NATO moves 1,000s of troops in one of year’s largest Europe drills

NATO allies are conducting a massive drill in southeastern Europe meant to test the alliance’s ability to move large quantities of troops and equipment into the region.

 

Troops and vehicles from bases in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Norway, and Albania are to roll through or fly over Europe to the final rallying ground in Cincu, Romania, where the active phase of Operation Noble Jump 17 is to start on June 8. Some parts of the training will take part in Bulgaria and Greece as well, the Sofia Globe reported.

 

Of the some 4,000 allied troops taking part in the war games, 1,900 are part of the so-called Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF). Around 500 military vehicles are taking part in the drill as well.

“The exercise demonstrates results, capability and readiness all of which are critical for defense and deterrents,” said British Major General Ian Cave, the director of the NATO operation.

“It also shows NATO as a responsive and capable alliance, which reassures all of our allies, all of our populations and all of our partners,” he added.

https://www.rt.com/news/390445-nato-massive-drill-romania/

23mn Americans to lose health insurance by 2026 under GOP repeal of Obamacare – CBO

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s latest scoring of the House Republican replacement to Obamacare shows that by next year, 14 million people would lose health coverage, while a total 23 million would lose insurance within a decade.

 

The CBO’s report Wednesday takes into account amendments attached to the American Health Care Act (AHCA) on May 4, shortly before the House bill’s partisan passage which was nearly denied by just two votes. This is the AHCA’s second scoring by the CBO, which released its first report in March.

Around 23 million Americans would lose health care insurance by 2026, the new report found. The CBO had previously projected 24 million people losing health coverage. However, it remains unclear how much, if any, good news the Senate Republicans can take away from the government report.

https://www.rt.com/usa/389630-cbo-republican-healthcare-obamacare-insurance/

 

US Army lost track of $1 billion worth of arms & equipment in Iraq, Kuwait

 

A newly released declassified audit from the US Department of Defense shows that negligent accounting by the military has resulted in the Pentagon not knowing what happened to more than $1 billion in arms and equipment meant for the Iraqi Army.

 

The Office of Inspector General for the Pentagon’s findings from September 2016 was made public Wednesday as a result of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from human rights group Amnesty International.

Over $1 billion worth of arms and military equipment designated under the Iraq Train and Equip Fund (ITEF) and meant to assist the Iraqi government in combatting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), was not accounted for, the DOD audit found.

https://www.rt.com/usa/389643-amnesty-army-lost-billion-arms-iraq/

Man v bear: Stomach-churning moment hunter fights for life (VIDEO)

One Canadian man was enjoying the great outdoors on his spring hunt when he happened upon a black bear in the distance. He stayed calm and patiently waited for the bear to pass without disturbing it. The bear had other ideas, however.

 

Richard Wesley, a locomotive engineer and “proud North American native,” living in Hearst, Ontario captured every hunter’s worst nightmare on camera.

An experienced hunter, Wesley knew that black bears will often bluff when charging, so he stood his ground and made lots of noise to scare the bear off.

In this case, unfortunately for Wesley, the bear meant business and proceeded to leap at him. Black bears are excellent at climbing and most bears can outrun humans so Wesley was forced to do the unthinkable: Fight a bear with his bare hands.

https://www.rt.com/viral/389673-man-fights-bear-attack/

 

US to leave 8,400 troops in Afghanistan into 2017, 35 percent more than expected

The US will leave 8,400 troops through the end of the Obama administration, the president announced. Obama had planned to drop troop levels from 9,800 to 5,500 troops by the end of 2016. But the increase of Taliban attacks have intensified calls to leave more troops there.

“The security situation in Afghanistan remains precarious,” Obama said. The Afghan military still needs our help, the president added.

“It is in our national security interest, esp after all the blood and treasure we’ve invested over the years, that we give our partners in afghan the best chance to succeed.”

Flanked by Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford, Obama announced Washington’s new exit strategy from the White House’s Roosevelt Room on Wednesday. His remarks focused on the need for partnership between the US and Afghan militaries.

https://www.rt.com/usa/349693-obama-afghanistan-withdrawal-number/

Islam stands above German law for half Turkish Germans – survey

Almost half the ethnic Turks living in Germany consider following Islamic teaching more important than abiding by the law, a new survey claims. They also view Islam as the “only true religion” with about one in five justifying violence if it is provoked by the West.

The study by the University of Münster titled “Integration and Religion from the viewpoint of

The Turkish Germans in Germany” outline some deep divisions within the German society as 47 percent of ethnic Turks living in the country said that following religious dogmas was “more important” to them than obeying “the laws of the land in which I live,”particularly if the two were incompatible. Moreover, 32 percent from those questioned said they yearn to live in the society of the times of the Prophet Mohammed.

https://www.rt.com/news/347063-germany-turks-islam-law-survey/

Two US Navy F-18s crash in the Atlantic off North Carolina’s Outer Banks

Two of the US Navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets have crashed off the coast of North Carolina on Thursday, the US Coast Guard confirmed. Their crews have been recovered and taken to a hospital.

 

Four people have been recovered and taken to the Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia, the Virginian-Pilot reported citing Coast Guard Petty Officer Fagal Nifin.

Nifin said the extent of the crew members’ injuries is “unknown.” One of the crew had a leg injury, reported WCTI.

https://www.rt.com/usa/344498-hornets-crash-atlantic-pilot/

 

 

Monsanto rejects $62bn bid from Bayer

Some Bayer shareholders were critical of the bid, saying the $122 per share was too high already. Monsanto’s shares rose to $107.61 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday morning, short of Bayer’s valuation.

Meanwhile, Bayer’s shares rose by 3.23 percent, reaching 87.15 Euros at the Frankfurt exchange.

The German conglomerate now has to decide whether to raise the offer, walk away, or attempt a hostile takeover.

“If you look at Monsanto’s share price right now, it is still well short the $122 a share price Bayer has already offered, which was a premium of 37% to Monsanto’s pre-bid price,” Boom Bust’s Edward Harrison said. “And now Monsanto is telling Bayer it wants still more. Bayer are clearly overpaying here. And to the degree they would pay more, or agree to pay a breakup fee in the case a deal doesn’t happen, their shareholders are going to be very unhappy.”

If successful, the deal would eclipse the planned combination of the agricultural units of Dow Chemical and DuPont, and would also become the biggest-ever corporate buyout by a German company.

https://www.rt.com/usa/344239-monsanto-bayer-bid-reject/

Clinton declines to debate Sanders ahead of California primary

“I hope Secretary Clinton reconsiders her unfortunate decision to back away from her commitment to debate,” Sanders added.

The Vermont senator also said that Clinton shouldn’t be so presumptive about the status as the Democratic, noting his string of recent victories in the states of West Virginia, Indiana and Oregon.

During a rally at a high school in Santa Monica, California, Sanders said that Clinton refusing to debate was a snub to the people of California.

“I think it’s a little insulting to the people of California – the largest state,” Sanders said at a rally in Santa Monica, California.“She is not prepared to have a discussion with me about how she is going to help California address the major crises we face.”

 “I also would suggest that Secretary Clinton may want to be not quite so presumptuous about thinking that she is a certain winner,” Sanders added, noting his victories in several recent primaries.

https://www.rt.com/usa/344250-clinton-declines-sanders-debate/

Ammon Bundy offered guilty plea if armed Oregon protesters were let go

The leader of the armed group that took over a federal wildlife reserve in Oregon reportedly offered to plead guilty to federal criminal charges if other protesters were let go and relieved of their charges.

 

According to the Oregonian, federal prosecutors ultimately rejected Ammon Bundy’s offer to plead guilty to a federal conspiracy charge, which was made about three days after he was arrested. Bundy led more than two-dozen armed individuals when they took over the Malhuer National Wildlife Refuge in Burns, Oregon this past January, an occupation that lasted 41 days.

At the time his offer was made, the occupation of the reserve was still ongoing, though 26 others were eventually charged over the incident.

In a court motion seeking to delay filing deadlines in Bundy’s trial, the 40-year-old’s attorney Mike Arnold said Bundy “was willing to sacrifice his broader interests and risk his liberty for his fellow protesters.”

https://www.rt.com/usa/341295-ammon-bundy-oregon-guilty-plea/