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Russia Finishes Construction of Longest Bridge in Europe, Defies International Community with New Link to Crimea

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By Yahoo. President Vladimir Putin drew condemnation from the US, Europe and Ukraine on Tuesday after he opened a new bridge linking mainland Russia and Moscow-annexed Crimea by driving a truck across it to the peninsula.

Putin dressed in jeans and a casual jacket was shown by Russian state television behind the wheel of a construction truck to drive 19 kilometres (12 miles) across the bridge, which links the Taman peninsula in southern Russia to Ukraine’s Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.

“I want to sincerely congratulate you with this remarkable, festive and, in the full sense of the word, historic day,” Putin told workers upon arrival on the Crimean side of the bridge.

“In different historical eras, even under the tsar, people were dreaming of building this bridge,” Putin told cheering workers.

He was referring to Russia’s last tsar, Nicholas II, who first proposed such a bridge, but the outbreak of World War I prevented it going ahead. (Read more from “Russia Finishes Construction of Longest Bridge in Europe, Defies International Community with New Link to Crimea” HERE)

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Vladimir Putin Celebrated the Controversial Opening of Russia’s Bridge to Crimea by Driving a Truck over It – Without Wearing a Seat Belt

By Business Insider. Russian President Vladimir Putin drove Kamaz truck across a new, controversial bridge to Crimea without wearing a seat belt – which is against the law in Russia, according to a reporter from The Atlantic.

The new bridge from Russia to the annexed peninsula Crimea opened on Tuesday six months ahead of schedule. But several in the Russian media noticed that Putin was driving the truck across the bridge without his seat belt buckled.

(Read more from “Vladimir Putin Celebrated the Controversial Opening of Russia’s Bridge to Crimea by Driving a Truck over It – Without Wearing a Seat Belt” HERE)

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Russian Journalist Who Investigated Pro-Putin Mercenaries in Syria Dies in ‘Mysterious’ Fall

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Russian journalist Maxim Borodin died after falling from the fifth-story balcony of his apartment in the city of Yekaterinburg last week. While local police are dismissing the notion of foul play, friends and colleagues of Borodin are calling for an independent investigation over suspicions that Borodin may have possibly been targeted.

The day before his death, Borodin reportedly called his friend Vyacheslav Bashkov at five o’clock in the morning, saying his building was surrounded and that there was “someone with a weapon on his balcony and people in camouflage and masks on the staircase landing.” But later, Borodin called back to say it was all a false alarm and that Russian security services were simply conducting an exercise.

But Bashkov added: “His work was very dangerous. He was one of the best.”

One of Borodin’s recent stories covered the deaths of three Russian mercenaries who were reportedly killed in a confrontation with US forces in Syria on February 7. The mercenaries worked for the Wagner Group, which was referred to as “a shadowy Kremlin-linked private military contractor” by the newspaper Borodin wrote for, Novy Den. . . .

With media being controlled by the state, Russia is known as one of the worst countries in the world for press freedom — out of 100 countries, they’re ranked 83rd by Freedom House, who calls Putin’s regime “a trailblazer in globalizing state propaganda.” (Read more from “Russian Journalist Who Investigated Pro-Putin Mercenaries in Syria Dies in ‘Mysterious’ Fall” HERE)

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Hillary Clinton Recalls the Time Putin Used a Dog to Big-Boy Merkel and How It Screams Sexism

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By The Daily Caller. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “misogynist” Tuesday, saying he used his dog to intimidate German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a meeting between the two in 2007.

At a panel hosted by The Wing workspace in New York City, Clinton implied Putin was a sexist because he allowed his black lab Koni into the room during a meeting between the two leaders. Clinton claimed Putin let his dog into the room because he knew that Merkel was scared of dogs.

“Angela Merkel came to visit him and he knew the intelligence and he knew that Angela Merkel was afraid of dogs,” Clinton said, according to People.

Clinton called Merkel one of the “great European leaders post World War II” and said Putin let the dog in to “intimidate and embarrass” Merkel.

“So, you have these one-on-one meetings. All of a sudden, while the press is still there, this very large black dog came into the room. It was meant to intimidate and embarrass Angela Merkel, who is one of the really great European leaders [of] post World War II,” Clinton said. (Read more from “Hillary Clinton Recalls the Time Putin Used a Dog to Big-Boy Merkel and How It Screams Sexism” HERE)

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Hillary Clinton Recalls Hairy Story About ‘Misogynist’ Vladimir Putin

By Huffington Post. Hillary Clinton has a pet peeve with Russian President Vladimir Putin: He’s a “world-class misogynist” who had no qualms about using his dog to intimidate a powerful woman . . .

Putin has said he had no intention of frightening Merkel when he brought out his black Labrador Koni at his residence in Sochi. He said he wanted “to do something nice for her,” and apologized when he discovered she didn’t like dogs.

Merkel reportedly was bitten by a dog in 1995. Putin had been briefed by the Kremlin on Merkel’s fear of dogs in 2006, when he presented her with a stuffed toy dog, The New York Times reported.

Merkel said Putin pulled the dog stunt at Sochi “to prove he’s a man.” (Read more from “Hillary Clinton Recalls Hairy Story About ‘Misogynist’ Vladimir Putin” HERE)

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World Leaders Issue Warning to Putin

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Russia today denied ever making the toxic Novichok nerve agent used to strike down a double agent in Britain as it faced a wall of international condemnation.

Deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said neither the Russian Federation or the Soviet Union had a Novichok weapons programme. He said his country destroyed the chemical weapon stocks it did hold last year. . .

In an excoriating assessment that lays down the gauntlet to Vladimir Putin, the leaders brand the incident an ‘assault on UK sovereignty’ and a ‘clear violation’ of laws on chemical weapons use.

The statement said: ‘The United Kingdom briefed thoroughly its allies that it was highly likely that Russia was responsible for the attack. . .

‘We call on Russia to address all questions related to the attack in Salisbury. Russia should in particular provide full and complete disclosure of the Novichok programme to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).’ (Read more from “World Leaders Issue Warning to Putin” HERE)

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Putin Thanks Trump for CIA Tip on Bombings

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Russia’s Vladimir Putin called President Trump Sunday to thank him for U.S. intelligence that helped thwart terrorist attacks in St. Petersburg, officials in both countries said. It was their second phone call in four days.

The Kremlin said the CIA provided Russia with key information about a plot to bomb Kazan Cathedral and other places in St. Petersburg, allowing Russian police to arrest a group of suspects in raids on Friday.

The Russian president expressed gratitude for the CIA cooperation and assured Trump that Russia would continue to provide the U.S. with similar information, the Kremlin said.

Trump told Putin that he was pleased that the intelligence saved so many lives, and later called CIA Director Mike Pompeo “to congratulate him, his very talented people, and the entire intelligence community on a job well done,” the White House said.

The White House summary of the call also emphasized agreement that the intelligence cooperation was “an example of the positive things that can occur when our countries work together.” (Read more from “Putin Thanks Trump for CIA Tip on Bombings” HERE)

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Emails: Hillary Clinton Invited Putin to Clinton Foundation Gala

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Just two months into her term as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton’s foundation invited Russian leader Vladimir Putin, along with several other prominent heads of state, to the Clinton Global Initiative’s 2009 annual gathering, emails obtained by the watchdog group Judicial Watch reveal.

The March 13, 2009, email from the Clinton Foundation showed that Putin and about 200 other leaders (including others just as controversial) were invited to attend a gathering that occurred at about the same time that the newly appointed secretary of state was attempting a “reset” with Moscow.

The email, which was sent from Clinton Foundation director of foreign policy Amitabh Desai to Assistant Secretary of State Andrew Shapiro and then forwarded to top Clinton aide Jake Sullivan, also highlights the potential massive conflict of interest between a non-profit foundation and the federal government.

This may come as a shock to casual observers of global politics, as Clinton represented herself as a fierce anti-Putin hawk on the 2016 election campaign trail. Clinton routinely reprimanded now-President Donald Trump for not condemning Putin. She called Trump’s stance on Russia “unseemly” and “beyond one’s imagination.”

Even after losing the election, Clinton has continued on the warpath against President Trump’s stance on Russia.

“He doesn’t just like Putin, he wants to be like Putin,” Clinton said of Trump on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow show Thursday night.

But as secretary of state, Clinton took pains to engage with the Kremlin. Just one week prior to sending out the invites, Hillary flew to Geneva and presented the Russian foreign minister with an actual “reset button” to symbolize a new beginning in U.S.-Russia relations.

She’s also been accused of profiting off of the relationship with Russia. One year after inviting Putin to the Clinton Foundation event, she approved the sale of 20 percent of America’s uranium capacity to Russia. Shortly thereafter, donors connected to the company that was sold to Russia contributed $145 million in donations to the Clinton Foundation.

Beyond the Putin invite, many serious conflicts of interests arose from the sitting secretary of state’s invite list.

Judicial Watch explains further:

The list includes dignitaries from Saudi Arabia, which gave $14.5 million to the Clinton Foundation; Kuwait, which gave between $5 and $10 million; Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar — all of which donated between $1 and $5 million over the years. In February 2015, the Washington Post reported, “A third of foundation donors who have given more than $1 million are foreign governments or other entities … and foreign donors make up more than half of those who have given more than $5 million.”

(For more from the author of “Emails: Hillary Clinton Invited Putin to Clinton Foundation Gala” please click HERE)

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Putin Warns N. Korea Situation on Verge of ‘Large-Scale Conflict’

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Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Friday that the tense standoff between North Korea and the United States was on the verge of large-scale conflict and said it was a mistake to try to pressure Pyongyang over its nuclear missile programme.

Putin, who is due to attend a summit of the BRICS nations in China next week, wrote in an article published on the Kremlin’s web site ahead of his trip that he favoured negotiations with North Korea instead.

“It is essential to resolve the region’s problems through direct dialogue involving all sides without advancing any preconditions (for such talks),” Putin wrote.

“Provocations, pressure, and bellicose and offensive rhetoric is the road to nowhere.”

The situation on the Korean Peninsula had deteriorated so much that it was now “balanced on the verge of a large-scale conflict,” said the Russian leader. (Read more from “Putin Warns N. Korea Situation on Verge of ‘Large-Scale Conflict'” HERE)

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Putin Expels 755 Diplomats in Response to US Sanctions

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Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that 755 U.S. diplomats will be expelled from Russia by Sept. 1, according to an interview on Russian television.

The expulsions had been announced Friday in response to a new law passed in Congress that expanded sanctions, but Sunday’s statement was the first time a large number of Americans were confirmed as involved.

It was “a regrettable and uncalled for act,” a State Department official told The Associated Press. Earlier, a State Department official told Fox News, “It is our policy to not comment on the number of individuals serving at our missions abroad.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it is ordering the U.S. Embassy to reduce the number of embassy and consular employees in the country to 455.

“I decided it is time for us to show: We do not intend to leave U.S. actions unanswered,” said Putin, according to Interfax News Agency. (Read more from “Putin Expels 755 Diplomats in Response to US Sanctions” HERE)

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Body Language Experts Sound off on Trump-Putin Meeting

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Dugan Arnett. For body-language experts, Friday was sort of like Christmas.

After months of waiting, after investigations into Russian election meddling, after considerable analysis and build-up, two of the world’s most powerful men — President Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia — finally met face to face at the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.

Cameras, of course, were rolling for the initial greeting, and almost immediately, those who study such things say, the two began a nonverbal power negotiation.

Opinions on the interaction varied among body-language experts, but on one thing everyone agreed: For Trump, a man who has been routinely lampooned for the aggressive manner in which he shakes hands, Friday’s performance was quite out of the ordinary. (Read more from “Body Language Experts Sound off on Trump-Putin Meeting” HERE)

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Body Language Experts: Trump “Completely Different” in Recent Meeting

By Chris Baynes. Donald Trump’s body language was “completely different” at his meeting with Vladimir Putin, than it was with other world leaders, according to body language experts who have analysed his meetings with other world leaders.

The US President’s awkwardly long handshakes have become infamous since he took office, with his habit of aggressively yanking other heads of state towards him. Psychologists say this is a tactical move to assert dominance. . .

Unlike in previous meetings with premiers, Mr Trump did not lean in and there was no sign of his trademark aggression.

The pair briefly shook hands for a second time at a media photo call, when the US President leaned back in his seat and refrained from pulling Mr Putin towards him.

[One expert] suggested Mr Trump was wary of appearing “chummy” with the Russian President, amid ongoing investigations into claims Moscow interfered in the US Presidential election to his benefit. (Read more from this story on body language experts and Trump HERE)

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Putin: Russian State Has Never Been Involved in Hacking

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President Vladimir Putin insisted Thursday that the Russian state has never engaged in hacking and scoffed at allegations that hackers could influence the outcome of elections in the United States or Europe.

But the Russian leader admitted the possibility that some individual “patriotic” hackers could have mounted some attacks amid the current cold spell in Russia’s relations with the West.

Speaking at a meeting with senior editors of leading international news agencies, Putin also alleged that some evidence pointing at Russian hackers’ participation in attacks — he didn’t specify which — could have been rigged in an attempt to smear Russia. (Read more from “Putin: Russian State Has Never Been Involved in Hacking” HERE)

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