Iran military Boeing 707 cargo plane crashes near Tehran, 15 crew killed

A decades-old Iranian Boeing 707 military cargo plane reportedly carrying meat from Kyrgyzstan crashed on Monday while trying to land west of Iran’s capital, killing 15 people on board and leaving a sole survivor, authorities said.

The aircraft, which bore the paint scheme of the Iranian air force’s Saha civilian airline, was making emergency landing around 8:30am Monday at Fath Airport, an airfield controlled by Iran’s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/2181964/boeing-707-cargo-plane-crashes-iran

China's global trade surplus fell in 2018: customs

BEIJING: China's global trade volume rose last year but its surplus fell again as its imports outpaced its exports, official data released Monday showed amid a bruising trade war with the United States.

Total trade reached US$4.62 trillion, a 12.6% rise from 2017, according to customs data.

But the trade surplus for the world's second largest economy fell 16.2% to $351.76 billion, as imports rose 15.8% while exports gained 9.9%.

"China's foreign trade has developed in a steady manner with progress witnessed, reaching a record high in import and export volume," said Li Kuiwen, spokesman for the customs administration.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/1610866/chinas-global-trade-surplus-fell-in-2018-customs

China sentences Robert Schellenberg, Canadian drug suspect, to death

A Chinese court sentenced a Canadian man to death on drug trafficking charges on Monday after his previous 15-year prison sentence was deemed too lenient, a ruling likely to deepen a diplomatic rift between Ottawa and Beijing.

A court in the northeast city of Dalian said following a day-long retrial that it "completely rejects" the defence put forward by Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, who is 36.

"I am not a drug smuggler. I came to China as a tourist," the Canadian national said in his final statement before the verdict was handed down.

The sentencing comes against the backdrop of the Chinese government's anger over the arrest in Canada – on a US extradition request – of a top executive from telecom giant Huawei last month.

Chinese authorities have since detained two Canadian nationals – a former diplomat and a business consultant – on suspicion of endangering national security, a move seen as an act of retaliation over the Huawei executive's arrest.

https://www.thenational.ae/world/asia/china-sentences-robert-schellenberg-canadian-drug-suspect-to-death-1.813288

Supersonic jet will fly from Dubai to Boston in just 7 hours

Supersonic jet will fly from Dubai to Boston in just 7 hours

Boom Supersonic's commercial plane is called Overture and will travel at more than twice the speed of sound

Overture will fly for the first time later this year. Courtesy: Supersonic Boom

Overture will fly for the first time later this year. Courtesy: Supersonic Boom

A Colorado-based company has closed a $100 million (Dh367m) deal for the next stage of its supersonic flight project.

Overture, a 55-seat commercial jet, will bring supersonic travel to millions of passengers, with fares to be comparable to current business-class prices on traditional aircraft.

The funding will allow the company to develop its prototype Mach-2.2 airliner, and solidify plans for a half-size prototype of the craft to fly later this year.

We're building the future, and we're calling it Overture. Are you ready? https://t.co/PWf3hx0E28

— Boom Supersonic (@boomaero) January 7, 2019

Both the Virgin Group and Japan Airlines have placed orders for the Overture planes, which are on schedule to begin flying commercially in 2020. Passengers on board the supersonic jets will be able to travel from London to Washington DC in three-and-a-half hours, or from Dubai to Boston in a little over seven hours – less than half the time of conventional jets.

https://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/travel/supersonic-jet-will-fly-from-dubai-to-boston-in-just-7-hours-1.813138

IRS CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION

ANNUAL REPORT 2018

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/2018_irs_criminal_investigation_annual_report.pdf

Yemen Intelligence chief dies after Houthi drone attack

Yemen's intelligence chief, Brigadier General Saleh Tammah, died on Sunday, just three days after being injured in a Houthi drone attack on the country's largest airbase.

At least seven member of the armed forces were killed and 11 injured in Thursday's incident, which threatens to hamper UN-led peace efforts.

General Tammah was born in 1950 in Lahij province, in Yemen's south.

In 1986 he took part in the 11-day South Yemen Civil War, when factions of the ruling Yemeni Socialist Party clashed.

Eight years later he fought again, this time in Yemen's two-month civil war between north and south. In July 1994 he fled to the US as northern forces descended on Aden. He lived in America for the next 13 years.

In 2007 he joined the Southern Movement and was put in charge of leading a number of battles against forces loyal to former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh.

https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/yemen-intelligence-chief-dies-after-houthi-drone-attack-1.812593

>>4750300

He wants his job back

This was a 2015 report

The US spends $35 billion on foreign aid . . . but where does the money really go?

The United States provided approximately $35 billion in economic aid to over 140 countries* in fiscal year 2014. In the map below the relative size of each country is proportionate to the aid received from the United States and the color of each country indicates GDP per capita.

How was this aid distributed?

Clearly, not all aid is distributed equally. The question is: Who received the largest slice of the pie from the U.S.? From the map above, the answer is clear: Israel.

Of the $35 billion of total economic aid distributed, almost a quarter of funds went to five countries. Below are the top 5 recipients of economic aid in 2014.

https://mondoweiss.net/2015/11/spends-billion-foreign/

South Korea to get its first F-35A stealth fighter jets in March. How will the North react?

South Korea will receive its first F-35A stealth fighters in March, a milestone in the country’s effort to boost its defence capabilities despite a diplomatic thaw with its nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea.

A South Korean military official said the first two jets would be “combat-deployed in April or May” and that 10 jets would be ready for deployment by the end of this year.

The jets and their pilots have been put through their paces at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, a training facility for the state-of-the-art jet fighter.

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2181855/south-korea-get-its-first-f-35a-stealth-fighter-jets-march-how

>>4750420

>>4750510

Chen Tao, Dorothy Martin, Teotwawki

>>4750599

Voltaire’s statement: “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.

Niall Bradley on PressTV: 'The French People Don't Want a National Debate With Macron - They've Already Made Their Decision'

France has just had its NINTH weekend of revolutionary anti-government 'yellow vest' protests. The Arc de Triomphe in Paris was again the scene of brutal police repression as protesters were kettled, charged, water-cannoned, beaten and fired upon with everything short of live rounds. There were also significant protests against government corruption in cities large and small across the country.

SOTT.net editor Niall Bradley spoke with PressTV - one of only a handful of media outlets covering the events beyond French government handouts - about the authoritarian crackdown against pro-democracy protesters.

https://www.sott.net/article/404861-Niall-Bradley-on-PressTV-The-French-People-Dont-Want-a-National-Debate-With-Macron-They-ve-Already-Made-Their-Decision

>>4750614

Our so-called politicians need to make sure they have enough money to pay them kickbacks

>>4750659

You can only know what you've been told you can only interpret something according to your own understanding ,, its called a education .. don't assume you got all the answers

>>4750695

That's my whole point always look at both sides of the equation

SB>1 Defiant high-speed helicopter successfully begun ground tests – Defence Blog

The Sikorsky-Boeing team has begun ground tests on a prototype of the SB>1 Defiant high-speed,co-axial compound helicopter that is being built for the U.S. Army.

Developing team begun ground tests on a prototype of the high-speed SB>1 Defiant helicopter, the production of which has been completed by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, and Boeing months ago.

The SB>1 Defiant is designed to fly at twice the speed and range of today’s conventional helicopters and offers advanced agility and maneuverability. It will help inform the next generation of military helicopters as part of the U.S. Army’s Future Vertical Lift program.

The SB>1 Defiant’s successfully restrained ground run test operations, marks a major milestone ahead of the first flight, which is expected in early 2019.

Developed with 85 percent commonality between attack and assault aircraft, the SB>1 Defiant will reduce development and life-cycle costs and ensure minimal disruption or loss of existing rotorcraft expertise. Its open mission systems architecture allows rapid technology and capability insertion to meet evolving FVL requirements and provide the U.S. Military with evolutionary sustainability, affordability and readiness for years to come.

https://breakingnewstrending.com/2019/01/14/sb1-defiant-high-speed-helicopter-successfully-begun-ground-tests-defence-blog/

>>4750751

Please don't hand me the karma bullshit

Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) - Lennon/Ono with The Plastic Ono Band