French Oil CEO Killed in Moscow Runway Crash
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The head of French oil giant Total was killed late Monday when his private jet collided with a snow plow on a Moscow runway.
Christophe de Margerie, 63, and three crew members died in a fiery crash as it took off for Paris from the capital's Vnukovo International Airport.
A spokeswoman for Russian transportation investigators, Tatyana Morozova, said a criminal case has been launched, and airport officials may be suspended.
Investigators believe the plow driver, who survived, was intoxicated when the plane clipped the vehicle shortly before midnight local time.
Total confirmed de Margerie's death on Tuesday. The company said the four victims were pronounced dead at the scene.
At the company's Paris headquarters, shocked employees lamented the death of a man they described as an involved leader.
Known for his bushy moustache and thin, round eyeglasses, de Margerie took over as chief executive officer of Total in 2007. He added Chairman to the title three years later.
Before becoming CEO, de Margerie headed Total's Middle East division during the United Nations' corruption-marred oil-for-food program in Iraq in the 1990s.
The program was designed to allow Iraq to sell some of its oil during an embargo imposed after the first Gulf War, in exchange for humanitarian goods.
But it was plagued by allegations of a kickback scheme that unlawfully diverted some profits to the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein and to U.N. officials.
A French court acquitted de Margerie and the company of corruption charges.
De Margerie's passing leaves a void at the top of the French group. The company announced on its website that the board of directors would meet immediately.
The company operates with nearly 100,000 employees in more than 130 countries.
A Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, quoted by Russian news agency TASS said President Vladimir Putin "has long known de Margerie" and "highly appreciated [his] business skills."
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US Republicans look to gain election ground on Ebola
Daily Press CHICAGO (Reuters) - Ebola has moved to the front of campaign issues before U.S. November elections, as fear and criticism of the government's response to cases of the virus in the United States opened a new line of Republican attacks against President ... and more » |
Ebola: Providing time to fight the virusby By LAURAN NEERGAARD
WASHINGTON (AP) -- People who shared an apartment with the country's first Ebola patient are emerging from quarantine healthy. And while Thomas Eric Duncan died and two U.S. nurses were infected caring for him, there are successes, too: A nurse infected in Spain has recovered, as have four American aid workers infected in West Africa. Even there, not everyone dies....
Augusto Pinochets former bodyguard detained at Santiago military base by Jonathan Franklin in Santiago
Cristián Labbé, outspoken defender of Chilean dictator, charged with conspiracy in kidnapping and homicide of 13 prisoners
Retired Chilean army colonel Cristián Labbé, an outspoken defender of General Augusto Pinochet, was arrested on Monday.
Labbé was charged with being part of a conspiracy in the kidnapping and homicide of 13 prisoners. Another nine military officials were charged, some of whom are already in custody for a variety of human rights crimes.
Continue reading...Rights Group Accuses Kyiv Of Using Cluster Munitionsby noreply@rferl.org (RFE/RL)
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Ukrainian government forces of using cluster munitions in populated areas in the eastern city of Donetsk earlier this month.
Starlings who were fed same levels of antidepressant drug found in sewage earthworms suffered loss of libido and appetite
Increasing consumption of antidepressant drugs may be helping humans but damaging the health of the bird population, according to a new study.
An expert who has looked at the effects of passive Prozac-taking on starlings says it has changed not only their feeding habits but also their interest in mating.
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 The Moscow Times |
Evidence indicates Ukraine used cluster bombs on cities
The Globe and Mail The Ukrainian army appears to have fired cluster munitions on several occasions into the heart of Donetsk, unleashing a weapon banned in much of the world into a rebel-held city with a peacetime population of more than 1 million, according to physical ... Ukraine Used Cluster Bombs, Evidence IndicatesNew York Times Kiev govt used cluster munitions in populated zones in E. Ukraine – HRWRT HRW Says Kyiv Used Cluster BombsRadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty Naharnet -teleSUR English all 34 news articles » |
Total boss killed in plane crash: investigators blame drunk driver by Jennifer Rankin and agencies
Christophe de Margerie, who was killed when a private jet collided with a snow plough, was one of the worlds most recognisable oil executives
French authorities have opened a manslaughter investigation after it emerged that the driver of a snow plough involved in a plane crash that killed the head of French oil company Total was drunk.
Christophe de Margerie, the chief executive of Total, was killed when his private jet collided with a snow plough in poor visibility at Moscows Vnukovo international airport on Monday night. He was the only passenger. All three members of the crew were also killed.
Touché par la mort de C. de Margerie: un grand capitaine d'industrie, un patriote, un homme de conviction et d'amitié. Tristesse et respect
A very sad day. Christophe de Margerie of @Total was a creative, inspiring, breath of fresh air, severely missed by me and the oil industry.
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Published on Oct 21, 2014
The chief executive of French energy giant Total, Christophe de Margerie, has ==died in an air crash in Moscow==
, along with three French crew members.
Airport officials say the business jet he was travelling in collided with a snowplough on take-off just before midnight.
Investigators say there's evidence that the snowplough driver was drunk.
"The black boxes have already been handed over for investigation. There are different versions for the cause of the accident - air controller mistake …
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2014/10/21/dr...
, along with three French crew members.
Airport officials say the business jet he was travelling in collided with a snowplough on take-off just before midnight.
Investigators say there's evidence that the snowplough driver was drunk.
"The black boxes have already been handed over for investigation. There are different versions for the cause of the accident - air controller mistake …
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2014/10/21/dr...
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Earlier this month, the president of Russia, Vladimir V. Putin, and the president of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, took part in a video conference to celebrate a new television partnership. Under the terms of the deal, the Russian-owned channel RT (formerly known as Russia Today) will soon begin broadcasting Spanish-language news in Argentina. Mrs. Kirchner hailed the development as a means for Argentines “to understand the real Russia,” as well as to help Russians learn about “the real Argentina, unlike the way the international media and the so-called national media portray us.”
Buenos Aires currently enjoys warm relations with Moscow for a variety of reasons. Argentina is looking to Russia for help in upgrading its energy sector, including a possible partnership with the Russian giant Gazprom to develop oil and shale gas production in Argentina.
The cooperation extends to diplomatic relations, too. Argentina has backed Russia’s position on Ukraine, while Mr. Putin has offered political support in Argentina’s international legal dispute with so-called vulture funds over the value of defaulted government bonds.
Evident in the TV deal, though, was a more disturbing convergence between the two states: a shared vision of the role that the mass media should play in the government and public life of the nation. “We are achieving a communication without intermediaries,” said Mrs. Kirchner, “in order to transmit our own values.” This approach was echoed by Mr. Putin, who spoke of an expanding electronic media environment as “a formidable weapon that enables public opinion manipulations.”
The Spanish version of RT is intended as an antidote to the toxic influence of foreign media channels “that transmit news based on their interests,” as Mrs. Kirchner put it. The Spanish-language RT deal mirrors the Venezuelan-Argentine venture in the public news channel Telesur, in which Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador and Uruguay also have minority stakes. Like Telesur, RT is presented not merely as an option in a pluralistic media landscape, but as the channel representing the true national cultures of each country in which it broadcasts.
From Ecuador to Venezuela, the conflation of state media, private media ownership by politicians and their cronies and party propaganda has been a prominent aspect of Latin American populism during its first decade of ascendancy. As the recent re-election of President Evo Morales in Bolivia shows, these populist leaders continue to enjoy broad support. But in Bolivia, as elsewhere in Latin America, these leaders have also manufactured their support by co-opting the power of state media and by marginalizing more critical elements of the independent media.
In Argentina, Venezuela and Ecuador, the typical strategy is to use antitrust laws to force commercial media groups to break up and sell off assets, which are then acquired by pro-government investors. For example, just days before Argentina’s deal with RT became public, the government agency assigned to enforce the country’s new media law announced that it would seek to dismember the audiovisual arm of the Clarín media group (which also publishes Argentina’s principal newspaper of the same name, where one of us works as a journalist).
In Venezuela, the influential opposition newspaper Tal Cual, edited by the veteran left-wing politician Teodoro Petkoff, has announced its imminent closure — a situation described by the Inter-American Press Association as symptomatic of “the siege on the critical or independent press in Venezuela,” where almost all TV channels and radio stations have come under government control. In Ecuador, after the newspaper Hoy was forced into partial closure when the government imposed an advertising boycott, its director attacked the country’s new media law for “criminalizing journalistic work.”
The populist rhetoric against critical newspapers and journalists is that they must be penalized as part of a struggle against the “economic interests” of private owners that are opposed to the common good. The roots of such populism can be traced to widespread grievances about the failures of the “Washington consensus,” which made the continent a laboratory for neoliberal economics and imposed considerable hardships. With charismatic leadership, populism has proved remarkably successful in electoral terms. But there is a difference between winning elections and a truly democratic culture, and Latin America’s populist leaders have amassed enormous power even as they expanded social rights.
The increasingly harsh media policy does not alone explain populism’s success, but it certainly helps promote its case. Among Argentina, Venezuela and Ecuador, there are important distinctions in the style and character of state interference with press freedom, but all of these populist administrations have harassed independent journalists. And in all of these countries, there has been a consolidation of what is, in effect, state propaganda.
To be sure, the anti-populist opposition used similar authoritarian tactics in the past — and might still do so, if permitted. But the populists have made this merger of state media and party messaging an essential condition for their rule of these democratic societies.
In its first decade, Latin American populism stressed the value of the state as the protector of the most excluded sectors of society and as the promoter of their interests. There have been major progressive achievements, reversing a legacy of social inequality. But as it moves into its second decade in power, populism seems engaged in a campaign to degrade independent journalism. Does Latin America really wish to emulate Mr. Putin’s approach to media freedom?
Fabián Bosoer is an opinion editor at the Argentine newspaper Clarín.Federico Finchelstein is the chairman of the history department at the New School for Social Research.
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· · · ·
Op-Ed Contributors: Russia Today, Argentina Tomorrowby By FABIÁN BOSOER and FEDERICO FINCHELSTEIN
Latin America’s populist leaders are degrading independent journalism.
Crowd of Democrats walks out on Obamaby The European Union Times
The magic that President Obama once enjoyed at political rallies appears to have vanished into thin air, as a crowd of spectators walked out on the president during a speech for Democrats Sunday in Maryland.
During an appearance for Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown, who is running for governor of Maryland, “early departures of crowd members while he spoke underscored his continuing unpopularity,” reported Reuters.
“A steady stream of people walked out of the auditorium while he spoke,” the wire service noted, “and a heckler interrupted his remarks.”
“You’ve got to vote,” Obama repeated numerous times at the rally in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, not far from the nation’s capital.
“There are no excuses. The future is up to us,” Obama said. “Go find your friends to vote. Get your cousin to vote. Get your uncle to vote.”
The heckler was a pro-immigration-reform protester holding a handwritten sign reading “#Not1More.”
“The problem is, I’m actually for immigration reform,” Obama asserted. “Of course, he should be protesting the folks who are blocking it, but that’s OK.”
“Maryland, we have made progress,” Obama said, as he listed his prize achievements of his presidency, such as Obamacare. “Don’t let folks say otherwise.”
But Obama also admitted: “Tonight we’re here because we know there is more work to do,” which he said included battling terrorism and infectious diseases, his sole reference to Ebola in his address.
“When you cast that vote you’ve got a choice to make,” Obama said, between “two very different visions for America.”
“I believe that Republicans are patriots, that they love their country, but they are a broken record,” he said.
He also urged the crowd to select hope over cynicism.
“Hope is a better choice and we’re selling hope.”
The most recent poll from the Baltimore Sun showed Brown leading Republican Larry Hogan 49 percent to 42 percent.
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The magic that President Obama once enjoyed at political rallies appears to have vanished into thin air, as a crowd of spectators walked out on the president during a speech for Democrats Sunday in Maryland.
During an appearance for Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown, who is running for governor of Maryland, “early departures of crowd members while he spoke underscored his continuing unpopularity,” reported Reuters.
“A steady stream of people walked out of the auditorium while he spoke,” the wire service noted, “and a heckler interrupted his remarks.”
“You’ve got to vote,” Obama repeated numerous times at the rally in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, not far from the nation’s capital.
“There are no excuses. The future is up to us,” Obama said. “Go find your friends to vote. Get your cousin to vote. Get your uncle to vote.”
The heckler was a pro-immigration-reform protester holding a handwritten sign reading “#Not1More.”
“The problem is, I’m actually for immigration reform,” Obama asserted. “Of course, he should be protesting the folks who are blocking it, but that’s OK.”
“Maryland, we have made progress,” Obama said, as he listed his prize achievements of his presidency, such as Obamacare. “Don’t let folks say otherwise.”
But Obama also admitted: “Tonight we’re here because we know there is more work to do,” which he said included battling terrorism and infectious diseases, his sole reference to Ebola in his address.
“When you cast that vote you’ve got a choice to make,” Obama said, between “two very different visions for America.”
“I believe that Republicans are patriots, that they love their country, but they are a broken record,” he said.
He also urged the crowd to select hope over cynicism.
“Hope is a better choice and we’re selling hope.”
The most recent poll from the Baltimore Sun showed Brown leading Republican Larry Hogan 49 percent to 42 percent.
Read the whole story
· · ·
The magic that President Obama once enjoyed at political rallies appears to have vanished into thin air, as a crowd of spectators walked out on the president during a speech for Democrats Sunday inMaryland.
During an appearance for Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown, who is running for governor of Maryland, “early departures of crowd members while he spoke underscored his continuing unpopularity,” reported Reuters.
“A steady stream of people walked out of the auditorium while he spoke,” the wire service noted, “and a heckler interrupted his remarks.”
“You’ve got to vote,” Obama repeated numerous times at the rally in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, not far from the nation’s capital.
“There are no excuses. The future is up to us,” Obama said. “Go find your friends to vote. Get yourcousin to vote. Get your uncle to vote.”
The heckler was a pro-immigration-reform protester holding a handwritten sign reading “#Not1More.”
“The problem is, I’m actually for immigration reform,” Obama asserted. “Of course, he should be protesting the folks who are blocking it, but that’s OK.”
“Maryland, we have made progress,” Obama said, as he listed his prize achievements of his presidency, such as Obamacare. “Don’t let folks say otherwise.”
But Obama also admitted: “Tonight we’re here because we know there is more work to do,” which he said included battling terrorism and infectious diseases, his sole reference to Ebola in his address.
“When you cast that vote you’ve got a choice to make,” Obama said, between “two very different visions for America.”
“I believe that Republicans are patriots, that they love their country, but they are a broken record,” he said.
He also urged the crowd to select hope over cynicism.
“Hope is a better choice and we’re selling hope.”
The most recent poll from the Baltimore Sun showed Brown leading Republican Larry Hogan 49 percent to 42 percent.
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- Fox News (blog) - 23 hours agoBy Jeff Mason, ReutersUPPER MARLBORO Md. (Reuters) - President BarackObama made a rare appearance on the campaign trail on ...
- American Spectator (blog) - 1 day ago
- National Post - 8 hours ago
By Jeff Mason, Reuters
UPPER MARLBORO Md. (Reuters) - President Barack Obama made a rare appearance on the campaign trail on Sunday with a rally to support the Democratic candidate for governor in Maryland, but early departures of crowd members while he spoke underscored his continuing unpopularity.
With approval levels hovering around record lows, Obama has spent most of his campaign-related efforts this year raising money for struggling Democrats, who risk losing control of the U.S. Senate in the Nov. 4 midterm election.
Most candidates from his party have been wary of appearing with him during their election races because of his sagging popularity.
Not so Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown of Maryland, who is running for governor, and Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois, who is running for re-election. Obama plans to appear at an event for Quinn later in the evening.
European Union Times?
The European Union Times, wich labels themselves as a credible news source, is alot of things, but they are not credible news. In fact they seem to be openly racist and don't apologize for it. Many Libertarian bloggers have been using their stories as credible news sources as pointed out by the Southern Poverty law Center in this article. Racist Skinhead’s Wife Behind European ‘News’ Website. Now I'm no fan of some of the SPLC's politics, but they seem to be spot on in this case. Its unbelievable, The European Union Times actually makes Alex Jones look like a shining beacon of credible journalism. I guess we might think we have a problem with racism in America, and we do, but some European's seem to be more open and inflammatory about it. Not to mention the fear mongering and conspiratorial stories like the ones I posted below for example. The video by RT News, wich is featured in the EU times article also seems to be following a trend in Russian news that the end of the United States is drawing near. We might be on our way to another economic collapse, but some Russian news sources such as RT News seem to want to help us on our way if you know what I mean.
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European Union Times? - Tactical Gamer
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I am of the thinking that it is a Russian intelligence front. Everything I read from them is classic psychological operations and they are not even good psychological operations. They mix truth with the Russian position on things and disinformation. The disinformation is really silly stuff. New age little green men lizard crap.People that are not aware of psychological operations and how most of the media is blizzard of psychological operations and agendas may fall for them in small numbers.
Afghan opium poppy yield hits all-time highby Reuters in Washington
Farmers grew unprecedented 209,000 hectares of opium poppy despite US spending $7.6bn on counter-narcotics efforts
Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has hit an all-time high despite years of counter-narcotics efforts that have cost the US $7.6bn (£4.7bn), according to a US government watchdog.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime reported that Afghan farmers grew an unprecedented 209,000 hectares (516,000 acres) of opium poppy in 2013, surpassing the previous high of 193,000 hectares (477,000 acres) in 2007, said John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction.
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One of the most debilitating medical conditions in sub-Saharan Africa isn't fatal. In fact, it's easily curable. The culprit is small, but its impact is big. The chigoe flea, more commonly known as a jigger, typically burrows itself into the feet and hands. It prevents millions of children from attending school, stops farmers from working their land, and makes walking all but unbearable.
Rise in prison suicides blamed on staff shortages as inmate numbers grow by Owen Bowcott, legal affairs correspondent
Chief inspector of prisons says resource, population and policy pressures are to blame for rapid deterioration in safety
Inmate suicide figures expose human toll of prison crisis
Inmate suicide figures expose human toll of prison crisis
The rapid rise in the rate of suicides in jails is caused by shortages of experienced staff and resources coupled with the growing size of the prison population, according to the chief inspector of prisons.
Nick Hardwicks annual report warns that there has been a significant and concerning increase in deaths in custody reversing a downturn in the previous decade.
Continue reading...EU Welcomes Amnesty In Azerbaijanby noreply@rferl.org (RFE/RL)
The European Union has welcomed an amnesty announced by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev last week.
Study links soft drinks to Cell Aging, Diabetes, Heart Disease and Cancer by The European Union Times
The regular consumption of fizzy drinks accelerates cellular aging of tissues, according to a new study by American scientists. People who enjoy daily carbonated sodas experience DNA changes, aging their cells by four years.
After studying over 5,300 “healthy adults” in the US – aged between 20 and 65 years old, who had no history of diabetes or cardiovascular disease – the researchers found that the biological age of those who have been drinking fizzy drinks daily was increased – thus potentially shortening their lifespan.
Cell aging, prompted by sugary soft drinks including cola, is similar to the aging caused by excessive smoking, says the report, which was published in the American Journal of Public Health.
Scientists from the University of California in San Francisco based their study on the examination of telomeres, a part of chromosomes, previously linked with human lifespan.
Each habitual can of soda makes telomeres physically shorter, scientists say, not only decreasing a life cycle, but also possibly causing the development of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and some forms of cancer.
The researchers say only sugar-sweetened fizzy drinks cause cell changes. Telomeres were not affected by diet soda, and those who drank fruit juices actually lengthened their telomeres.
The over-consumption of soft drinks has long been linked to obesity and other health problems. In September, Russia’s Public Chamber came up with an initiative to ban selling sodas to children under 14 years of age. The proposition has been sent for government review.
Energy drinks are now in the spotlight too. Said to have bad effects on health, especially in children and teenagers, Lithuania voted to make the sale of energy drinks to minors illegal earlier this year. Parliament voted to prohibit highly caffeinated beverages to people under the age of 18, making Lithuania the first EU country to enact such a ban.
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Vladimir Putin sends troops and jets to oil- and gas-rich region also coveted by Canada, United States, Norway and Denmark
Yaya is a very small Arctic island, barely one metre above sea level and covering only 500 square metres. Russian pilots discovered it at the beginning of October. With the Admiral Vladimirsky research ship having confirmed its presence in the Laptev Sea, Yaya will soon be added to the map of the Arctic Ocean and will become part of Russian territory, the RIA Novosti state news agency announced. In its determination to defend its interests in this icy waste, Russia is no longer content to leave its mark, as it did in 2007 when it planted a Russian flag, in a titanium capsule, 4,200 metres below the north pole. Now it is engaging in large-scale militarisation of the Arctic, a vast area coveted by itself and its four neighbours: Canada, the United States, Norway and Denmark.
RIA Novosti says that former Soviet bases are being reactivated in response to renewed Nato interest in the region. According to the Russian authorities, the airstrip on Novaya Zemlya can now accommodate fighters and part of the North Fleet is establishing quarters there. A new military group will be formed in the far north consisting of two brigades, totalling 6,000 soldiers, deployed in the Murmansk area and then the Yamal-Nenets autonomous region. Radar and ground guidance systems are also planned for Franz Josef Land (part of Novaya Zemlya), Wrangel Island and at Cape Schmidt. The federal security service plans to increase the number of border guards on Russias northern perimeter.
Continue reading...NSA used undercover agents in foreign companiesby The European Union Times
To infiltrate foreign networks and gain access to sensitive systems, the NSA has been using the tactics of “physical subversion” – deploying undercover agents in Chinese, German, South Korean and possibly even American companies, The Intercept reports.
Past reports on the National Security Agency (NSA) have typically depicted a government organ that hacks other systems or works with private corporations to bypass their own encryption protections, but the latest report based on files leaked by Edward Snowden suggests the agency could be embedding operatives into foreign, as well as domestic, “commercial entities.”
In a 13-page document published by The Intercept, the NSA describes six different programs that it considers to be “core secrets,” all of which are filed under the banner of “Sentry Eagle.” The document warns that any disclosure of the “secrets” will cause “exceptionally grave damage to US national security” and should not be done without an authorization from a senior intelligence official.
These programs, some of which were ongoing as of 2012, are composed of the following:
Sentry Hawk: Which involves cooperation between the NSA as well as foreign and domestic companies to exploit computer networks.
Sentry Falcon: Which includes the defense of computer networks.
Sentry Osprey: Which involves the NSA cooperating with the CIA, FBI and Pentagon to employ human operatives that can help give the agency access to networks.
Sentry Raven: Which describes the NSA’s negotiations with American companies to weaken their encryption in order to give the agency easier access.
Sentry Condor: Which includes offensive network attacks that can destroy or weaken computer systems.
Sentry Owl: Which involves the NSA working with foreign companies to make their products susceptible to NSA data gathering.
One of the biggest revelations is that under Sentry Osprey, undercover agents – human intelligence assets, or “HUMINT” – have been embedded to help the NSA successfully conduct signals intelligence operations (SIGINT), which involve the interception of communications and electronic signals. Whether these agents are impersonating employees, outside businessmen, or some other type of personnel is unknown. Foreign companies as well as domestic companies could be targeted.
This “target exploitation” group – labeled “TAREX” – reportedly has a presence in South Korea, Germany, and China, with a domestic presence in Georgia, Hawaii, and Texas.
Already, the American Civil Liberties Union told The Intercept that it has had discussions with domestic tech executives over the possibility that the NSA is physically infiltrating their companies.
Meanwhile, the report noted that the US intelligence agency isn’t the only one that would want the data that tech companies are holding, pointing to groups in China that are suspected to want such information just as badly.
The new documents also show that the NSA is or was cooperating significantly with foreign companies under Sentry Owl, particularly when it comes to manufacturing products it can easily exploit. Coverage exposing the breadth of the NSA’s access to data held by American firms has already sparked concern for the US economy – tech executives recently warned the surveillance could “break” the internet – but now there’s indication that even foreign companies have been affected.
Not only does that make it harder for consumers to obtain protected communications hardware, but if foreign governments are not aware that their own companies are working with intelligence agency, former NSA cryptographer William Binney said the news could spark backlash and investigations overseas.
For its part, the NSA declined to clarify details to The Intercept. It released a statement saying, “It should come as no surprise that NSA conducts targeted operations to counter increasingly agile adversaries.”
At the same time, the agency said it “takes into account the globalization of trade, investment and information flows, and the commitment to an open, interoperable, and secure global Internet.”
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Georgia planning to host NATO training centerby The European Union Times
Georgia says it will allow the opening of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) training center on its soil despite pressure from Russia, Press TV reports.
Georgia’s Defense Minister Irakli Alasania said opposition from Moscow would not alter its plans to increase ties with Western countries.
“This center will be jointly operated by NATO and Georgia and it’s going to be an additional layer of security and defensive capability for Georgia,” Alasania said. “It will be a Georgia-owned facility, but planning will be jointly done with NATO.”
The minister added that NATO advisers would help set up a separate logistical center to facilitate the training center. NATO member states are also expected to cover most of the expenses for the construction of the center and the training as well.
Alasania also warned that although Georgia needed stability, a confrontation with Russia must be avoided.
This comes shortly after Russia announced its plans to sign an agreement on integration with the disputed region of Abkhazia. Tbilisi has also warned Moscow against signing the agreement with Georgia’s breakaway region.
Earlier this week, Abkhazia submitted the draft agreement to its local parliament. Under the agreement, a common defense infrastructure and combined Russian and Abkhazian armed forces would be created.
Russia and Georgia fought a brief war in 2008 after Tbilisi launched a major offensive against the independence-seeking republic of South Ossetia in a bid to retake control of the region.
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