Link: https://www.rt.com/news/401013-venezuela-military-drills-trump/

Venezuela has begun massive wargames to show Donald Trump that it is capable of defending itself against US aggression. The drills will involve 200,000 troops and thousands of civilian volunteers, the military said.

The number of participants in the exercise starting Saturday will exceed 900,000 people, Remigio Ceballos, head of the Venezuelan Strategic Operational Command, told the media.

There’ll be around 200,000 servicemen taking part, with the rest of those drilling being members of the Venezuelan civilian militia.

Link: https://www.rt.com/news/401014-merkel-election-rally-protest/

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was confronted by whistling and screaming protesters during a campaign speech for the second time in a little more than a week. The defiant chancellor told the anti-refugee hecklers Berlin still welcomes asylum-seekers.

Merkel, who is seeking a fourth term as the leader of Germany in the September 24 election, spoke on Saturday to a crowd of 1,500 to 3,000 people in Quedlinburg, a town in Saxony-Anhalt, where she faced angry protesters who yelled and whistled at her during the 30-minute speech.

Link: https://sputniknews.com/military/201708221056681106-russia-kalashnikov-device/

Russia’s Kalashnikov Concern has come up with the REX-1. This is a nonlethal electronic weapon capable of shooting down drones and jam mobile phone and Wi-Fi signals. REX-1 could also be used in everyday life to ensure the owner’s privacy, and by police during rallies and other public events. “It can jam GSM-signals and 5.6 and 2.4 gigahertz Wi-Fi signals. Therefore, it can also be used against homemade explosive devices.

Link: https://sputniknews.com/military/201708241056753042-russia-sixth-generation-fighter-jet/

Russia's sixth-generation fighter jet will be equipped with an artificial intelligence system capable of making key decisions without the pilot’s involvement. "This plane will not just perform the tasks set by its crew, but it will be also capable of taking decisions on its own in certain emergency situations.

Link: http://www.blacklistednews.com/Netanyahu_To_Putin%3A_Iran_Must_Leave_Syria_Or_%22We_Will_Act%22/60490/0/38/38/Y/M.html

Wednesday the Israeli Prime Minister told Russian President Putin that Israel would not tolerate an Iranian presence in Syria and further signaled willingness to go to war in Syria to curtail Iranian influence. "Iran is already well on its way to controlling Iraq, Yemen and to a large extent is already in practice in control of Lebanon," Netanyahu told Putin.

Link: https://www.rt.com/news/386093-uk-nuclear-strike-russia/

The UK, which recently said it could launch a preemptive nuclear strike “in the most extreme circumstances,” runs the risk of being “wiped off the face of the Earth,” Frants Klintsevich wrote on Facebook. “There is a quite natural question then: what country could be primitively targeted by the UK?” the deputy head of the Federation Council’s Committee for Defense and Security said. Klintsevich’s comment comes after Fallon on Monday said that the UK is prepared to carry out a preemptive nuclear strike against any enemies, even if Britain is not under attack.“In the most extreme circumstances we have made it very clear that you can’t rule out the use of nuclear weapons as a first strike,” Fallon said on the BBC’s Today program, not specifying what “most extreme circumstances” imply.

Link: https://www.rt.com/news/400738-germany-support-us-korea/

When asked about the worst-case scenario, namely an armed conflict between Washington and Pyongyang, Merkel said that Germany would not necessarily back America. “No, not automatically. I do not see any military solution to [the crisis with] North Korea. I think it is wrong,” Merkel said. The German leader called for a peaceful resolution to tensions, insisting that “diplomatic means have not been utilized in full.”

Link: http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/08/22/532536/Russia-Indon-Jets-Palm-Oil

Russia is set to sell Indonesia nearly a dozen Sukhoi fighter jets worth $1.14 billion in exchange for cash and commodities, officials in Jakarta say. Indonesia is to ship about $570 million worth of commodities in addition to cash payments in return for 11 Sukhoi SU-35 fighter jets; the type and volume of commodities were “still being negotiated.”Previously the Indonesian trade minister had said the exports could include palm oil, tea and coffee.

Link: http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/08/19/532203/Canada-US-refugees-military-tents

Soldiers busily assemble tents with wooden floors, lighting, and heating in Canada's Quebec Province near the US border to temporarily house a surge in asylum seekers from the United States. Most of the new arrivals are Haitians who face expulsion from the United States at the end of the year. Then, temporary asylum granted to 60,000 Haitians affected by a devastating 2010 earthquake is due to expire. Their numbers have soared from about 400 in May to 3,800 in the first weeks of August.

Link: http://www.blacklistednews.com/UK_condemned_over_%27shocking%27_export_of_deadly_weedkiller_to_poorer_countries/60468/0/38/38/Y/M.html

A highly toxic weedkiller not authorised for use in the EU is being exported to developing countries from a UK factory. Paraquat, a pesticide so lethal that a single sip can be fatal, has caused thousands of accidental deaths and suicides globally, and was outlawed by EU states in 2007. Swiss pesticide manufacturer Syngenta is exporting thousands of tonnes of the substance to other parts of the world.

Link: https://www.rt.com/politics/400627-russia-mulls-limitations-on-internet/

The Russian government plans to take steps to minimize the flow of internet traffic through foreign-based exchange points in order to prevent sensitive data from falling into the hands of US intelligence agencies, plans to prevent internet service providers and communications companies from channeling web traffic from Russia through foreign-based internet exchange points (IXPs).

Link: https://www.rt.com/usa/400591-travel-warning-mexico/

Popular Mexican vacation hot spots for Americans may not be safe to visit, the US is warning American travelers. The warning targets two Mexican states that are rife with gang violence, and includes Cancun and Playa Del Carmen.

Link: http://www.activistpost.com/2017/08/new-distracted-walking-legislation-will-outlaw-texting-even-talking-walking.html

Stamford, Connecticut proposal would make texting, and even talking, on an electronic device while walking illegal; claimed that its purpose “is not to raise money for the city, but to hopefully educate the public.” Residents will face an initial fine of $30 if police deem that they fit the description of “distracted walkers.”

Link: http://www.blacklistednews.com/38_out_of_60_shampoos_found_to_contain_harmful_manufacturing_solvent_in_tests_by_Hong_Kong_consumer_watchdog/60454/0/38/38/Y/M.html

Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog found 38 out of 60 shampoo samples it tested contained a harmful solvent used in manufacturing. The Consumer Council also found 20 per cent of the shampoos contained allergy-causing preservatives, and one tested positive for a heavy metal.

Link: http://www.blacklistednews.com/Scientists_remotely_hacked_a_brain%2C_controlling_body_movements/60465/0/38/38/Y/M.html

The effort, led by physics professor Arnd Pralle, PhD, of the University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences, focused on a technique called “magneto-thermal stimulation;” requires implantation of specially built DNA strands and nanoparticles which attach to specific neurons — but once the minimally invasive procedure is over, the brain can be remotely controlled via an alternating magnetic field. When those magnetic inputs are applied, the particles heat up, causing the neurons to fire. Scientists were able to prompt their test subject to run, freeze in place, or even completely lose control over their limbs.

Link: http://www.blacklistednews.com/63_Shot%2C_8_Dead_In_Chicago%27s_2nd_Most_Violent_Weekend_Of_2017/60446/0/38/38/Y/M.html

At least 63 people were shot in the city, and eight of them were killed, police said. More than half of them were wounded over 13 hours from Saturday to early Sunday. At least 16 more people were shot through the day Sunday, including three on the same street.

Link: https://www.rt.com/business/400489-russia-soviet-debt-payment/

Moscow made the final payment on the remaining foreign debt inherited from the Soviet Union. Russia took on the debt after the other former Soviet republics refused to pay. “The debt to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the amount of $125.2 million has been settled. The remaining debt was the money the Soviet Union owed to Yugoslavia.

Link: https://www.rt.com/business/400532-us-ukraine-first-coal-shipment/

The first cargo of Pennsylvanian coal is on its way to Ukraine under a deal sealed between US Xcoal Energy & Resources and Ukrainian state-run Centrenergo earlier this year, the Ukrainian Embassy said on its Facebook page. Ukraine will get 700,000 tons of coal from the US State of Pennsylvania this year. Ukraine holds the third largest anthracite coal reserves in the world. However, over half of its coal resources are in the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. The country faced massive disruption at power plants using anthracite coal after the railways leading to the territories were blocked.

Link: https://www.rt.com/usa/400458-trump-afghanistan-announcement-troops-strategy/

US President Donald Trump said he ordered the US military to aggressively engage the Taliban and “fight to win” in Afghanistan “killing terrorists,” signaling there will be no “rapid exit” from the 16-year war.

Link: https://sputniknews.com/latam/201708191056596152-venezuela-chief-prosecutor-colombia/

Former attorney general Luisa Ortega Diaz arrived in Bogota on Friday after fleeing Venezuela together with her husband German Ferrer, the Colombian migration agency has announced. Ortega was fired earlier this month by the Venezuelan government after criticizing the election to a controversial constituent assembly. The new top prosecutor opened an investigation into her husband, an opposition lawmaker, over his alleged involvement into an extortion ring.