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President Barack Obama ordered the US government on Sunday to take steps towards lifting sanctions on Iran, in line with the nuclear deal struck between world powers and Tehran in July. Obama's directive comes 90 days after the UN Security Council endorsed the Iran accord -- formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- a milestone referred to as "Adoption Day." "I hereby direct you to take all appropriate additional measures to ensure the prompt and effective implementation of the US commitments set forth in the JCPOA, in accordance with US law," Obama said in a memorandum.

The European Commission will release €2 billion to Greece in the coming days to help the country manage the current migration crisis, a top Commission source told MNI Friday, but as German daily Wirtschaftswoche reports, the German Government is considering 'helping' Greece more financially – but only if Athens is more involved in the refugee crisis. The European Commission will release €2 billion to Greece in the coming days to help the country manage the current migration crisis and the upgrade its public administration system, a top Commission source told MNI Friday. The €2 billion will be the first disbursement...

Companies that are founded from next year onward plus a range of sectors of the Greek economy will only be able to accept payment via debit or credit card, according to a plan being drawn up by the government as a means of stamping out tax evasion. The plan, which has yet to receive the final approval from the country’s lenders, foresees all new companies having to be equipped with point of sale (POS) terminals that can accept credit and debit cards. The same will apply to numerous professions. These will include doctors, lawyers, electricians and plumbers, which are all...

The Kremlin has launched an incredible volte-face in economic policy and turned to traditional industries like farming in the face of tumbling oil prices ___ Russia has abandoned hopes for a lasting recovery in oil prices, bracing for a new era of abundant crude as US shale production transforms the global energy market. The Kremlin has launched a radical shift in strategy, rationing funds for the once-sacrosanct oil and gas industry and relying instead on a revival of manufacturing and farming, driven by a much more competitive rouble. "We have to have prudent forecasts. Our budget is based very conservative...

Construction or preliminary work has begun on three new pipelines designed to flow new supplies of natural gas from Azerbaijan to consumers in Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, and Italy. For more than a decade, companies have been announcing proposals to build new natural gas pipelines to connect natural gas resources in Russia, Central Asia, and the Middle East with consumers in southern Europe. In contrast to the three new pipelines considered in this article, most of these projects have failed to advance. These three new or expanded pipelines would reach from Azerbaijan's eastern edge on the Caspian Sea to Italy's southeastern...

As Europe seeks to diversify its sources of natural gas as an alternative to the politically sensitive Russian supply, a massive off-shore gas source in the Mediterranean is ready for exploration and drilling. There are game-changing stakes at play. Unfortunately, the Turkish leadership has threatened to use force to stop this from happening. Last October, Turkey sent the BARBAROS, its geophysics exploration ship, accompanied by naval vessels, into the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone waters. In November 2014, Turkish naval commander Admiral Bülent Bostanoğlu threatened the use of force against Greece, while speaking on board a Turkish naval corvette in Greek...

Syria's Kurds Are Contemplating an Aleppo Alliance with Assad and Russia 10/9/2015 7:24:00 AM Fabrice Balanche ..............Currently, the Syrian army still controls a third of Aleppo, which is connected to the rest of the government-controlled zone by a narrow road. But this corridor is being squeezed by the Daesh/ISIS on the east and al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra on the west. To win the battle for Aleppo, Assad will therefore need to cooperate with the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Syrian franchise of the Turkish Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The PYD is eager to connect its cantons around Kobane and Afrin...

Social media users said there was a large explosion in Huraytan, northern Syria. The Russian Embassy in London was not available for comment. The Turkish military has blasted a Russian jet out of the sky after it violated its airspace, according to unconfirmed reports. Social media users said there was a large explosion in Huraytan, northern Syria. The Russian Embassy in London was not available for comment. Last week Turkey said its jets had intercepted a Russian fighter in its airspace and the prime minister threatened to shoot down any plane that strayed in future. Two Turkish F-16s forced the...

Buried beneath low mounds of earth, facing Mecca, lay Afghan, Iraqi and Syrian refugees who drowned this summer in the Aegean Sea trying to reach Europe in flimsy inflatable boats. Scanning the area, Christos Mavrakidis, a somber, hardened man who looks after one of the main cemeteries on Greece's Lesbos island, listed the years of other deaths: "2013, 2014, 2015." Now there is no room left in the narrow plot of land in the pauper's section of St. Panteleimon cemetery, close to where the colonnaded tombs of wealthy Greeks are built in the classical Greek style, and flowers adorn lavish...

From comments to video "Putin has stepped in to put everyone in their place. To maintain Assad in power in Syria, remove the US sphere of influence in ME and Ukraine and to stop the US Israel alliance's plan to destroy ME nations and send millions of refugees into Europe. Putin is so smart and so smooth. He is stopping the one world order boys in their tracks."

U.S. drivers can look forward to $2 gas later this year, thanks in part to the Iran nuclear deal announced Tuesday. Gas may only dip a few cents when the Iranian oil first starts to flow again, but by September drivers could see big savings. "Once we get past Labor Day, we should see gas falling by 10 to 15 cents a month," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst with the Oil Price Information Service. "By December a lot of places are going to see gasoline at $2 or less." Iran hasn't been able to sell oil to the United...

April 13, 2015, Monday TurkeyÂ’s Islamists betrayed Uyghurs, damaged ties with China Turkey's relations with China that were upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2010 were dealt a significant blow a year later when increasingly assertive political Islamists in the Turkish government started playing a game of proxies with the Uyghurs of Chinese nationality as part of their short-sighted vision of a regime change in their southern neighbor, Syria. This sudden turn of policy with respect to China's Xinjiang region, shaped at the highest level of the government with chief Islamist Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan setting the bar, has been a...

Billions of barrels of oil have been discovered in Israel, and this discovery could essentially make Israel energy independent for many decades to come. But there is just one problem. This discovery was made in the Golan Heights. If you are not familiar with the Golan Heights, it is an area that Israel took from Syria during the Six-Day War of 1967. The government of Israel considers the Golan Heights to now be part of Israeli territory, but the United Nations does not recognize Israel’s claim. Instead, the UN still recognizes Syrian sovereignty over that area. So now that massive...

The United States has pulled the USS Theodore Roosevelt, an aircraft carrier that has been central in the fight against the Islamic State, from the Persian Gulf, military officials said Thursday. NBC News reported that the U.S. Navy now, for the first time since 2007, has no aircraft carrier in the sea. The aircraft carrier was taken out late Thursday so that it can undergo maintenance, but its temporary removal is also part of budget cuts. The nuclear-powered USS Theodore Roosevelt, which houses approximately 5,000 troops and 65 combat planes, has played a large role in the Obama administration bomb...

Washington (CNN)A number of cruise missiles launched from a Russian ship and aimed at targets in Syria have crashed in Iran, two U.S. officials told CNN Thursday. Monitoring by U.S. military and intelligence assets has concluded that at least four missiles crashed as they flew over Iran. One official said there may be casualties, but another official said this is not yet known.

Turkish forces are said to have shot down a Russian jet after it flew into the country's airspace, according to unconfirmed reports on social media. It has been claimed by eyewitnesses that there was a large explosion in Huraytan, northern Syria, while three fighter planes were seen overhead. Rumours of a jet being shot out of the sky come amid heightening tensions between Russian president Vladimir Putin and the West.

Russia told Assad to shoot down Turkish plane, murder captured pilots, ‘leaked Syrian documents’ show. Devastating intelligence papers purport to prove jet was downed on Moscow’s orders, pilots captured alive by intelligence unit and then killed; Damascus had claimed June incident was an accident October 1, 2012 DAMASCUS,— Contrary to previous reports, the two pilots of a Turkish F-4 Phantom which was shot down by Syria in June were not killed in the crash, but were murdered by the Assad regime on Russian orders, according to a devastating series of alleged Syrian intelligence documents leaked to and published by Al-Arabiya...

Russian jet SHOT DOWN by Turkey after it flew into their airspace, according to reports A RUSSIAN jet has been shot down by Turkish forces after it flew into the country's airspace, according to as yet unconfirmed reports circulating on social media.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance was ready to deploy troops in Turkey. Meanwhile, Ankara threatened to terminate the natural gas contract with Russia. According to Stoltenberg, the NATO army may appear in Turkey to protect the country from threats coming from the south. The statement was made against the background of reports of violation of Turkish airspace by Russian fighter jets. According to Stoltenberg, NATO is ready to protect all of its allies, including Turkey, from any threats. He added that the Russian operation in Syria was a "cause for concern," Pravda.Ru reports. Turkey has accused...

American Decline: Chinese forces head to Syria to join with Russia in filling Obama's power vacuum and purportedly fight the Islamic State. A false move involving NATO member Turkey could mean world war. Russian and Chinese military sources now confirm that Chinese warships are en route to the Middle East to get in on some of the action of humiliating the U.S. In just a week and a half, Moscow has upended the dynamics of power in the Mideast by taking on the role that President Obama relinquished: acting like a superpower in a regional conflict that has implications extending...