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US expands sanctions against Russia

The new measures target companies in countries such as China in a bid to “discourage” trade with Moscow ‘

The US Departments of State and Treasury on Wednesday sanctioned 300 additional individuals and entities in Russia and elsewhere, which it accuses of having links to Moscow’s “war economy.” According to the Treasury Department, the latest measures target individuals and companies suspected of enabling Moscow to evade the Western embargo. “Today’s actions strike at their remaining avenues for international materials and equipment, including their reliance on critical supplies from third countries,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Restrictions on Moscow Exchange and banks, fate of the ruble: Key takeaways from new US sanctions

Washington has unveiled a major new set of measures targeting Russia’s financial sector and currency market

The US government announced a new wave of sanctions against Russia on Tuesday, targeting the energy, metals and mining industries, as well as some of the nation’s major lenders and the Moscow Stock Exchange. The latest round of restrictions appears to be one of the biggest since the start of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. According to the US Department of the Treasury, the measures will impact more than $100 million in trade between Russia and its foreign partners, and affect companies and individuals in China, Türkiye, Kyrgyzstan and other nations of Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. RT breaks down the immediate effects and potential consequences, as well as Moscow’s reaction.

Russia promises ‘decisive response’ to ‘confrontational’ US

At the same time, Moscow remains ready for equal dialogue with Washington, Ambassador Anatoly Antonov has said

Russia will respond “decisively” to sanctions and any other “confrontational” moves by the US, Moscow’s ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, has said. The envoy made the statement during an address dedicated to Russia Day, which was celebrated on Wednesday. Earlier the same day, Washington announced more restrictions on Moscow over its military operation against Ukraine. “The US administration congratulated the Russian people with the announcement of yet another sanctions package,” Antonov said.

Moscow exchange suspends trading in dollars and euro

The move has been prompted by a new round of sanctions imposed by the US, the group has claimed

The Moscow Exchange (MOEX) suspended trading in dollars and euros on Wednesday, the move having been prompted by a new sanctions package unveiled by the US Treasury earlier in the day. The suspension affects foreign and precious metals trade as well as stock and money trading on Russia’s largest public trading markets, MOEX noted in a statement. Except for dollars and euros, all other financial instruments remain operational. The derivatives market has also been unaffected by the changes, with trade going on as usual, MOEX noted

Multiple Russian banks are preventing clients from logging in because they don’t have liquidity to give clients their money, due to new US sanctions.

The Moscow Exchange is preventing clients from logging-in!

Musk: US Should Sanction Ukraine NGO Data Journalism Agency For Targeting Americans

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US entrepreneur Elon Musk said in a statement the US should sanction the US-funded Ukrainian non-governmental organization Data Journalism Agency as a terrorist organization after it created a so-called enemies list targeting many American conservatives and lawmakers who have differing views of US support for Ukraine.

“It’s a good first step,” Musk said via X regarding efforts to defund the group, adding that “[The Data Journalism Agency] They should be added to the list of sanctioned terrorist organizations.”
Earlier in the day, the Republican-led US House of Representatives Appropriations Committee advanced legislation to defund the Data Journalism Agency after it created the blacklist smearing Americans who oppose providing more funding to Ukraine.

G7 to approve $50bn in Ukraine aid despite disputes – media

Western powers are at odds over who should carry the risks of tapping into Russian assets, several outlets have reported

Leaders of the G7 intend to back a US plan to provide $50 billion in aid for Ukraine through a loan issued against frozen Russian assets, before finalising some contentious parts of the plan, according to media reports. Washington’s idea is to use future profits from seized Russian assets to pay interest on the proposed loan. Leaders of the G7 club of nations will approve the arrangement in principle during this week’s summit in Apulia, Italy, according to news outlets including Bloomberg, Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Politico.

Eight EU countries call for restricting Russian diplomats’ movement

Eight European Union foreign ministers called on the EU to ban Russian diplomats from moving freely around the bloc and to restrict them to countries where they are accredited, in a letter to EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

“Free movement of holders of Russian diplomatic and service passports, accredited in one host state, across the whole Schengen area is easing malign activities,” the letter seen by Reuters said.

Russian Warships in the Havana Port carrying Mach 9 Zircon Missile: could Hit Miami within 2 minutes – Exclusive Photos

«A group of Russian Navy ships docked today in the port of Havana for a visit until the 17th» Prensa Latina reported.

The naval detachment consists of the frigate Admiral Gorshkov, the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, the fleet oil tanker Pashin and the rescue tug Nikolai Chiker. Upon arrival in this capital, one of the group’s ships fired 21 salutes as a salute to the Caribbean nation, which was reciprocated by an artillery battery of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), from the San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress.

Putin To Arrive In North Korea As Kim Hails “Invincible Comrades-in-Arms”

Putin to make official state visit to Pyongyang… and then on to Vietnam.

As G7 leaders who are to meet in Italy this week prepare expanded sanctions on Russia, President Vladmir Putin is soon expected in North Korea. Kim Jong Un on Wednesday hailed his country’s ties with Moscow, calling the two powers which actually share a tiny far eastern border “invincible comrades-in-arms”. While a date has yet to be given, the Kremlin has indicated that Putin will travel to Pyongyang at some point this summer, and that the trip is currently “being prepared”. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency however said Putin could show up in the North Korean capital “as early as next week” as part of an expected Asian tour that will include Vietnam.

Europe Not Allowed To Lean Conservative? Warnings Of “Crisis” Abound After Shocking Elections

Whenever western nations start to lean more conservative the corporate media and political elites declare the threat of impending Apocalypse…

Some analysts are calling the results of the recent European parliamentary elections “shocking” while others suggest this was not the right-wing wave that some were expecting.  Needless to say it was enough to start a firestorm in the western media and compel French President Emmanuel Macron to call for snap elections in order to force a political confrontation between conservative parties and progressives two years earlier than expected. France is not the only country where the “far right” has increased its share of the European parliament vote. Far-right and hard-right parties are on course to hold almost a quarter of the seats, up from a fifth in 2019. The biggest gains are in Europe’s three largest countries – France, Germany and Italy.

Le Pen Vows To Deport Foreigners Who Push “Totalitarian Ideology” In France

Promises to shut down radical mosques…

National Rally leader Marine Le Pen has vowed to shut down radical mosques and deport Islamists with dual nationality in her first major speech after winning the EU elections in France. “Give me one reason, only one, to keep on our territory foreigners who collaborate with a totalitarian ideology that wants the death of the French?” Le Pen told a raucous crowd. Laying out her manifesto on the subject of mass migration, Le Pen asserted, “Dual nationals connected to the Islamist ideology must be stripped of the nationality & expelled.” “The French who adopt the ideology of the enemy must be brought before justice & punished,” she added, demanding, “The laws exist, they just need to be applied. These laws will be applied without weakening.”

Canadian Parliament members ‘wittingly’ aid foreign nations to influence national politics: report

The report described how “foreign states developed clandestine networks surrounding candidates and elected officials to gain undisclosed influence and leverage over nomination processes, elections, parliamentary business and government decision-making.”

In a comprehensive and shocking report released publicly in early June, a non-partisan, federal government committee described how “elected officials” are “wittingly” controlled by foreign states and are expected to engage in espionage in exchange for “favors” from their host nations. The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians originally released the “Special Report on Foreign Interference in Canada’s Democratic Processes and Institutions” to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on March 24, 2024. The public version is heavily censored and none of the people and organizations listed in the original as being in the pocket of foreign governments are named.

House Signals Tough Line For UN If Trump Wins In November

The bottom line is that the UN is increasingly irrelevant in solving major world crises…

When Congress and the White House enact a spending bill for foreign operations, will it contain the sharp cuts in funding for the United Nations and related entities found in the version a House subcommittee passed last week? Highly unlikely. Yet that didn’t stop critics from voicing howls of anguish and warnings of peril. However, the House bill needs to be seen as a bright warning light for the United Nations if Donald Trump wins in November and/or Republicans gain control of both the House and Senate. President Biden entered office in 2021 boasting that “America is Back” and pledging to reverse many policies of President Trump to “repair our alliances and engage with the world.”

Chances for a hostage deal close to none

Hamas staunchly refuses the Israeli demand to exile the terrorists, not even to the Gaza Strip, and demands that they be returned to their place of origin, including Judea and Samaria.

Hamas is refusing to allow Israel the right to veto specific “serious” terrorists from being released in return for the captive female soldiers even though Israel agreed to compromise on having the power to veto only half of the 200 terrorist murderers who would be released. In addition, Hamas insists on not having a deadline for the fighting to restart if agreements are not reached on the second stage of the deal.

Negotiations stuck on Hamas demand for Israeli up-front commitment to permanent truce

Terror group has reportedly demanded expedited schedule for IDF to leave Gaza, insisting on a withdrawal in first week of deal, with Russia, China and Turkey to act as guarantors

Hamas is seeking to change the terms of a proposed hostage release and ceasefire deal with Israel by pushing forward a full Israeli military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip into the very initial stages of a phased implementation, as well as insisting that it be a clear end to the war, according to various reports on the amendments the terror group wants to insert into the plan. In addition, Hamas is demanding that Russia, China, and Turkey act as guarantors that Israel will stop fighting, according to reports Wednesday and Thursday.

US wants ‘de-escalation’ in north after Hezbollah fires largest rocket volley of war

Terror group vows to intensify attacks after top commander killed in Israeli strike; Iran’s Quds Force official says Hezbollah has 1 million rockets in arsenal

The United States on Wednesday urged “de-escalation” along Israel’s northern border after Hezbollah launched over 200 rockets, its largest barrage in the ongoing war, in response to Israel’s killing of a senior commander in the terror group. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin discussed efforts to “de-escalate tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border in the wake of Lebanese Hezbollah’s increased aggression,” a Pentagon statement said.

‘Nasrallah realizes the IDF can kill him’: Hezbollah leadership shaken after Israeli elimination

“The powerful elimination worries Hezbollah members. They now understand that the IDF knows much more about them than they know about us,” says Professor Amatzia Baram.

Approximately 250 rockets were launched on Wednesday towards northern Israel, disrupting the holiday calm with successive alerts. Rockets that exploded in open areas caused fires. In the city of Tiberias, a siren was activated for the first time since October. These launches come after the assassination of senior Hezbollah official Sami Taleb Abdullah, whose rank was equivalent to a brigadier general in the IDF. For the past 20 years, Abdullah had led rocket fire toward Kiryat Shmona, the Galilee panhandle, and the Golan Heights. He is the highest-ranking Hezbollah commander to have been killed so far in the war.

HHS Sued Over Rule Requiring Health Care Providers To Perform ‘Gender Transition’ Procedures

“States should not be compelled to foot the bill for treatments that are leaving people, even children, with irreversible damage…”

The attorneys general of Montana and Texas on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Xavier Becerra, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), over a rule that says states must pay for “gender transition” procedures through their Medicaid programs and requires health care providers who receive federal funding to perform such procedures even in violation of state law.

CDC: New COVID Variant KP.3 on the Rise Across the US

However, weekly deaths and virus-linked hospitalizations are at the lowest point since the pandemic started in early 2020, the agency said.

A newly discovered COVID-19 variant, KP.3, is rising to become the dominant strain of the virus across the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). KP.3 constitutes about 25 percent of all COVID-19 cases detected by the agency. It’s followed by the KP. 2 and LB. 1 variants, which make up about 22 percent and 14 percent of all cases, respectively, the data show. The latest COVID-19 data were collected over a two-week period from May 26 to June 8. Some media outlets have referred to both the KP.2 and KP.3 variants as “FLiRT,” due to where spike proteins are located.

Attorney General Garland Targets “Conspiracy Theories” After Launching “Election Threats Task Force” with FBI, Sparking Censorship Concerns

Some might see US Attorney General Merrick Garland getting quite involved in campaigning ahead of the November election – albeit indirectly so, as a public servant whose primary concern is supposedly how to keep Department of Justice (DoJ) staff “safe.”

And, in the process, he brings up “conspiracy theorists” branding them as undermining the judicial process in the US – because they dare question the validity of a particular judicial process that aimed at former President Trump. In an opinion piece published by the Washington Post, Garland used one instance that saw a man convicted for threatening a local FBI office to draw blanket and dramatic conclusions that DoJ staff have never operated in a more dangerous environment, where “threats of violence have become routine.”

California Tests Technocracy By Taxing Drivers For Miles Driven

This Technocratic lunacy has been building for years.

I wrote three years ago, “Oregon was the first state to consider a mileage tax that would track all of your mileage, with a GPS device, on which roads or streets you drove, and then send a personalized tax bill to each driver. Excess mileage could be charged an extra carbon tax. Now Buttigieg is bringing this to the national level.” Why own a car? This pay-to-drive scheme essentially turns your car into a rental (think Hertz), where you absorb all the capital and maintenance costs, and they pay a mileage fee to boot. When consumers figure this out, the auto industry is kaput. Thereafter, it is Technocracy.

Biden EPA rules could cause blackouts for millions of Americans

President Joe Biden’s aggressive climate regulations targeting fossil-fuel-fired power plants will create widespread electric grid instability and lead to mass blackouts impacting millions of Americans, according to a recent study commissioned by North Dakota’s state government.

The research, conducted in May by the firm Always On Energy Research, concluded that the Environmental Protection Agency’s recently finalized regulations are not technologically feasible and will foreseeably lead to the retirement of coal power generation units. Intermittent and weather-dependent green energy sources, such as wind and solar, will replace such retired generators, leading to unreliable conditions, the study found.

Reported birth of rare white buffalo calf in Yellowstone park fulfills “Lakota Prophecy”

The reported birth of a rare white buffalo in Yellowstone National Park fulfills a Lakota prophecy that portends better times, according to members of the American Indian tribe who cautioned that it’s also a signal that more must be done to protect the earth and its animals.

“The birth of this calf is both a blessing and warning. We must do more,” said Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota and the Nakota Oyate in South Dakota, and the 19th keeper of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman Pipe and Bundle. The birth of the sacred calf comes as after a severe winter in 2023 drove thousands of Yellowstone buffalo, also known as bison, to lower elevations.

Is the real Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia instead of Egypt?

There is virtually no evidence of human activity in the supposed Mount Sinai in Egypt. Is the real location for where God gave the Jews the Ten Commandments in Saudi Arabia?

“It just doesn’t fit,” I told my son in 2007. At the time, he was a student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. During a break in his classes, we decided to explore a coastal town in the Sinai Peninsula. One night, after a long, cold climb to a somewhat distant mountain peak, we witnessed a beautiful sunrise illuminating the desolate landscape of rock-strewn mountains with the golden hue of morning light. The mountain we had climbed is the conventional location for Mount Sinai deep in the south-central part of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. What we saw that morning was stunning.

Ukraine has a DARK secret and Ukrainian families are DEMANDING answers

Ukrainian families are demanding answers from Zelensky’s government about their dead family members. This is darker than we imagined.