New Cold War.org Information Bulletin, Vol 2 #58, April 10, 2017
Ukraine-Russia-Europe:
External management [trusteeship] of Ukrainian companies in Donetsk is a response to Kyiv’s rule of lawlessness, Donetsk News Agency, April 10, 2017
Donetsk People’s Republic to address issue of access to joint water treatment plant at Minsk-2 committee meeting, Donetsk News Agency, April 10, 2017
‘The Donetsk water treatment plant has long been a trouble spot on the contact line in Donbass. It supplies water to both sides of the contact line, but often comes under fire from Ukrainian forces.’
Kremlin reminds that no meeting is planned by President Putin with Rex Tillerson during his April 12 visit to Moscow, TASS, April 10, 2017
… Peskov recalled that Tillerson is coming to Russia for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “If this meeting [with Tillerson] appears [in President Putin’s schedule], we will inform you accordingly,” he emphasized.
“We never announce such meetings. Whether it will take place or not, we do not announce this,” the Kremlin spokesman noted.
French election becomes a four-way race as Jean-Luc Mélenchon surges, by Mark Deen and Helene Fouquet, Bloomberg News, April 9, 2017
First-round of presidential election will take place on April 23
… While polls have earned a mixed reputation after failing to predict last year’s Brexit vote in the U.K. or Donald Trump’s election to the White House, the Kantar survey is mirrored by the Bloomberg poll composite, which gives both Mélenchon and Fillon about 18 per cent and Macron and Le Pen just over 23 per cent.
Turkey-Syria-Middle East and Caucasus:
[In addition to the material posted here below, see the extensive news and analysis of the April 7 U.S. missile attack against Syria that is posted to the main news page of New Cold War.org on April 8, 10, and 11. You can also find that material by clicking on the ‘Global News‘ category of the main news page.]
‘No words to describe this’: Residents of Syrian village share details of US strike against Syrian air base of al-Shairat, news and news video report on RT.com, April 9, 2017
The $64 question: Where is U.S. evidence that Assad was behind Idlib chemical disaster?, analysis on RT.com, April 9, 2017
Trump’s decision to attack Syria increases the risk of World War III, by Norman Solomon, published on Truthdig, April 10, 2017
Is U.S. policy to prolong the Syrian War?, by Sam Husseini, CounterPunch, April 7, 2017
Many are claiming that Trump is being inconsistent in illegally attacking the Syrian regime with cruise missiles. After all, he had been saying the U.S. should focus on defeating ISIS, and now he seems to be going after Assad. But contradictions from Trump are a dime a dozen. A closer examination shows a deeper pattern of remarkable consistency in U.S. policy toward Syria that is far more critical than the perennial contradictions of politicians like Trump…
In Paris, Canadian prime minister joins call for ‘regime change’ in Syria, report on CBC Radio One news, April 10, 2017
[On April 10, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined the calls by Western government leaders for ‘regime change’ in Syria. He told journalists the following while in Paris for meetings with European leaders and a visit to a Canadian World War One memorial in France. A CBC News report on his visit is here. Here is his comment as broadcast on CBC Radio One‘s morning news program ‘World Report’ on April 10 (transcription from the audio):]
There is no question that anyone who is, uh, who is guilty of the types of war crimes, uh, against, uh, innocent, against children, that Assad and his regime are, um, ah, needs to be held to account and we need to move as quickly as possible, uh, towards peace and stability in Syria that does not, uh, involve, uh, Bashar Al-Assad.
Egypt’s Al-Sisi declares three month state of emergency following church attacks, ABC.net.au, April 9, 2017
United States:
Trump takes credit for planned $1.33 billion Toyota spending, by John Lippert, Bloomberg News, April 10, 2017
World:
U.S. naval strike group heads toward Korean waters in show of force against North Korea, ABC.net.au, April 9, 2017
The U.S. Pacific Command has directed an aircraft carrier group to sail north to the western Pacific after departing Singapore on April 8. Commander of the US Pacific Fleet, Admiral Harry Harris, said the deployment followed recent provocations [sic] by Pyongyang. The carrier group includes the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, with support from several missile destroyers and missile cruisers…
April 4-16: U.S. national speaking tour to oppose THAAD missile deployment in S Korea, published by Zoom In Korea (‘critical news and analysis of the Korean peninsula’), March 31, 2017
Starting April 4, the U.S.-based Task Force to Stop THAAD in Korea and Militarism in Asia and the Pacific will launch its national speaking tour on the South Korean people’s fight against the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system. It is collaborating with dozens of local peace and justice organizations in cities across the United States to educate people about the dangers of U.S. missile defense.
The speaking tour will feature Reverend Sounghey Kim, Co-chair of the Seongju Struggle Committee to Stop THAAD Deployment in South Korea. She has been at the forefront of the fight against the THAAD deployment since July 2016, when the U.S. and South Korean governments first announced the deployment plan.
Trump meets Chinese president in Florida as U.S. pummels Syria with missiles, report on ABC.Net.au, April 7, 2017
Trump, Xi showdown on trade and North Korea fails to materialise at Mar-a-Lago meeting
Global warming and climate change:
War in the Gulf (no, not that gulf!): The U.S. Navy’s anti-environmental broadside in the Gulf of Alaska, by Dahr Jamail, published jointly by Truthout.org and TomDispatch, April 10, 2017
This May, the Navy will again sail its warships into the Gulf of Alaska. There, they will engage in military maneuvers and possibly drop bombs, launch torpedoes and missiles, and engage in activities that stand a significant chance of poisoning those once-pristine waters, while it prepares for future battles elsewhere on the planet. Think of it as a war against wildlife, an assault on the environment and local coastal communities…
CO2 levels heading back to days of dinosaurs, by Tim Radford, Climate News Network, April 8, 2017
America’s farmers face uncertain future, by Tim Radford, Climate News Network, April 5, 2017
First evidence found of popular farm pesticides in drinking water, by Ben Guarino, Washington Post, April 5, 2017
Debate is raging in the U.S. over the class of bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides . Now for the first time, neonicotinoid traces are found in treated drinking water.
Environmental groups sue EPA to force ban of pesticide linked to autism, by Sharon Lerner, The Intercept, April 5, 2017
Three environmental groups asked a federal appeals court on Wednesday to order the EPA to ban the pesticide chlorpyrifos. EarthJustice, which is representing the Pesticide Action Network and the Natural Resources Defense Council, was responding to the EPA’s recent announcement that it would not be following through on its own decision to ban the pesticide, which has been repeatedly found to damage children’s developing brains…
New Cold War.org Information Bulletin is posted daily (or every several days) to the New Cold War.org website as a complement to the feature articles published or re-produced in full. Text in [square brackets] is that of New Cold War.org editors. The bulletin is included in the daily, Monday-Friday newsletter emailed to website subscribers. Subscribe at website home page. Comments and suggestions welcome, email to [email protected].
