EU Sanctions on Russia to be Extended – No Veto or Discussion Allowed

This article was originally written for Russia Insider: http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/eu-sanctions-russia-be-extended-no-veto-or-discussion-allowed/ri11858

In conversations with Russian news agency TASS EU diplomats and officials outline the undemocratic means whereby the decision to extend the sanctions will be imposed.

by Alexander Mercouris

Recently I wrote a piece for Russia Insider discussing how the EU really works.

I pointed out that the veto small states supposedly have over key EU decisions is a fiction.

Decisions are made by a small group who decide things between themselves and who because they control the EU’s bureaucracy can impose their decisions on everyone else.

An EU official – someone described as “close to the European Council” (the EU’s main policy making body) has basically confirmed as much in an interview with the Russian news agency TASS.

The subject discussed was the sectoral sanctions the EU has imposed on Russia, which are due to expire on 31st January 2016.

Chess in the Age of ISIS

by Tom Mysiewicz

“Iraq is breaking up before our eyes and it would appear that the creation of an independent Kurdish state is a foregone conclusion.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to John Kerry in Paris, 26 June 2014

“The goal is to proclaim a ‘Kurdistan’ straddling the border between Iraq and Syria, and then expel the Syrian populations who live there, followed by the transfer of 10 million Turkish Kurds to this new state.”

Thierry Meyssan, 2015

Unfolding now is a multidimensional chess game comprising centuries-old animosities, petrodollars, pipelines, a neo-Ottoman sultanate, plans for balkanizing the Mid East into manageable ethnic states, Israeli energy plans and oligarchs, Neoconservatives, the U.S. military-industrial complex, Daesh-ISIS, NATO, the EU, Kurdistan, Ukraine and a gaggle of nation states. I first addressed this hard-to-fathom situation in my 2014 piece “War With ISIS: Multiplexing a New World Order.”

Western Media Shows Russian Airstrikes as US-Led Coalition's

Western Media often rebrand the footage of Russian airstrikes in Syria as the US-led coalition's actions - due to the lack of cooperation, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

A picture taken on September 30, 2015 shows damaged buildings and a minaret in the central Syrian town of Talbisseh in the Homs province. Russian warplanes carried out air strikes in three Syrian provinces, including Homs, along with regime aircraft on September 30, according to a Syrian security source

Once Done With Daesh, US Commandos Will Start Aiding Free Syrian Army

The contingent of elite US commandos which is currently on the ground in Syria could well start helping the Free Syrian Army in its fight against the country's government as soon as they are done with Daesh (ISIL/ISIS), political analyst Dr. George Masse from the American University of Science and Technology in Beirut told RIA Novosti.

The US Special Operations Forces, which have been deployed and are currently on the ground in Syria, could well start helping the Free Syrian Army in its fight against the country's government forces as soon as they are done with Daesh (also known as ISIL/ISIS), the political analyst said.

APC Out To Win Rivers, Akwa Ibom –Oyegun

NATIONAL Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie- Oyegun, has said the party will do everything within its powers to win the gov­ernorship seats in Rivers and Akwa-Ibom states.
Oyegun argued, how­ever, that APC has more mathematical chances of winning in Akwa Ibom than Rivers.
He noted that APC’s suc­cesses at the 2015 general elections have changed the political dynamics in the South-South, specifically in Rivers State.

Dokpesi Leaves Jail After Three Days In Kuje Prison

The former Chairman, Daar Communications Plc, Chief Raymond Dokpesi (middle), with operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at the Federal High Court, Abuja... on Wednesday Photo: Sam Adeko.
A businessman and founder of Daar Communications Plc, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, finally left detention on Wednesday after spending three days in Kuje prison in Abuja, where a Federal High Court in Abuja remanded him pending when he would meet the N400m bail conditions granted him with respect to N2.1bn fraud charges preferred against him

Obama Appoints 34-Yr-Old Nigerian, Adewale Adeyemo As Deputy NSA

U S President Barack Obama has appointed a Nigerian, Adewale ‘Wally’ Adeyemo who served in top roles at the Treasury Department to succeed Caroline Atkinson as his deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs.
Adeyemo, 34, has served in Obama’s administration since 2009. He joined the White House’s National Economic Council as deputy director. He was the Treasury’s lead negotiator on the currency agreement that was part of the Pacific trade deal.
A statement by Obama reads “For the past four years, I have relied on Caroline Atkinson, most recently as my Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics, as we’ve navigated pressing challenges to the global economy.

I Owe Nobody Apology For Commitment To Nigeria, Says Obasanjo

FORMER president Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday said that he owes nobody any apology for his commitment to the Nigerian project.
Obasanjo stated this Tuesday night at a dinner organized in his honour by Governor Samuel Ortom during his private visit in Makurdi, Benue State capital.
He disclosed that shortly after his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) membership card was torn he withdrew from all partisan politics and became an impartial Nigerian.

The former president further said that he had a similar history to that of Governor Ortom, who recently revealed he was once a motor park tout at his youthful age, stating that he was called a tout at his old age in 2014.

Amaechi: I Never Knew Railway Transport Existed In Nigeria

Minister expresses ignorance of contract awarded to Tompolo
In a bizarre twist, the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, On Tuesday announced that he never knew the railways as a means of transport efficiently existed in Nigeria.
The minister who stated this when he and other officials of the ministry toured the facilities of the Nigerian Railways Corporation (NRC) in Lagos, added that the government would concentrate on building standard gauge railway lines that would befit Nigeria status as a developing economy as well as compliment it.

PDP: PMB Erred By Collecting SUVs From Dasuki.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has faulted President Muhammadu Buhari for dealing with the office of Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser, instead of that of the secretary to the government of the federation, for the compensation of the attack on his convoy.
Buhari had refuted the allegation that he received $300,000.00 and up to five armoured SUVs from Dasuki, explaining that only two SUVs were sent to him.

EFCC To Establish Procurement Fraud Unit – Magu

Ibrahim Magu, acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, December 16, 2015 indicated his resolve to create a new unit, to be known as Procurement Fraud Unit, PFU, with a view to strengthen the Commission’s efforts in fighting corruption.

US, UK Call For Probe Of Army/Shiite Clash

The United States and the United Kingdom have expressed concern over reports of violent clashes between members of the Nigerian Army and the Shiite Islamic Movement in Zaria, Kaduna State over the past days.
The US Embassy in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja expressed dismay over the reported killing of many people and called on the Federal Government to probe the incident.
It advised the two sides to exercise restraint to avoid actions that may further destabilize the situation.
“While many details of the incidents that reportedly began on December 12 remain unclear, we are dismayed to learn of multiple civilian deaths. It is essential that all sides refrain from actions that further destabilize the situation.

Wike Rejects Appeal Court Ruling, Heads To S’Court

FOLLOWING the Appeal Court ruling that a fresh governorship election should be conducted in Rivers State, Governor Nyesom Wike, has directed his lawyers to appeal today’s judgement at the Supreme Court.
Wike said in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Mr. Simeon Nwakaudu, that he disagreed with the Appeal Court judgment, hence his decision to exhaust his constitutional right by challenging the judgment at the apex court.

Saudi Arabia Can't Just Declare War on the Terror They Themselves Created

Commenting on Saudi Arabia's announcement that they would be forming a 34-nation 'Islamic anti-terrorism coalition', prominent Pakistani columnist and political analyst Wajahat Masood warned that Riyadh might have a hard time fighting against a phenomenon which they themselves have done so much to support over the past thirty years.

How The Looters Stand.

Jega Also Presided Over Inconclusive Elections, Says Yakubu.

Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says elections were declared inconclusive during the tenure of Attahiru Jega, his predecessor.
Reacting to the criticisms that have trailed the state elections which the commission has conducted since he came on board, Yakubu, who was speaking at a public lecture in Abuja, said inconclusive elections were reflections of competitiveness of the polls.
The situation of the elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states, where winners were not announced on the first ballot, have earned the body critical comments, with suggesting that INEC should be renamed Inconclusive National Electoral Commission.

$2bn Arms Scandal: Jonathan Seeks Private Audience With President Buhari

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has concluded plans to seek private audience with President Muhammadu Buhari over the statement by former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki indicting him in the fraudulent arms procurement deal.
A source close to Jonathan was quoted as saying the ex-president, will not join issues with the Dasuki, who confessed that that the former president approved the scandalous disbursement of funds meant for the procurement of arms for the military fight the war against insurgency in the North Eastern part of the country, The Nation reports.

Appeal Court Sacks Gov Wike, Orders Fresh Election In Rivers

The three-man Court of Appeal panel sitting in Abuja has struck out the appeal of Nyesom Wike seeking a dismissal of the judgment of the Rivers election petition tribunal which sacked him as governor of the state.
In a 110-page ruling delivered by Justice M.B. Dongban-Mensem, the Court ruled that the election of Nyesom Wike did not conform with the electoral act.
The Court has ordered a rerun in 90 days.

Court Frees Nnamdi Kanu As DSS Withdraws Suit

 A magistrates’ court in Abuja has freed the Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, following the withdrawal of the charges against him by the Department of State Services on Wednesday. Kanu was standing trial on a three-count charge of criminal conspiracy, intimidation and belonging to an unlawful society, allegations the prosecutor has withdrawn. His arrest and detention has sparked wild protests across many cities in Nigeria some resulting in the loss of lives. Meanwhile, ruling on the prosecutor’s application for the matter to be taken up at the Federal High Court will be delivered on Thursday. More to follow…

Don’t Give Me Christmas Hampers, If You Don’t Pay Workers – Ben-Bruce Warns Governors

The senator representing Bayelsa East in the National Assembly, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce has again criticized governors over their inability to pay workers. Bruce, who used his Twitter handle @benmurraybruce to say this on Wednesday, warned governors against giving Christmas hampers during the Yuletide. He tweeted: “Governor who cannot pay N18k minimum wage should not be allowed to spend multi millions on Christmas hamper for people like me who can afford it.” “I serve notice to any government agency, if you bring Christmas hampers to me when you have not paid workers, I will stone you with it.” Bruce further wondered, “why a government agency will give out Christmas hampers to elites when 2 million IDPS are starving in this very country.”

Pro-Biafran Agitators Protest In Lagos

Reports reaching us have it that Biafra agitators are presently protesting along Alaba-Ojo axis of Lagos State. They are demanding the release of the director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu. This comes a day after the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives warned members of the movement not to stage any protest in Lagos. The party warned that MASSOB and IPOB against plunging Lagos into crisis. The PUNCH is currently verifying the reports.

Don’t Breach Public Peace, Buhari Tells Religious Group

President Muhammadu Buhari has warned religious bodies across Nigeria to refrain from activities that are capable of breaching public peace and order. He advised them to always respect constituted authorities and extant laws when conducting their activities. President Buhari gave the warning on Tuesday through the Minister of Interior, General Abdularahman Danbazzau, when he visited Zaria in Kaduna State to assess the impact of the violent clash between the Nigerian Army and members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria last Saturday.

Senior Media Adviser to President

Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina, during a morning show on Radio Continent has spoken about the money recovered from treasury looters. President Buhari weeks ago had stated that treasury looters had started returning the funds and promised that their name will be published later on. Adesina, speaking via a telephone conversation said he's aware of the situation. According to him, the president says it's still early days and "a lot more is possible to collect if we continue to be discrete about it." He assured that proper account on the recovery will be given and stressed that the loot won't be looted again, like it happened in the previous administration. He stressed that the recovered loot will be spent on infrastructure, especially roads. Speaking about the amount of funds recovered, Adesina said it is "staggering." "It is still ealy days, much more will be recovered," he added.

I Won’t Stop My Opposition To Buhari, Obasanjo - Fayose

You appear to be determined to conduct election into local government areas in Ekiti State. What stage are you in the process?
We are expecting judgement this week concerning local government election. I've said it times without number that I will go on with that election except if the court says stop, then I will obey.
A military panel was set up to look into activities of military personnel during last year’s Ekiti and Osun states governorship elections. What is your view on the panel's investigation so far?
You will recall that after I won the election, there was this effort to stop the swearing-in that generated a lot of controversy; even before and after the elections. There was one story of photo-chronic military rigging and all that.

Akpobolokemi’s Re-Arrest Linked To Tompolo’s Contract Payment.

former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Patrick Akpobolokemi.
There are strong indications that operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) re-arrested the former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Patrick Akpobolokemi on Monday, following incriminating evidence that linked him to a series of bloated contract sums awarded to former Niger Delta militant leader, Tom Ekpemupolo, by the agency.