Oil Spikes Higher After Trump Threatens Allies With Sanctions For Buying Iranian Oil

"The U.S. government is calling on its allies to zero out imports of oil from Iran by November 4, or else face sanctions, and Washington is leaning towards granting no waivers at all. An official from the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday that it had plans to follow up on the matter with Turkey, India and China, even as the U.S. is trying not to 'adversely impact' these countries, Bloomberg reports."

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State Dept cites D-Day as example of ‘strong relationship’ with Germany

"Seeking to soothe feathers ruffled by comments from the US ambassador to Berlin, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert only made it worse by citing the Allied landings in Normandy as an example of US ties with Germany."

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Men busted in Ukraine’s “fake murder” ruse turn out to be Ukrainian Intelligence

"The two men ensnared in Ukraine’s 'clever' ruse to weed out Putin’s assassins have turned out to be former Ukrainian counterintelligence officials, who despise Russia, and pledge allegiance to radical, ultra-right neo-Nazi group 'Right Sector'."

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Welcome to Police-State America, Weary Traveler

"If Homeland Security were genuinely concerned about public safety, they’d transfer those armed INS agents to serve as security guards in the baggage claim area, and leave intelligent, trained and — what the hell — polite and welcoming passport checkers to handle the paperwork end."

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By reversing policy in Syria, the US is fuelling more wars in the Middle East

"It was a bad moment for the US to stir the pot by saying it would stay in Syria and target Assad and Iran. A Kurdish-Turkish war in northern Syria will be a very fierce one. The US obsession with an exaggerated Iranian threat – about which, in any case, it cannot do much – makes it difficult for Washington to mediate and cool down the situation. Trump and his chaotic administration have not yet had to deal with a real Middle East crisis yet and the events of the last week suggest that they will not be able to do so."

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Secret Cabinet documents leaked after locked cabinets sold in Australia

"The Australian government on Wednesday launched an urgent investigation into the loss of thousands of classified documents that were sold with two second-hand filing cabinets and later obtained by a major news outlet. The cabinets were sold by a Canberra furniture shop at a discount price because they were locked and no one could find keys, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported."

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