War

A tip from a CIA agent led to the arrest of Nelson Mandela in apartheid South Africa in 1962 that resulted in the late leader spending 27-years behind bars. The revelations, made in the Sunday Times newspaper, are based on an interview with ex-CIA agent Donald Rickard shortly before he died.  Shanghai Daily reports: The newspaper cited comments said to have been made by Donald Rickard, a former US vice-consul in Durban and CIA operative, to British film director John Irvin.

ISIS launched an attack on a natural gas plant near the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Sunday morning. Police say that at least 14 people died, and at 27 others were injured in the bombing. RT reports: The attack was carried out using a car explosive, at the entrance to the factory, at about 6am on Sunday. After that, at least six attackers arrived on another vehicle, wearing explosive vests, and clashed with the police. Security forces were among the 11 victims who was killed in the attack.

Donald Trump has warned that the Obama administration’s effort to step up asylum for Syrian refugees has put the US on the verge of another large-scale terrorist attack. The presumptive US Republican presidential nominee thinks that a 9/11 level attack would be led by refugees entering the United States with mobile phones funded by the so-called Islamic State. Press TV reports: Trump said on the National Border Patrol Council’s “The Green Line” radio show on Sunday that Syrian refugees residing in the US would plan the next 9/11 attack.

El Salvador has refused to recognize the new Brazilian government following the suspension of President Dilma Rousseff from office last week. On Thursday Michel Temer became the acting president in Brazil when President Rousseff was suspended after the Senate voted to impeach her. In a statement on Saturday President Salvador Sanchez Ceren said that of Rousseff’s suspension had “the appearance of a coup d’etat.” “We have analyzed the situation and taken the decision to not recognize the interim government of Brazil because there was political manipulation,” the El Salvador leader said.

Here we go again. After all of the incidents that have taken place over the last few months between the U.S. and Russia, capped by NATO moving 4,000 troops to the Russian border, one would assume that the antagonizing would stop, at least for the time being.

Then again, the U.S. will do whatever it pleases.

As Sputnik reports, yet another U.S. surveillance plane flew close to the Russian border earlier today, although as of right now it is not clear if it was again intercepted by a Russian flanker.