ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Russian S-400 air defence mobile missile launching systems (Reuters / Vasily Fedosenko) Current US and Russian war games at a time of serious international tension are very dangerous and someone’s mistake or a computer error could push the world over the brink into a nuclear war, claimed Dr. Helen Caldicott to RT. UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond claims the UK could deploy US nuclear missiles as a response to increased “levels of activity both by Russian forces and by Russian-controlled separatist forces” in Ukraine. Hammond added Russia needs to get "a clear signal" that "we will not allow them to transgress our red lines." Nevertheless, the UK hosting US nuclear missiles still remains a distant prospect. For more on this RT asked pediatrician Dr. Helen Caldicott, founding president of Physicians for Social Responsibility and president of the Helen Caldicott Foundation for a Nuclear Free Future. RT: Why is the US is so eager to show its nuclear might? What is th

Iraqi soldiers salute as they stand next to a mass grave for Shi'ite soldiers from Camp Speicher who have been killed by Islamic State militants in the presidential compound of the former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in Tikrit April 6, 2015 (Reuters / Stringer) The remains of almost 600 Iraqi soldiers believed to have been massacred last June by Islamic State militants have been exhumed at the Speicher military base in Iraqi Tikrit, the country’s minister announced. “The remains of 597 Speicher martyrs have been exhumed,” Iraq’s human rights minister Mohammed al-Bayati said told reporters. It has been nearly a year since Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) claimed to have executed 1,700 “Shia members of the army” after its takeover of Tikrit on 12 June 2014. In what was assessed by Human Rights Watch (HRW) as “crimes against humanity,” IS launched an attack on Camp Speicher airbase near Tikrit, 140 kilometers northwest of Baghdad. Hundreds of captured Iraqi soldiers, mostly Sh

The Saudis and the Turks are scaling up their support for Syrian jihadists while the Israelis contemplate a new war with Hezbollah. By Conn Hallinan A quiet meeting this past March in Saudi Arabia, and a recent anonymous leak from the Israeli military, set the stage for what may be a new and wider war in the Middle East. Gathering in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh were Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, newly crowned Saudi King Salman, and the organizer of the get-together, the emir of Qatar. The meeting was an opportunity for Turkey and Saudi Arabia to bury a hatchet over Ankara’s support — which Riyadh’s opposes — to the Muslim Brotherhood, and to agree to cooperate in overthrowing the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad. Taking Aim at Assad The pact prioritized the defeat of the Damascus regime over the threat posed by the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, and aims to checkmate Iranian influence in the region. However, the Turks and the Saudis are not quite on the same page w

Photo from wikipedia.org In between pontificating on the US election, Greece’s turmoil and the position of Russia, participants in the shadowy Bilderberg conference are going to discuss the development of artificial intelligence and risks of cyberspace. The club that has been bringing together west’s most influential financiers, media moguls, industry captains, politicians and royalty for over six decades, is meeting this week in Austria. Some 140 guests are to visit the Telfs-Buchen alpine resort, where this year’s conference is to be held, just 20 km from the site of the G7 summit. The group has published its agenda and guest list ahead of the four-day private event. From politics, it brings together two current European prime ministers, Mark Rutte of the Netherlands and Charles Michel of Belgium, and several ministers such as UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen and Finnish Finance Minister Alexander Stubb. A lower tier of pub

Varvara Karaulova (Photo from facebook.com) A Russian teenage girl, who had been caught in Turkey on her way to Syria, is awaiting deportation to Russia. The father of the suspected Islamic State (IS) recruit spoke to RT after seeing his daughter for the first time since she ran away. “We met warmly, we hugged and kissed. The first thing she asked me was, 'Daddy, when will you get me out of here? When will we go home?” Pavel Karaulov, father of Varvara Karaulova told RT. The father said that the he was only able to exchange “I love you” phrases with Varvara, as their meeting was limited to five minutes according to the Turkish procedural rule. “The most important thing was to make sure that Varvara's health is alright, that she feels good, that she’s is kept in normal conditions,”Pavel told RT. He also wanted to make sure that his daughter has everything she needs. The 19-year-old appeared to have lost some weight, but the medical examination proved she was in good health. “Var

We’ve heard about the threat to the monuments - but what about the human tragedy? By Robert Fisk When the black-cowled gunmen of the 'Islamic State' infiltrated the suburbs of Palmyra on 20 May, half of Assad Sulieman’s oil and gas processing plant crews – 50 men in all - were manning their 12-hour shift at the Hayan oil field 28 miles away. They were the lucky ones. Their 50 off-duty colleagues were sleeping at their homes next to the ancient Roman city. Twenty-five of them would soon be dead, among up to 400 civilians – including women and children – who would die in the coming hours at the hands of the Islamist militia which every Syrian now calls by its self-styled acronym ‘Daesh’. Oil engineer ‘Ahmed’ – he chose this name to protect his family in Palmyra – was, by chance, completing a course at Damascus University on the fatal day when Palmyra fell. “I was appalled,” he said. “I tried calling my family. It was still possible to get through on the phone. They said ‘Daesh’ (

Still from YouTube video/PatentYogi As drone technology continues to advance, Boeing has raised the bar even higher. The aerospace giant has received a patent for a UAV that could fly forever – recharging in mid-air via a tether attached to the ground. The patent – filed in March 2013 and approved by the US Patent and Trademark Office last week – could revolutionize unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as we know them, foregoing the need to refuel or recharge on land. According to the patent, the electrically-powered drone would have a retractable tether cable that would connect to a power source. When the drone was fully charged, it would automatically fly off to continue its task, and another UAV could then take its place at the charging station. The drone could be connected to a number of sources, including land- and sea-based power supplies. It could even be connected to moving vehicles, allowing the drone to fly while charging. The concept could be extremely beneficial for drone delive

Reuters/William Hong About 60 percent of underground water in China, and one-third of its surface water, have been rated unfit for human contact last year, according to the environment ministry in Beijing. The ministry said in a statement that water quality is getting worse, and the ministry classified 61.5 percent of underground water at nearly 5,000 monitoring sites as “relatively poor” or “very poor.” In 2013, the figure stood at 59.6 percent. The fact that the water is unfit for human contact means that it can only be used for industrial purposes or irrigation. The water supplies are classified into six grades, with only 3.4 percent of 968 monitoring sites of surface water meeting the highest “Grade I” standard. A total of 63.1 percent was reported to be suitable for human use, rated “Grade III” or above. China is currently carrying out a “war on pollution” campaign, to deal with environmental issues. In particular, in April, the government in Beijing pledged to increase the percen