“The task force has successfully passed through the Suez Channel and entered the Mediterranean. It is the first time in decades that Pacific Fleet warships enter this region,” the Pacific Fleet spokesman, Capt. First Rank Roman Martov told RIA.The vessels are now heading to Cyprus and will make a port call in the city of Limassol, he added.The group includes destroyer “Admiral Panteleyev,” two amphibious warfare ships “Peresvet” and “Admiral Nevelskoi,” as well as a tanker and a tugboat.The ships left the Far-Eastern port city of Vladivostok on March 19 to join Russia’s Mediterranean task force, which currently consists of vessels from Northern, Baltic, and the Black Sea Fleets, including a large anti-submarine ship, a frigate and a Ropucha-II Class landing ship.Russian Navy Commander Adm. Viktor Chirkov on Sunday announced plans for the Mediterranean task force and said that it may “possibly” be enlarged to include nuclear submarines.“Overall, already from this year, we plan to have 5-6 warships and support vessels [in the Mediterranean Sea], which will be replaced on a rotating basis from each of the fleets – the Black Sea, Baltic, Northern and, in some cases, even the Pacific Fleet. Depending on the scope of assignments and their complexity, the number of warships in the task force may be increased,” Chirkov said, as quoted by RIA.Russian submarines may be deployed in the region “in perspective,” the Navy Commander said, reminding that both nuclear and diesel submarines were present in the Soviet Union’s 5th Mediterranean Squadron.“Everything will depend on the situation,” Chirkov said, also leaving the door open for missions in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The task force will be “comprehensively trained” to meet situations that may arise in these regions too, he said.The Russian Defense Ministry announced setting up a naval task force in the Mediterranean in April, while the country’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has said a permanent naval task force was needed to defend Russia’s interests in the region.The permanent fleet’s headquarters will be set up in the summer of 2013, although their actual location is yet to be announced.The Mediterranean has recently become a hotspot of military muscle flexing as global powers seemingly vie for influence. NATO has been staging major naval war games involving several countries, last October holding an exercise code-named Noble Mariner 12. Russia held its largest naval exercises in the region this January, with drills spanning both the Black and Mediterranean Seas. The media quickly linked both the NATO and Russian war games to the situation in Syria. Another recent naval display, seen as provocative by Israel, was the deployment of the Iranian Navy’s 24th fleet to patrol the Mediterranean and convey a “message of peace.” Since then, Israel has acquired its fifth Dolphin-class submarine allegedly capable of launching cruise missiles with nuclear warheads. China has also been increasing its involvement in the area, with the country’s warships sailing through the Suez Canal, and several key ports of the region becoming partially China-owned.Major naval groups serving in the Mediterranean Sea include NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2, French Naval Action Force, and the US Navy 6th Fleet. The only Russian naval installation in the region has for decades been the maintenance facility in the Syrian city of Tartus. … Read More
US Congress seeks to block Iran’s access to foreign reserves
The legislation backed by a bipartisan group of US senators seeks to block Iran’s access to an estimated $60-$100 billion in foreign exchange reserves currently held in foreign bank accounts.According to Washington lawmakers Teheran taps the reserves held in banks around the world to get around US and EU sanctions on oil sales that according to media reports have damaged Iran’s economy.Though Iran’s minister of economic affairs and finance Seyed Shamseddin Hosseini said that his government was finding new ways to soften the impact of the tough sanctions imposed last summer.“At first we witnessed inflationary shocks, but then we saw that we could use our domestic capacity to increase our competitiveness,” he told the Washington Post in April.The Iranian government, including the Central Bank of Iran and National Iranian Oil Company, converts the earnings from selling oil into local currencies in an attempt to finance imports and stabilize its budget, said the lawmakers. If the bill is passed it would block such currency conversions and be retroactive to May 9.The lawmakers added that they have notified financial institutions around the world to freeze all foreign currency transactions of the blacklisted Iranian banks and sectors “or risk being cut off from the US financial market.” The legislation is also to authorize President Barack Obama to impose sanctions on foreign banks that will continue to carry out the transactions.The bill, if passed, is to be attached later this month to Iran sanctions legislation in the US House of Representatives that was introduced in February.This is despite US Secretary of State John Kerry requesting Congress in April not to add more sanctions as they could affect the upcoming presidential race in the Islamic republic.”We don’t need to spin this up at this time…. You need to leave us the window to try to work the diplomatic channel,” Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Los Angeles Times reports.The United States, the European Union, Israel and several other states believe that Iran is enriching uranium to levels that could be used in nuclear weapons. Tehran says the program is intended for producing power and medical supplies.Russia says that it is necessary to recognize all the rights of the Islamic republic, including its right to enrich uranium in exchange for Iran agreeing to comprehensive control of its nuclear program by the International Atomic Energy Agency.Earlier last month the talks in Kazakhstan concerning Iran’s nuclear program between Iran and six world powers – US, Russia, Britain, China, France and Germany – ended without an agreement. Six world powers have called on Iran to halt enriching uranium over 5 percent, however the Islamic Republic insists on recognition of its right to enrich uranium. The negotiators will meet for another round of talks in Istanbul on May 15 in an effort to reach a diplomatic agreement. … Read More
Rubio: ‘I just want to congratulate those like Fox News’ for pushing Benghazi
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on Thursday thanked the Fox News channel for everything they had done to promote the idea that President Barack Obama’s administration deliberately allowed four Americans to die in Benghazi, Libya last year. Following a day of near wall-to-wall Fox News coverage of the…
North Korea removes missiles from launch sites
Two Musudan missiles, capable of hitting targets 2,500 miles away, were withdrawn from a launch site in the eastern part of the country and moved to a storage facility, several US officials who chose to remain anonymous told the media. The US, which considers Korean missile program as a threat to its national security in parts of the Pacific Ocean, has confirmed that the weapons have now been relocated, a defense official told AFP. The news comes soon after Seoul and Washington kicked-off on Monday a five-day anti-submarine drill in the Yellow Sea with the presence of nuclear-powered forces, military officials told Yonhap news agency. The US mobilized a nuclear-powered Los Angeles-class submarine, Aegis destroyers and maritime surveillance aircrafts to join South Korean destroyers, submarines and maritime aircrafts. A 7,000-ton Nimitz-class nuclear powered super carrier is expected to join the training. The latest set of drills follow the completion of the two-month-long Foal Eagle exercise, which caused the recent escalation of tension between the North and South, as Pyongyang repeatedly threatened to unleash its missiles on the South and its allies. North Korea warned against the anti-submarine exercises on Saturday, calling for an end to “hostile acts and military provocations” while threatening closure of the Kaesong complex, the only joint industrial zone and the only communication channel between two Koreas.Until last month, the industrial zone employed more than 53,000 North Korean workers and hundreds of South Korean managers. The factory gradually began halting operations amid the escalations of hostility followed by the withdrawal of North Koreans working for the 123 South Korean firms in Kaesong park. South Korean officials criticized their neighbor on Monday for linking defense maneuvers to joint projects.“It is inappropriate that the North is demanding the cancellation of South Korea-US joint drills by linking it with the Kaesong Industrial Complex,” S. Korean defense ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said in a briefing.“As long as the North maintains its hostile stance, the joint drills will continue,” Kim said. The developments come as South Korean President Park Geun-hye began a six-day official trip to the US on Sunday, where he plans to focus on the North Korean missile program. Since the beginning of the two-month joint military exercise between Seoul and Washington in February, the North has issued a number of alarming threats against the South and the United States, including a threat to conduct another nuclear test and a ballistic missile launch. The escalation of threats from the North also followed introduction of stricter UN sanctions against Pyongyang following the completion of its third underground nuclear test in February. … Read More
Dreamworks buys premium YouTube channel ‘AwesomenessTV’ for $33 million
Yesterday, Dreamworks announced the acquisition of AwesomenessTV for $33 million, the first such major purchase of a YouTube-funded premium video channel. Following the news, I caught up with Awesomeness’ lead investor to inquire about the deal and what it might mean… ;
Wildfires get an early start in southern California
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Around 200 firefighters are tackling blazes raging through rugged terrain in Ventura County, California.
High temperatures and high winds are spreading the wildfires through the southern Californian county.
The Channel Islands campus of California State University has been evacuated due to a fire covering more than eight square kilometres.
The fires have destroyed at least one house and Ventura County officials are warning residents to be prepared to leave their homes.
Hardly any rain has fallen in California so far this year, making the state as dry as it would usually be in autumn, when wildfires are usually at their peak.
With summer bringing even hotter and drier weather, authorities say they are expecting more wildfires.
More about: California, Fires, Forest fires, USA
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Questions for UKIP on election trail (30Apr13)
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