Europe

As NATO leaders prepare to deploy thousands of troops to Eastern Europe and the Baltic States, Russia has criticized the massive buildup of Western military on its doorstep as being a deliberate provocation towards World War.  Russia’s Permanent Representative to NATO, Alexander Brushko, has accused NATO of using these military drills as a pretext to justify justify its actions on the eastern flank. pravdareport.com reports: Moscow took NATO’s recent exercises as a clear signal.

A senior Syrian rebel commander has blamed a lack of support from Britain as being responsible for the impending 15 million refugees about to flee Syria and into Europe.  The commander says that the lack of support shown by the West has allowed Assad’s regime to tighten its grip on Aleppo, which is going to make the refugee crisis worse. Express.co.uk reports: Major Yasser Abdulrahim told the BBC the West has “abandoned” the rebels, saying: “The West is so scared of the [Islamic State] ghost they have chosen Bashar al-Assad.

"It’s a joke. We couldn't wish [for] more than that. If they can do it, then let them do it — but talking militarily, this is not easy for a country already facing defeat in another war, in Yemen, where after almost one year they have failed in achieving any real victory.”

That’s what one source in the Iranian military had to say about reports that Saudi Arabia is preparing to send ground troops into Syria.

Submitted by Richard Ebeling via EpicTimes.com,

The news is filled with the everyday zigzags of those competing against each other for the Democrat and Republican Party nominations to run for the presidency of the United States. But one of the most important issues receiving little or no attention in this circus of political power lusting is the long-term danger from the huge and rising Federal government debt.

Over the past month, one of the more alarming developments in Europe has been the move to eliminate high denomination bank notes like the €500 bill.