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Anonymous ID: 77114f Jan. 5, 2020, 1:15 p.m. No.7724724   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5077 >>5200 >>5352

Greece, N.Macedonia Started Receiving Russian Gas Via TurkStream on Jan 1 – Bulgartransgaz

 

Greece and North Macedonia have begun receiving supplies of Russian gas via the TurkStream gas pipeline as of January 1, Vladimir Malinov, executive director of Bulgarian gas transmission and storage operator Bulgartransgaz, said on Sunday during an interview with Bulgarian radio station BNR.

 

On Wednesday, Bulgarian gas company Bulgargaz reported that Russian gas supplies had begun arriving in Bulgaria under a deal with Russian gas giant Gazprom via the TurkStream pipeline, instead of the previously used transit route through Romania. Bulgargaz said in a statement that the financial gains from the new transit route will be approximately 81 million leva ($45 million).

 

“Gas deliveries from Russia are being successfully completed through the Strandzha 2 entry point, via Turkey. The advantages of this project are increased safety and economic expediency. This will effect gas prices, and of course, the consumer. Changing the point of delivery also reduces transport overheads,” Malinov said.

 

The director also stated that North Macedonia and Greece were also receiving gas via the TurkStream pipeline. Supply through the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline, that travels from Ukraine to Turkey through Romania and Bulgaria, had been stopped.

 

Malinov stated that natural gas can be transported in all directions with the opening of the TurkStream pipeline, and that his company’s revenue will increase significantly once the second branch of the pipeline, due to extend to Serbia and Hungary, will be completed.

 

TurkStream is a projected 570-mile twin gas pipeline to run from Russia through the Black Sea to Turkey, at which point one of the branches will continue further up to southern and southeastern Europe. The official launch is scheduled for 8 January.

 

Russia has been supplying gas to Bulgaria since 1974 and is currently the only exporter of natural gas in the Bulgarian market. Last year, Bulgaria finished building a 7-mile segment of a pipe to link TurkStream to the so-called Balkan Stream pipeline network of Bulgaria and Serbia.

 

https://sputniknews.com/europe/202001061077954168-greece-nmacedonia-started-receiving-russian-gas-via-turkstream-on-jan-1–bulgartransgaz/

Anonymous ID: 77114f Jan. 5, 2020, 1:20 p.m. No.7724780   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4790 >>4802 >>4877 >>5420 >>5423

How the Pentagon Was Duped by Contractors Using Shell Companies

 

Duped. wink

 

Missing $21 trillion? Yep, still missing.

 

Shell companies have come under attack for obscuring illicit money flowing into real estate. But it turns out they’re also a problem for the Pentagon.

 

Some Defense Department suppliers have used such front companies to fraudulently win manufacturing bids, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office study of Defense Department contractors.

 

In some cases, the shell companies helped contractors obscure that they were making U.S. military equipment abroad, the GAO said, posing a risk to national security and quality control. More often, they were used to win contracts meant for companies owned by disabled veterans or minorities, it said.

 

https://www.blacklistednews.com/article/75907/how-the-pentagon-was-duped-by-contractors-using-shell.html

Anonymous ID: 77114f Jan. 5, 2020, 1:25 p.m. No.7724834   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>4858 >>4871 >>5077 >>5080 >>5200 >>5352

Schumer: 4 Republicans Must Join Democrats to Ensure Fair Trial

 

A fair impeachment trial will only take place if four Republican senators break with their party to join Democrats to shape the proceeding, according to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Sunday.

 

“Four Republican senators can join us,” Schumer told ABC’s “This Week.” “We have the ability to require votes on the four witnesses we have asked for, whether there’s an agreement or not. We have the ability to ask for the documents. And I hope, pray, and believe there’s a decent chance that four Republicans will join us.”

 

Schumer and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have publicly grappled over the rules of the trial, on whether to call in witnesses, and on the possibility of reviewing any new evidence in the trial. The House voted Dec. 18 to impeach President Donald Trump on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, with Democrats alleging that the president misused his office by pressuring Ukraine to investigate a political rival, Joe Biden, in exchange for congressionally approved military aid, which Trump and Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelensky have both denied.

 

As to who those four Republicans might be, it’s not yet clear. Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have publicly broken with Trump on several issues. However, there is a possibility that several Democratic senators will join Republicans.

 

Republicans have a 53 to 47 majority in the Senate. To vote on the rules, the Senate needs a simple majority, but to remove a president, a 67-vote supermajority is required.

 

The Epoch Times has reached out to McConnell’s office for comment on Schumer’s assertions. McConnell has made clear he’s not interested in giving in to any demands from Democrats, while another top Trump defender, Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), told Fox News on Sunday that despite voting to use the same Senate rules for impeachent of Trump as were used for President Bill Clinton, Schumer “[is] now pointing to those same rules, calling them absurd and saying they would be unfair.”

 

https://www.theepochtimes.com/top-senate-democrat-four-republicans-must-join-democrats-to-ensure-fair-trial_3194366.html

Anonymous ID: 77114f Jan. 5, 2020, 2:05 p.m. No.7725190   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5352 >>5380

Nasrallah: Expulsion Of U.S. Forces From Middle East Is Apt Response To Assassination Of Soleimani

 

The response to the assassination of Iran’s Quds Force Commander Maj. Gen. Soleimani will be the expulsion of U.S. forces from the Middle East, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said on January 5.

 

The Lebanese leader said in a memorial service for Soleimani and his comrades, who were killed in U.S. airstrikes on Baghdad airport earlier this week, that the U.S. will leave the region “humiliated” .

 

“We are neither angered nor afraid, but we consider that there is a chance to get rid of the US occupation and hegemony,” al-Manar quoted Nasrallah as saying.

 

Nasrallah said that U.S. forces, warships and bases in the Middle East must pay the price for the killing of Soleimani, stressing that American civilians will not be targeted.

 

A day earlier, President Donald Trump warned that the U.S. will strike 52 targets in Iran, including sites significant for the Islamic country’s culture, if Americans or American assets are attacked.

 

Nasrallah’s remarks indicate that Hezbollah will take part in any Iranian response to the assassination of Soleimani. Earlier, an Iranian military commander said that Syria also will play a role in the awaited response.

 

https://southfront.org/nasrallah-expulsion-of-u-s-forces-from-middle-east-is-apt-response-to-assassination-of-soleimani/

Anonymous ID: 77114f Jan. 5, 2020, 2:06 p.m. No.7725199   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5352

Turkish Military Started Moving To Libya: Erdogan

 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed on January 5 that Turkish military units had started moving to Libya to support the Government of National Accord (GNA) and provide “stability.”

 

In an interview with CNN Turk, Erdogan said that several units will be deployed in Libya, but with no Turkish soldiers fighting. According to the Turkish President, senior Turkish military personnel will be coordinating operations in the Arab country. A headquarters for the Turkish Armed Forces will also be established there.

 

“Turkey and Libya could work with international companies to search for oil and gas in the eastern Mediterranean,” al-Arabia quoted the Turkish President as saying.

 

On January 3, Erdogan signed a bill allowing the deployment of Turkish troops in Libya. The bill was approved by the Turkish Grand National Assembly a day earlier, following four hours of discussions and negotiations.

 

The UN-recognized GNA is now facing a large-scale attack by the Libyan National Army (LNA), that’s backed by Egypt and the UAE. Pro-government forces are holding onto their positions in the country’s capital, Tripoli, and several towns in outskirt.

 

As Erdogan clarified that Turkish soldiers won’t be carrying out the fighting in Libya, this task will likely be pinned on Turkey’s Syrian proxies. Ankara has been deploying militants of the so-called Syrian National Army (SNA) in Libya since last December.

 

By intervening in Libya, Turkey likely hopes to secure the recent maritime agreement with the GNA, which grants its drilling vessels much freedom in eastern Mediterranean. The agreement’s biggest critics, Egypt and Greece, will likely try to act against the Turkish intervention in Libya.

 

https://southfront.org/turkish-military-started-moving-to-libya-erdogan/