Mediaboss Marketing

Britain's foreign minister Boris Johnson will go to Moscow in the coming weeks to discuss the differences between the two countries over Syria and Ukraine, the Foreign Office said on Saturday, in the first such visit in five years.

Britain backed sanctions against Russia in response to its annexation of Crimea in 2014, and the countries have clashed on other issues, including Russia's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war in his country.

Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson speaks during a news briefing after a meeting with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and Poland's Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski in Kiev, Ukraine, March 1. Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters

Try Newsweek for only $1.25 per week

However, Johnson has accepted the invitation from counterpart Sergei Lavrov and the British government said that it was "clear that the UK will engage with Russia where it is in our national interest to do so.

"Discussions will focus on the UK-Russia relationship and current international issues including Syria and Ukraine, where we continue to have significant differences," a Foreign and Commonwealth spokeswoman said.

"This is not a return to business as usual, and the Foreign Secretary will continue to be robust on those issues where we differ."

As well as disagreement over Ukraine and Syria, Britain has accused Russia of hacking, with Britain's defense minister saying that Russia "weaponizes misinformation." The Kremlin calls the hacking allegations "baseless."

The last UK foreign minister to visit Moscow was William Hague in 2012, the Foreign Office said, adding that details of the exact timing of Johnson's trip would be confirmed in due course.

More here:
UK's Boris Johnson to Talk Syria, Ukraine in Moscow Visit - Newsweek

Russian media are rife with stories that the State Duma is poised to ban all money transfers to Ukraine without opening an account. The proposed law affects Ukrainian migrants working in Russia who send remittances back home. One publication cites an economist who claims that without these remittances, the Ukrainian currency market will collapse.

According to Oleksander Okhrymenko, the economist predicting Ukraines collapse, last year Ukrainian migrants transferred 7 billion dollars to Ukraine and saved the countrys currency market. Some 3 billion of those funds came from Russia, he claims.

Website screenshot vz.ru

Narodnyi Korrespondent, Voyennoye Obozrenye, Novorossia Inform, Russkyi Puls and other Russian internet sites disseminated this fake story.

Website screenshot bank.gov.ua

According to the National Bank of Ukraine in 2016 2.5 billion dollars was transferred to Ukraine, not the 7 billion that Okhrymenko claims. In 2015 Ukrainian migrants transferred 1.2 billion to their home country.

Website screenshot iom.org.ua

According to the International Organization for Migration remittances make up some 2-5% of Ukraines GDP.

Website screenshot iom.org.ua

While Russia remains the most popular destination for Ukrainian economic migrants, neighboring EU countries are growing more attractive. Poland, which in 2006 attracted 6% of Ukrainian migrants, in 2015 drew 30%.

Russian media are fond of quoting Oleksander Okhrymenko as he has frequently predicted doomsday scenarios for the Ukrainian economy. He predicted the currency black market would bring down Ukraines economy in 2016 and that the Ukrainian housing market would implode this winter.

Last year Ukraines economy grew by some 1.5% despite a war being waged in the east of the country.

Follow this link:
Fake: Ukraine's Currency Market Will Collapse Without Transfers from Russia - StopFake.org

by Kepler Wessels 05/03/2017, 11:53

South Africa thoroughly deserved their one-day series win against the Black Caps.

I felt all the way through that the South African combination was far stronger and I was a bit surprised that the Kiwis managed to take the series into a deciding fifth game in Auckland.

In a way this wasn't a bad thing. It gave the Proteas the feeling of playing in a knockout game. This match simulated the pressure that the South African side will face during the decisive phase of the Champions Trophy during the month of June in England.

They came through with flying colours in the last match, dominating New Zealand from ball one. AB de Villiers was quoted as saying that his team is ready for the Champions Trophy. I agree with him. In terms of preparation things are on track. This last series victory came on the back of convincing wins against Australia and Sri Lanka.

I thought De Villiers himself was excellent on this tour. He batted superbly and his captaincy was outstanding. The Proteas are fortunate to have two superb leaders in Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers at their disposal. The team has got used to both leadership styles and both captains bring the best out of their charges. They also lead from the front, which is another huge plus for the Proteas.

My only slight concern regarding the squad remains the seam bowling. On flat surfaces the seam attack can be inconsistent and at times expensive. When the surfaces change and offer something for the seam bowlers they do well. If the weather is fine in England leading up to the tournament in June the surfaces will be pretty flat so the quality and composition of the seam attack remains a work in progress.

The Proteas have won the Champions Trophy once before. As a result there is not the same pressure going into the event as there is for a World Cup. The group the Proteas find themselves in is the better of the two. They share the group with India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The top two teams go through to the semifinal. If AB de Villiers and his men play to the best of their ability they should get through to the knockout phase comfortably.

Meanwhile, here in New Zealand it is on to the test matches. There is no question that New Zealand is concerned about their batting strength. They fear the South African pace attack. The talk here is all about flat pitches that will negate the fast bowlers and turn as the test matches progress.

The South African test side differs vastly from the one-day combination. It remains a settled side with only one position up for grabs. This is the third seamer spot. When Kyle Abbot left the fold Duane Olivier played the last test against Sri Lanka at the Wanderers. He performed pretty well in that game so he will be unlucky if he doesn't retain his spot.

Morne Morkel has joined the squad and by all accounts he is injury and pain free. He did play in a couple of one-day matches recently. Whether the selectors will risk him this week in the first test in Dunedin remains to be seen.

Like the one-day series the Proteas are strong favourites to win the test series. New Zealand depend too heavily on Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Tim Southee, Trent Bolt and Neil Wagner. If they don't score the runs or take the wickets the Kiwis are under pressure. The Proteas have far more depth and a better balance under all conditions.

We can expect the same in the test matches as we saw during the one-day internationals. The Kiwis will scrap hard but in the end the Proteas should prevail without too much difficulty.

Read the original:
The Proteas should prevail - SuperSport (blog)

LAHORE: Kai Kai Quetta Gladiators lock horns with Khpal team Peshawar Zalmi for the Pakistan Super League 2017 title at the Gaddafi Stadium tonight, as the league comes to where it belongs its rightful home, Pakistan.

Tonight, before thousands of roaring fans, Sarfraz Ahmeds men will battle it out with Darren Sammys XI for the ultimate championship, as the entire nation comes together to watch the action unfold at Lahores historic ground.

Also read: Gaddafi Stadium Down memory lane

Gladiators beat Zalmi by one run in the first playoff to secure their place in the final, while Zalmi outclassed Karachi Kings by 24 runs in Fridays knockout game to avenge last years heartbreak, when their journey to the final was cruelly cut short by Islamabad United.

The stage is set, the ground is ready, the trophy is up for grabs and the fans cant wait. The security around Gaddafi Stadium has been beefed up with thousands of security personnel deployed to stand guard, as cricket returns to the heart of Pakistan.

The two teams have clashed thrice in this tournament. Their first game was washed out; Zalmi won the second encounter by 2 wickets, while Gladiators defeated Zalmi in the third faceoff (the first qualifying final) in a last-ball thriller.

Gladiators are without their top overseas players Kevin Pietersen, Luke Wright, Tymal Mills and Rilee Rossouw, who withdrew from the final after their side secured a berth in the grand finale. The team has instead named five other foreign players who will be part of the squad tonight: Anamul Haque (Bangladesh), Sean Ervine (Zimbabwe), Morne Van Wyk (South Africa), Elton Chigumbura (Zimbabwe) and Rayad Emrit (West Indies), along with Aizaz Cheema, who is in for injured Umar Gul.

Also read: Sarfraz confident Quetta will win this time

Four foreign players of Zalmi, meanwhile, reached Lahore late Saturday night to take part in the final. They include skipper Darren Sammy, Dawid Malan, Marlon Samuels and Chris Jordan. England player Samit Patel was not issued NOC from his county. All-rounder Shahid Afridi has been ruled out of the PSL final after he copped a nasty blow to his hand during fielding in Fridays game.

Zalmi wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal is this tournaments highest scorer with 313 runs.

Fast bowler Wahab Riaz is this PSLs second-highest wicket-taker with a tally of 13.

From the Gladiators current squad, Ahmad Shahzad is the top scorer with 241 runs.

Spinner Mohammad Nawaz is the top wicket-taker with 9 wickets.

See more here:
Final showdown: Quetta Gladiators, Peshawar Zalmi clash for PSL 2017 championship - Geo News, Pakistan

Former President Obama on Saturday denied President Trumps accusation that Obama had Trump Tower phones tapped in the weeks before the November 2016 election.

Neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any U.S. citizen. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false," said Kevin Lewis, a spokesman for the former president.

Trump made the claim in a series of early Saturday morning tweets that included the suggestion that the alleged wiretapping was tantamount to McCarthyism and Nixon/Watergate.

Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my wires tapped in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism, Trump tweeted.

Is it legal for a sitting President to be wire tapping a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW! he said in another tweet.

Trump also tweeted that a good lawyer could make a great case of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election!

How low has President Obama gone to tap (sic) my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergage. Bad (or sick) guy! the president continued.

Trump does not specify how he uncovered the Obama administration's alleged wiretapping.

However, he could be referencing aBreitbartarticle posted Friday that claimed the administration made twoForeign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) requests in 2016 to monitor Trump communications and a computer server in Trump Tower, related to possible links with Russian banks.

No evidence was found.

The article was based on a segment by radio hostMark Levin.

However, the timelines for each seems to draw from a range of news reports over the last several months, including those from The New York Times and Heat Street.

Lewis also said Saturday: "A cardinal rule of the Obama administration was that no White House official ever interfered with anyindependent investigation led by the Department of Justice.

Former Obama foreign policy adviser Ben Rhodes tweeted earlier in the day: "No President can order a wiretap. Those restrictions were put in place to protect citizens from people like you."

During Trump's Saturday morning tweets, he also brought up the ongoing controversy surrounding Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his reported 2016 meetings with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Trump said the first meeting between Sessions, a senator at the time, and Kislyak was arranged by the Obama administration.

He then said Kislayk also visited the White House nearly two dozen times during the Obama administration.

Just out: The same Russian Ambassador that met Jess Sessions visited the Obama White House 22 times, and 4 times last year alone, Trump wrote.

On Friday, Trump fought back against top Democratic lawmakers who are demanding his attorney general's resignation over past meetings with Russia's ambassador -- after pictures emerged of the same lawmakers in similar meetings, exposing them to "hypocrisy" charges.

Trump tweeted: "I hereby demand a second investigation, after Schumer, of Pelosi for her close ties to Russia, and lying about it.

Fox News' Serafin Gomez contributed to this story.

Link:
Obama responds to Trump claim he ordered Trump Tower ...