydrogen tank and fuel cells on the roof, and produce electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen. Excess energy is stored in ion lithium batteries. The engines can run for around 1,000 kilometers without refueling and reach a maximum speed 140 kilometers per hour (87 miles per hour), similar to diesel trains.

Read more: World′s first hydrogen train rolls out in Germany | News | DW | 17.09.2018

The Netherlands: Opening of the new parliament year: The Netherlands is strong, but more people should feel benefits, says the king

The Netherlands is a strong country but more people should feel that things are going well, king Willem-Alexander said on on Tuesday, as he outlined the government’s agenda for the next year to MPs and senators.

It is, the king said, "75 years ago that the Netherlands was liberated and the country which has been built up since then is a strong one, thanks to its democratic values, its healthcare, its education and the fact that people have roof over their heads."

The government wants to further improve this strong land,’ the king said. ‘The economic values are right and in 2019 the economy will grow for the sixth year in a row.’

‘This is therefore the time to decide what direction we should take,’ the king said. ‘To make choices that afford us room to manoeuvre and give us security, both in the here-and-now and for future generations. More people should have a tangible sense that things are going well: at home, at work and in their neighborhood.’

The Netherlands is strong, but more people should feel benefits, says king - DutchNews.nl

Middle East - Syria: War-weary Syrians eye Idlib Turkey brokered deal with uneasy relief - by Omar Haj Kadour

A Russian-Turkish deal over Idlib has been met with distrust from war-weary Syrians in the rebel bastion. While relieved a regime offensive appears off the table, they have little faith Moscow or Damascus will uphold it.

Moments after Russia and Turkey announced they would create a "de-militarised zone" ringing Idlib, hundreds of people descended into the streets of the northwestern province.

Arriving on foot or by motorcycle, they brandished the three-star flag of the uprising, which broke out in 2011 with demands for President Bashar al-Assad's ouster.

Read more: War-weary Syrians eye Idlib deal with uneasy relief

9/17/18

Trans Fats: Canada: farewell to trans fats ?

Farewell Trans Fats? Canada Trans Fats banished from store shelves

For the complete CBC news report click here

USA: Trump Supreme Court nominee accused of sexual misconduct.

Woman who accused U.S. Supreme Court nominee of sexual misconduct goes public

Click here to read more of this CBC News shared report .

Britain - Brexit: London Mayor calls for second referendum

Via euronews: London Mayor calls for a second referendum on Brexit

9/16/18

The Netherlands - Free Market Forces in Health-Care and Education not benefitting Netherlands consumers - by RM

After returning back home from America to the Netherlands, it struck me how incredibly passive the Dutch population reacts to many decisions of their Government, which unfortunately, usually negatively affects the "pocketbooks" of the average Dutch citizen.

Particularly, because when these decisions are announced, the Dutch Government gives little or often no clear explanation, about the nature or reasons for these decisions. Their catch words usually are, either to improve the economy or to cut costs.

One example is the Dutch Health-Care system, which was changed a few years ago from a government controlled Universal Health-Care program, to a "Market controlled version, now mainly controlled by Insurance companies.

According to a recently held opinion poll, however, a majority (more than 60%) of the Dutch population wants to return to the old system of Universal Health-Care, since the new system, now run by Insurance companies has steadily increased their costs for affordable Health-Care .

In the field of education, Dutch students, who used to be able to apply for a free scholarship, which they did not have to pay off, after they successfully had completed their educational program, now have to pay back their scholarship through a loan program, including interest.

Unfortunately, many Dutch politicians, and large companies have abused the concept of "market forces" to create the suggestion of freedom and honesty.

A truly free market offers advantages, but with economic "spins and gibberish", as it does now, it certainly does not.

Bottom - line, the Dutch citizen is now at the mercy of a few large suppliers - and the so-called benefits of the market forces do not end up being tangible economic benefits to them .

The Netherlands economy, unfortunately, is starting to look more and more like that of the US, and that certainly is a scary idea.

Isn't it time to man the barricades?

C: this article can be published if source is identified as EU-Figest

EU-Digest

The EU-USA Rupture: “America first” policy goes against EU-US partnership, say EU Parliament MEPs

The US decision to quit key international deals and start a trade war harms EU-US ties; but the EU should not give up on the transatlantic bond, said MEPs on Wednesday.

In a resolution on the state of EU-US relations, approved by 490 votes to 148, with 51 abstentions, MEPs stress that the EU-US relationship is the fundamental guarantor for global stability, but regret that the current US administration has chosen a one-sided “America first” policy, that harms the interests of both the EU and the US and undermines mutual trust.

MEPs seek more clarity on whether the transatlantic bond is still relevant for American partners, as, after the election of US President Trump, MEPs find it difficult to understand new approaches taken by the US on global issues and regional conflicts. “Unilateral moves only weaken the transatlantic partnership,” the resolution says.

MEPs stress that the recent US decision to quit key international agreements, commitments and forums puts at risk common values and the EU-US partnership. They criticise President Trump’s decision to leave the Paris climate agreement, the Iran nuclear deal, and to apply extraterritorial measures on EU companies in Iran.

Read more: “America first” policy goes against EU-US partnership, say MEPs – The European Sting - Critical News

9/15/18

EU says Churhes are not above the law: EU court demands 'equal treatment' for church workers - by Andrew Rettman

The European Court of Justice has struck a second blow against churches' rights to hire and fire people based on their beliefs.

The EU court said in a judgement on Tuesday (11 September) that the German Catholic Church was wrong to sack a man who managed one of its clinics on grounds that he had divorced and remarried in violation of its belief that marriage was "sacred and indissoluble".

Read more: EU court demands 'equal treatment' for church workers

China-Russia, a new World Order? : What will keep China and Russia from building a new world order?

Russia's geopolitical show in eastern Siberia this week with special guest China combined a dramatic display of military hardware with diplomatic trappings, summit pageantry and an executive-level cooking show.

In two separate events - the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) being held in Vladivostok and the Vostok (East) 2018 military games - Russia and China signaled to the West that they are working closer together to counterbalance US "unilateralism."

Read more: Russia and China to reduce use of US dollar in trade

The American tariff showdown with China and continued sanctions on Russia have pushed Beijing and Moscow closer together. And US President Donald Trump's protectionist course for the US also gives Chinese and Russian presidents, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, the chance to portray themselves as heroes of bilateral cooperation and globalization.

Ahead of this week's events, China's ambassador to Russia, Li Hui, told China's official Xinhua news agency that Sino-Russian relations were at their "best in history." The report also touted Chinese President Xi as a proponent of regional cooperation amid "anti-globalism and protectionist trends," while ushering in a new age of diplomacy with Russia.

What will keep China and Russia from building a new world order? | Asia| An in-depth look at news from across the continent | DW | 14.09.2018

European Business: Top 10 biggest companies in Europe by revenue - by Harry Menear

10. BNP Paribas - $109bn
9. Allianz – $122.2bn
8. Total - $127.93bn
7. AXA - $143.7bn
6. Exor Group - $154.9bn
5. Daimler - $169.5bn
4. Glencore Plc - $173.9bn
3. British Petroleum (BP) - $186.61bn
2. Royal Dutch Shell - $240.03bn
1. Volkswagen - $240.4bn

Read more: Top 10 biggest companies in Europe by revenue | Top 10 | Business Chief Europe

9/14/18

Islam: Anti-Islam book becomes German bestseller

Anti-Islam book becomes German bestseller less than two weeks after release

9/13/18

EU: The Netherlands moves to allow dual citizenship by 2019

The Dutch government is currently reviewing the country’s nationality law as part of an effort to allow dual citizenship by the spring of 2019.

According to Justice Minister Mark Harbers, the plan is to widen the Netherlands’ criteria for dual nationality. At present, naturalised Dutch citizens must renounce the nationality of their country of origin, unless they are married to a Dutch national.

The Netherlands is following in the steps of similar legislation that has been passed in Germany as most of the EU Member States prepare for Brexit.

The new law will allow first-generation migrants in the Netherlands to be holders of more than one passport, a move that would affect 87,000 first- and second-generation UK nationals living in the Netherlands. At the same time, children of Dutch nationals living abroad will not be forced to make a mutually exclusive choice about their nationality.

Up to 100,000 Dutch nationals living in the UK stand to have their children lose access to their EU citizenship if comprehensive reform regarding dual nationality is not in place prior to or immediately after Brexit comes into effect in March 2019. The Dutch government hopes to have completed the reform during the UK’s transition period out of the European Union through December 2020.

Africa: China is replacing the Boers economic grip on South Africa

9/12/18

Hungary: EU lawmakers vote with overwhelming majority against Hungary over rule of law

EU lawmakers move against Hungary over rule of law

For the complete report go to:
http://flip.it/mvWcan

USA: Weather - Hurricane: disaster on the doorstep of the Carolinas

'Disaster is at the doorstep': Hurricane Florence nears Carolina coast.

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9/11/18

EU future at stake in make-or-break election, Greek PM Alex Tsipras says

European nations must stand together to fight extremism and avoid sliding back into the past, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told EU parliamentarians in Strasbourg on Tuesday as he looked to the upcoming EU elections in 2019
.
The politician from the left-wing Syriza party, who had been invited to the EU parliament to speak about the future of Europe, described next year's vote as "more than just one more election."

"It will be a fight of basic principles and values to defeat extreme neo-liberalism and far-right populism," the Greek leader said. He called on the bloc's pro-European and democratic forces to unite and "stand side by side on the same side of history."

Read more: EU future at stake in make-or-break election, Greek PM Alex Tsipras says | News | DW | 11.09.2018

9/10/18

Hungary: Could Hungary lose its EU voting rights as a result of Human Rights violations by Orban Government??

Human Rights Violations demonstration in Budapest, Hungay

The European Parliament is set to vote on Hungary's human rights record, which could lead to the country losing voting rights. Can Prime Minister Viktor Orban make the case to lawmakers to avoid sanctions?

Marta Pardavi said she knew all too well what would be waiting for her after speaking out in Brussels about the Hungarian government's continuing crackdown on human rights and rule of law. Pardavi, the co-chair of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, lives daily with the repercussions of defending what are generally considered "European values" — but not in Viktor Orban's Hungary.

Pardavi, whose organization represents and defends asylum-seekers in Hungary, described to DW what happened after a recent appearance before the civil liberties committee in the European Parliament (EP). "Already during the event, while I was sitting here in Brussels in the European Parliament, my colleagues in the office were flooded with hate mails, with telephone calls, calling me and my organization out for 'slandering Hungary' while we stand up for democracy," she recalled. "My name and my picture and those of my colleagues who come to Brussels to talk about the rule-of-law problems in Hungary are always targeted after these events. It's not only a fear but based on evidence that I know that this will be happening."

As Pardavi predicted, within an hour of this event finishing, the Budapest office of Amnesty International, which also had a representative on the panel, reported it had received a death threat for supporting the "VoteYes4Hungary" campaign urging the EP to vote Wednesday to launch Article 7 sanction procedures against the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, which could lead to a suspension of voting rights in EU affairs.

Could Hungary lose its EU voting rights? | Europe| News and current affairs from around the continent | DW | 10.09.2018

Netherlands the Hague - The International Criminal Court: John Bolton says U.S. will not cooperate with International Criminal Court

The Hague-The Intl. Criminal Court

The United States will not in any way cooperate with the International Criminal Court, national security adviser John Bolton announced in a speech to the Federalist Society on Monday, blasting the ICC as an unaccountable, bureaucratic body that runs counter to the U.S. Constitution and is "antithetical to our nation's ideals."

The International Criminal Court is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal located in The Hague, Netherlands.

In his first speech as national security adviser, Bolton made the case that the ICC's authority is invalid, subverts American sovereignty, and concentrates power in the hands of an unchecked authority in a way that is "antithetical to our nation's ideals." In November, the ICC prosecutor asked to investigate crimes allegedly committed by members of the U.S. military who served in Afghanistan.

Bolton called those claims unfounded. The national security adviser said it was no coincidence he made his speech on the ICC one day before the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

"Today, on the eve of September 11th, I want to deliver a clear and unambiguous message on behalf of the President of the United States," Bolton said. "The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court.We will not cooperate with the ICC," Bolton said. "We will provide no assistance to the ICC. And we certainly will not join the ICC. We will let the ICC die on its own. After all, for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us."

Note EU-Digest: How much deeper can the US Trump Administration sink on the International scene. The ICC has prosecuted numerous murderous dictators and other international criminals, who have committed genocide. The Organization is a "beacon of hope" to many oppressed people around the world, that sooner or later, those who commit crimes against humanity, will be caught and prosecuted.

Read More: John Bolton says U.S. will not cooperate with International Criminal Court - CBS News

9/9/18

Sweden elections 2018 — live updates

After Sweden's most important election in decades first results show the center-left and center-right blocs are neck-and-neck. The far-right Sweden Democrats have made significant gains to hold third place.

Sweden's SVT public broadcaster reported first results giving the center-left Social Democrats first place with 28.4 percent of the vote. The Moderates are at 19.8 percent and the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) — a party with neo-Nazi roots — in third place with 17.6 percent.
Sweden's left-wing governing bloc — made up of the Social Democrats, the Green Party and the Left Party — is at 40.6 percent, compared with 40.2 percent for the four-party center-right opposition led by the conservative Moderate Party. If the results stand, each of the two groups would take 143 of 349 seats, well short of the 175 needed for a majority.
Polling ended at 8:00 pm (1800 UTC) and, most results came in before midnight (2200 UTC), but it may take weeks before a new government emerges.

The new emerging face of "Democracy": Taking democracy for granted is a fatal flaw - by Hasan Suroor

Professor of Politics and International Studies at Cambridge University, David Runciman provides in his book an interesting insight to Modi’s India and Dem

I am not sure that many in the Modi Government would be familiar with the name of David Runciman, professor of Politics and International Studies at Cambridge University.

But this week’s crackdown on civil rights activists and dissidents is the biggest endorsement of his new book, “How Democracy Ends”, in which he lists India as among the countries where democracy is being upended in the name of protecting it from supposedly undemocratic forces. India, according to him, illustrates the threat that democracy is facing from “executive aggrandisement” and “strongmen chipping away at it while paying lip service to it”.

It represents the new emerging face of democracy where it all appears tickety-boo on the surface, but is haemorrhaging from inside. Indians might find it embarrassing that he lumps their country with such authoritarian democracies as Hungary, Poland, Turkey and the Philippines where too “strongmen” are “chipping away” at democratic institutions while paying lip service to them.

Runciman sees Narendra Modi as part of a growing cast of “ever more characterful performers” alongside Donald Trump, Recep Erdogan, and Lech Kazcynski, among others, who have converted democracy into an “elaborate performance” to engage public attention while quietly wrecking it from inside. Like them, he has developed a “personality cult” operating through networks of private interests and hardline followers .

Read more: Taking democracy for granted is a fatal flaw | National Herald

USA: Could there be a coup in the US, asks Steve Banon

U.S. President Trump facing a 'coup': says Steve Bannon

Read more at:

http://flip.it/ZgOQKD

9/8/18

Taiwan and Latin America: US, which does not recognize the One China polcy recalls their diplomats over One China dispute

US recalls diplomats from El Salvador, Panama & Dominican Republic over rejection of Taiwan

Read complete report at:

https://www.rt.com/usa/437949-us-recalls-diplomats-over-taiwan/

Sweden: Todays General Elections in Sweden are being held in a highly charged atmosphere

Via euronews: Sweden prepares to vote in a highly charged general election

Read the complete report at:

http://www.euronews.com/2018/09/07/sweden-prepares-to-vote-in-a-highly-charged-general-election

USA - White House : someone put "entering crazy town" on the door to the Oval Office

Trump Demands to Know Who Put “Entering Crazytown” Sign on Oval Office Door

Read the full report at:
http://flip.it/1DPcAI

Iran US Relations: U.S. sends Iran messages 'every day' to begin negotiations says Iran president

The United States constantly sends messages to Iran to begin negotiations, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday in a speech broadcast on state television
.
Tensions ramped up between Iran and the United States after President Donald Trump pulled out of a landmark nuclear deal with Iran in May and reimposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic last month.
Trump has said he would meet Iran's leaders.

"From one side they try to pressure the people of Iran, on another side they send us messages every day through various methods that we should come and negotiate together," Rouhani said.

He added, "[They say] we should negotiate here, we should negotiate there. We want to resolve the issues... should we see your message?.. or should we see your brutish actions?"

Washington aims to force Tehran to end its nuclear program and its support of militant groups in Syria and Iraq.

Read more: U.S. sends Iran messages 'every day' to begin negotiations: Iran president

9/7/18

Data Protection: EU, Japan edge towards data protection dealbusiness and politics

Following the July conclusion of EU-Japan talks on personal data flows, the Commission launched Thursday a procedure for adoption of its decision on data protection adequacy between the two blocs.

"We are creating the world's largest area of safe data flows," said the EU's Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova, as she briefed the College of Commissioners on next steps and the Commission published the draft adequacy decision and the related documents.

This includes additional safeguards that Japan will apply to EU personal data transferred to Japan, as well as commitments regarding access to personal data by Japanese public authorities for law enforcement and national security purposes, guaranteeing that their level of data protection is adequate to that of the EU's. Japan is going through a similar process to recognise the EU's data protection framework.

Read more : EU, Japan edge towards data protection deal — EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics

EU - Migration Problems: Merkel and Macron mull migration in Marseille, France

German Chancellor Angela Merkel met French President Emmanuel Macron in Marseille on Friday as the two allies plan how to tackle major issues such as Brexit and migration ahead of an EU summit later this month.

Merkel told reporters ahead of the meeting that she was "very optimistic" that their close partnership would continue, particularly in terms of migration. Both nations have agreed on the need to strengthen the European Union's external borders in order to ease the burden on nations like Greece and Italy.

The chancellor also remarked that both she and Macron shared a vision of "a Europe that is independent, a Europe that can solve its problems independently," in what may have been a veiled reference to the EU's tense relationship with the United States.

Read more: Merkel and Macron mull migration in Marseille | News | DW | 07.09.2018

Middle East - Idlib - EU: Eight EU countries call for protection of civilians in Idlib

Eight EU member states in the UN Security Council have called on Russia and Iran to maintain a previously agreed ceasefire and avoid military escalation in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib to avoid "catastrophic humanitarian consequences for civilians".

The statement was signed by the UK, France, Sweden, Poland, the Netherlands, together with Germany, Belgium and Italy, who recently sat in the Council or will soon be sitting.

Read more: Eight EU countries call for protection of civilians in Idlib

Syria - Idlib: Turkey’s effort to stop mass slaughter in Syria just failed - by Alex Ward

Russia, Iran, and Turkey didn’t stop Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from starting a new major military offensive in his country — almost certainly condemning tens of thousands to die.

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a summit in Tehran to discuss the ongoing conflict in Syria. At the top of their agenda was Idlib, a northwestern Syrian province and the country’s last rebel stronghold. Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has threatened to reconquer the province with a massive, imminent military attack that would put the roughly 3 million people living there directly in harm’s way.

Russia and Iran are Assad’s main backers in the seven-year civil war, and Turkey supports anti-Assad rebels, so the three leaders, not surprisingly, had very different views about how to proceed.

Turkey wanted all sides to sign a peace deal to stem the fighting before it starts, but Russia and Iran demurred, instead opting to give Assad a green light to carry out indiscriminate bombings and a block-by-block takeover of Idlib, the rebel-controlled province. And Russia and Iran, as they have for years, will almost certainly support those efforts.

9/6/18

Most Americans Think Catholic Church Has A Serious Problem with Sexual Predators

The Roman Catholic Church has been making headlines recently for all the wrong reasons. Most Americans – including Catholics -- think the church has no one to blame but itself.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 73% of American Adults think the Catholic Church has a serious problem with sexual predators among its clergy. Fifteen percent (15%) feel the media is overhyping the church’s sex problems. Another 12% are not sure.
(To see survey question wording, click here.)

Note EU-Digest: This problem could be solved quickly if the Vatican removes the celibacy laws for priests and nuns.

For the complete report go to Rasmussen Polls

USA: White House in Turmoil: Pence and Pompeo Deny Writing Op-Ed Critical of the Trump Administration - by Eileen Sullivan

A day after a senior administration official described President Trump as amoral, impetuous, petty and ineffective in an anonymous essay, the denials from the upper echelon of the administration started to roll in.

The mystery writer is not Vice President Mike Pence, a spokesman said Thursday. “Our office is above such amateur acts,” the vice president’s spokesman, Jarrod Agen, said in a morning Twitter post, referring to the Op-Ed published on Wednesday in The New York Times.

“It is not mine,” Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, said.

“Patently false,” said Dan Coats, the national intelligence director, responding to rumors that he or his principal deputy wrote the piece. “We did not.”

9/5/18

Middle East Syria: A humanitarian drama in the making at Idlib

India - EU relations: India looks to bolster its relations with EU

India looks to bolster partnership with EU

Israel: Paraguay moves embassy back out of Jerusalem

Paragluay moves Israel embassy back out of Jerusalem

Read mote at:
http://flip.it/bA8E0I

Terrorism in the Sky? Counter-terror police ‘monitoring’ Emirates plane at JFK as 100 people reportedly fall ill - by Sam Sweeney

New York counter-terrorism police are “monitoring” the ongoing quarantine of an Emirates airplane at JFK airport in New York, after 100 people reportedly fell ill during a flight from Dubai.

Emirates Airline Flight EK203 touched down in New York around 9am ET Wednesday after the pilot contacted air traffic controllers, telling them that many of his 500 passengers appeared to be sick with fevers over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 C) and several of them were coughing.

The Airbus A380 was met by rows of ambulances and police vehicles from Port Authority Police and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Rather than going to a terminal, the aircraft was instead directed to a hard-stand area so that emergency medical response teams could investigate.

NYPD’s Counter-Terrorism unit said it was “monitoring” the quarantine in case the incident progressed above a medical situation and that it was working with the Port Authority and federal partners.

Read more: Counter-terror police ‘monitoring’ Emirates plane at JFK as 100 people reportedly fall ill (PHOTOS) — RT World News

International Trade:Trump is losing the trade war with China and the EU, based - by Bob Bryan on his favorite report card

Despite the imposition of tariffs and counter-tariffs in July, the US trade deficit increased to $50.1 billion, a 9.6% increase from the previous month, according to the US Census Bureau. The increase came on the back of a 0.9% increase in imports to a record $261.2 billion, as US domestic demand remains strong. Exports, on the other hand, slipped 1%.

For the year, the trade deficit increased to $338 billion, compared to $316 billion in the first seven months of 2017.

Trump has repeatedly pointed to the large US trade deficit as one of the primary reasons his administration has embarked on trade fights with China, the European Union, Canada, Mexico, and more.

But in addition to the overall deficit, the goods trade deficit with both China and the EU hit record highs in the month of July:

The goods trade deficit with China increased to $36.8 billion, as imports jumped 5.6% and exports tumbled 7.7%.
Similarly, the deficit with the EU hit $17.59 billion, as imports ticked up 2.5% and exports collapsed 15.7%.

Ward McCarthy, chief financial economist at Jefferies, said the worsening trade deficit with two of Trump’s main trade war targets could lead to more attacks from the president.

“These record deficits are likely both be a partial consequence of the ongoing trade/tariff war and a likely catalyst for increase trade tensions between the US, EU and China,” McCarthy said in a note to clients.

McCarthy also pointed out that the trade deficit with Canada increased to $3.15 billion, a 58% increase from the month before and the highest since January.

Of particular note, exports of soybeans fell by $700 million in the month of July, a 16.2% drop. Soybeans are the largest US agricultural export, and China is by far the largest destination for the crop. China imposed tariffs on US soybeans in July, and the pre-tariff surge in soybean exports appears to be reversing. But soybean exports through the first seven months came above the same time period a year ago.

The data show that while the tariffs may be having some marginal effect on exports, the surge in imports is mostly due to the internal strength of the US economy. The US consumer is in a healthy financial spot, especially compared to many other countries, and the strong US dollar makes exports cheaper.

Add all of this up and you have a recipe for a growing deficits.

Read more: Trump is losing the trade war with China and the EU, based on his favorite report card

9/4/18

Turkey: Erdogan has limited options to save (himself) and Turkey from the financial crisis - by Samia Nakhoul, Dominic Evans

Purge them all, including the economy

After 15 years in power as prime minister and president, Tayyip Erdogan faced down a weak opposition in June elections that swept away any checks and balances to the unchallenged rule he wanted. In Turkey he appears lord of all he surveys.

But his victory could become a poisoned chalice if he cannot resolve an angry feud with President Donald Trump that is pushing his country towards financial crisis.

Erdogan has limited options. Most involve a loss of face or a loss of sovereignty for which he alone would be blamed, having successfully marginalized not just a divided opposition but his own Justice and Development Party (AKP).

His victories in June were decisive. Re-elected as president under a new order modeled more on Vladimir Putin’s Russia than France or the United States, he also secured a parliamentary majority by allying with far-right nationalists.

The role of prime minister was abolished, leaving Erdogan to dominate not just the executive - appointing ministers, chairing the cabinet and replacing top civil servants with political appointees – but also holding sway over the judiciary and the legislature.

Having chosen to rule alone from his vast neo-Ottoman palace in Ankara, he confronts the spiraling crisis alone.

The lira has collapsed by 40 percent this year. Turkish banks that borrowed heavily abroad now face the near impossible task of refinancing short-term debt in expensive dollars and euros.

Bottom-line : the party could be over for President Erdogan very quickly, even violently, once the vast majority of his followers personally start feeling the economic pinch in their own pocket-books, which is now starting to happen at a rapid pace.

Read more: Erdogan has limited options to save Turkey from financial crisis | Reuters

Britain - Brexit : a menace ro society in Northern Ireland - and here is why.

Read the full report here:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/04/brexit-northern-ireland-eu-human-rights-law-good-friday-agreement?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

Spanish - Saudi Relations: Spain scraps sale of bombs to Saudi Arabia

Via euronews: Spain to ‘scrap sale of bombs to Saudi Arabia’

USA: Bob Woodward's new book reveals top Trump aide privately called him an idiot

Bob Woodward's new book says top Trump aide privately called president an 'idiot'

Shared via the CBC News Android App To read more click here:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/we-re-in-crazytown-bob-woodward-s-new-book-takes-hard-look-at-trump-presidency-1.4809829

EU: Addressing Religious Persecution The Mechanism Of The EU Special Envoy On FoRB Needs More Teeth - by Ewelina U. Ochab

On February 4, 2016, the European Parliament, as the second international institution, adopted a resolution that formally recognized the systematic mass murder of religious minorities by Daesh as genocide. The resolution, among other things, urged "the members of the UN Security Council to support a referral by the Security Council to the International Criminal Court in order to investigate violations committed in Iraq and Syria" perpetrated by Daesh. The resolution further called for the creation of a new mechanism of a special representative for the promotion of religious freedom.

On May 6, 2016, President of the European Commission, Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, announced that Mr Jan Figel was appointed as the first Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU (EU Special Envoy on FoRB) with a mandate for one year, which is renewable.

Over the recent years, and having had his mandate renewed twice, the EU Special Envoy on FoRB has been supporting the implementation of the "EU Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief." He has been conducting country visits to engage a wide range of actors working at the national and international level, including governmental bodies, religious leaders, civil society, human rights organisations, and the affected communities. Furthermore, as the European Parliament’s page identified: "At the core of his work lays the promotion of respect for diversity on religious or belief grounds and the support for inclusive intercultural and interreligious dialogue processes. In his work, the Special Envoy is committed to an approach based on the protection of all human rights including freedom of religion or belief, the right to believe or not to believe."

On September 4, 2018, the European Parliament Intergroup on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Religious Tolerance launched its FoRB Annual Report 2017. The report comments upon the work done by the EU on the issue of freedom of religion or belief outside of the EU and highlights the ways in which the EU can be more effective in promoting the protection of the right for all. The report further explains its vision on how the mandate of the EU Special Envoy on FoRB could be strengthened to achieve this aim.

Establishing the mandate of the EU Special Envoy on FoRB has been a historic development at the European Parliament. However, the mandate needs more powers to be able to better serve the needs of the topic, especially in the age of the ever-growing religious persecution worldwide.

Read more: To Address Religious Persecution The Mechanism Of The EU Special Envoy On FoRB Needs More Teeth

Middle East - Syria Crises Idlib:: Donald Trump warns Russia and Iran over expected Idilb offensive by Syria leader Bashar Assad

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday warned Syria against launching an attack on the country's last rebel stronghold with the help of Russia and Iran, saying the offensive could trigger a "human tragedy." Syrian forces are massing around the northwestern province of Idlib, in preparation for the assault.

"President Bashar al-Assad of Syria must not recklessly attack Idlib Province. The Russians and Iranians would be making a grave humanitarian mistake to take part in this potential human tragedy," Mr. Trump tweeted. "Hundreds of thousands of people could be killed. Don't let that happen!"

Moscow shirked the warning, as Russian warplanes carried out a number of airstrikes targeting rebels positions in Idlib province. London-based war monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), said it was the first time Russian strikes had targeted the northwestern province in about three weeks, but they were limited in scope; reportedly hitting rebel positions in uninhabited areas and causing unclear damage. There was no indication as of Tuesday that it was the beginning of a wider offensive in Idlib.

A spokesman for the Kremlin in Moscow dismissed Mr. Trump's warning about the looming offensive, saying it failed to address the root problem of "a nest of terrorists" in the province, where an estimated 3 million civilians also remain. Russia, like the Syrian government, refers to all opposition Syrian forces as terrorists.

The Kremlin said the fighters in Idlib were blocking peace efforts and threatened Russia's military presence in Syria. CBS News correspondent Debora Patta reports that Russia has explained the early morning strikes in Idlib as retaliation for weaponized drone attacks on Syrian forces by the opposition fighters.

The United Nations and aid groups have warned that a full assault on Idlib could spark a humanitarian catastrophe on a scale not yet seen in Syria's seven-year-old conflict. But Russia and Iran have insisted that extremist groups in Idlib must be defeated and are expected to back regime forces in any assault.

The warning came as Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javed Zarif met with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in a surprise visit to Damascus ahead of the looming offensive.

"Terrorists must be purged" from Idlib and Syrian government control of the province restored, Zarif said in Damascus, according to Iranian media. "Syria's territorial integrity should be safeguarded and all tribes and groups, as one society, should start the reconstruction process, and the refugees should return to their homes," he said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif's trip to war-ravaged Syria comes just days before a top-level tripartite meeting in Tehran to discuss the Syrian conflict, now in its eighth year. The Russian government spokesman said Tuesday that the Idlib crisis would be a topic of discussion at the meeting.

Read more: Donald Trump warns Russia and Iran over expected Idilb offensive by Syria leader Bashar Assad - CBS News

9/3/18

Turkey: Turkish manufacturing activity shrinks for fifth straight month in August

Turkish manufacturing activity contracted for the fifth consecutive month in August as output and new orders slowed down on the back of a currency crisis, a business survey showed on Sept. 3.

The manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 46.4 from 49 a month earlier, remaining under the 50-point line that separates expansion from contraction, a panel from the Istanbul Chamber of Industry and IHS Markit said.

The result was driven by a slowdown in output and new orders, the panel said.

The decline in the lira - which has lost around 40 percent of its value this year - was central to challenging business conditions and contributed to increasing inflationary pressures, with input and output costs increasing to the greatest extent since the survey began in 2005, it said.

Read more: Turkish manufacturing activity shrinks for fifth straight month in August

Spain: Women have been ignored throughout history, Spanish writer Rosa Montero says

Throughout history women have been erased, their achievements and talents overshadowed by a patriarchal society where they're seen as something "out of the ordinary," said Madrid journalist and writer Rosa Montero.

Hundreds of women have stood out in different fields like science, art, politics, economy and astronomy but "history has been sexist and has never given them recognition - on the contrary, its let them die and fade," Montero said in an interview with EFE.

Read more: Women have been ignored throughout history, Spanish writer Rosa Montero says | FEEntertainment | English edition | Agencia EFE

Britain - Brexit: Theresa May should start reading the Tea Leaves as 2.6 million Leave voters have abandoned support for Brexit since referendum, major new study finds - by Benjamin Kentish

The Brexit disaster

More than 2.6 million people have abandoned their support for Brexit and now back staying in the EU, a major study has concluded.

If the huge number of Britons who have changed their mind had voted to stay in the EU in 2016, the referendum would have delivered a clear Remain verdict.

The data will add to the debate about whether the country now needs a new referendum, with millions having second thoughts about their Leave vote amid growing fears about Britain crashing out of the EU without a deal.

In a key finding that will particularly intensify pressure on Jeremy Corbyn to take a tougher stance against Brexit, the study found the overwhelming majority of those changing minds are Labour voters in seats the party currently holds.

It comes as Conservative divisions over Brexit deepened, with Theresa May attempting to slap down Boris Johnson after he wrote another article attacking her approach.

The Independent has launched its own campaign for a Final Say referendum, with almost three quarters of a million people having signed our petition demanding one so far.

Read more: 2.6 million Leave voters have abandoned support for Brexit since referendum, major new study finds | The Independent

9/2/18

Turkey: Paying your way out of Turkish military service program has already attracted 450,000 people

Nearly 450,000 applicants have applied for paid ( shorter term) military service in Turkey.

According to information gathered by Anadolu Agency, work on the paid military service continues with coordination from the National Defense Ministry, General Staff, and Gendarmerie General Command.

The application submissions began on Aug. 3 and will end on Nov. 3.

Turkey's parliament on July 26 ratified a law that enables Turkish citizens to reduce the term of their military service by paying a certain amount of money.

The law enables Turkish citizens to complete their military service in just 21 days instead of 5.5 or 12 months if they are university graduates and pay an amount of money to the government through bank accounts.

According to the law, citizens born on or before Jan. 1, 1994 will be required to complete just 21 days of military service if they pay 15,000 Turkish liras ($2,290).

Britain-Brexit: British Brexit proposal doomed to fail, says former British PM Tony Blair

Via euronews: UK’s Brexit proposal ‘doomed to fail’, says ex-PM Tony Blair – Exclusive

US Economy: might look good based on Wall Street figures, but certainly not good for "Joe Bloke" and the "Have Not"s

US economy might look good, but reports show collectively, Americans have more than $1 trillion in credit-card debt, according to the Federal Reserve.

They have another $1.5 trillion in student loans, up from $1.1 trillion in 2013. Motor vehicle loans are now topping $1.1 trillion, up from $878.5 billion in 2013. And they have another nearly $15 trillion in mortgage debt outstanding.

EU-Digest

Canada - US relations: Trump does not want the US to get involved in US-Canadian Tariff negotiations

For the complete report go to:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/nafta-canada-trump-trudeau-twitter-1.4807836

9/1/18

USA: White Collar Crime: Catapulting White Collar Crime into the Center of American Politics - by Frank Vogl

The Trump White House is explicitly curbing white collar criminal investigations and prosecutions. That move is designed to comfort its friends but ends up hitting hard at millions of Americans who are the victims of those financial crimes.

White collar criminal prosecutions in the United States are now at their lowest levels seen in 20 years – a decline of over 30% compared to just five years ago.

No one can be seriously surprised that President Trump has promoted impunity for the wealthy. What he is underestimating is how this could backfire and add significantly to his political problems.

The actions by this White House to curb white-collar crime, provide impunity to top bankers and bury government ethics rules provide substantial ammunition to Trump’s opponents ahead of this November’s crucial Congressional elections.

Trump’s (in)actions notably suit Senator Elizabeth Warren, a likely Democratic candidate for the 2020 U.S. presidential elections. Warren is moving to raise her already high profile in leading the anti-corruption charge.

Read more: Catapulting White Collar Crime into the Center of American Politics - The Globalist

USA: America, and America's friends abroad, say farewell to a true American patriot

Americans and America's friends around the world, sadly say farewell to US Senator and Viet-Nam War Hero, John McCain. - A True American Patriot - May He Rest In Peace.

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