The United States, Germany, France and the United Kingdom have agreed on the conditions under which Washington will remain committed to the Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), media reported Tuesday.

Under the new agreements, the European and US sides decided that they needed to threaten Iran with new sanctions because of its missile tests and regional policy, but the JCPOA itself would not be altered, according to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

A Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was reached concerning Iran's nuclear program in Lausanne, Switzerland, June 2015.

The media also noted citing diplomatic sources that the negotiations had not finished yet.

Trump has repeatedly criticized the JCPOA – negotiated by the previous US President Barack Obama's administration – as being perhaps the worst deal in US history and threatened to withdraw Washington from the deal if it was not amended

Iceland’s independence is viewed as a “nuisance” by the European Union (EU) as it pushes to become an integrated superstate and pressures the Nordic nation to accept more and more of the bloc’s rules and regulations.
The comments were made by Bjarni Benediktsson, Iceland’s finance minister, who explained how they are battling to protect their national interests from “deeper integration” and the EU’s push to force them to bow to additional rules on energy and food standards.

Although not an EU member state, Iceland, along with Norway, is inside the Single Market and tied to many of the bloc’s rules thanks to membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement.

It submits to the European Free Trade Area (Efta) court, which is informed by case law established by European Court of Justice (ECJ) rulings, and is subjected to open borders and mass migration.

Brussels is set to divert tens of billions of euros in EU cash away from patriotic eastern and central states under budget reform plans that would link funding to the bloc’s ‘values’ which include mass migration.

According to proposals seen by the Financial Times, the European Commission is planning to shift the criteria for distributing cohesion programme funds away from GDP per capita towards so-called ‘EU values’.

Under the post-2020 EU budget laid out in the draft document, the €350bn funding pot aimed at developing the bloc’s weaker economies in the bloc, appears under a new title of “cohesion and values”.

THERESA May has suffered a fresh setback to her Brexit plans after the House of Lords dealt the Government another defeat on crunch withdrawal legislation.

House of Lords peers voted by 316 to 245 in favour of enshrining the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights into UK law in defiance of opposition from ministers.

The Government is now expected to try to overturn the reversal in a Commons vote next month.

Ministers had warned that a proposed amendment to the Government's EU Withdrawal Bill would enshrine "a body of foreign law" onto Britain's statute book.

Plots are meant to be secret. But just because some political manoeuvres are in plain sight, it doesn’t make them less insidious. That is true of the co-ordination between those members of Parliament who want to turn Brexit into a sham and the European Commission’s negotiating team, who have the same purpose.

The way pro-Remain MPs have set out their determination to force the UK to remain in a customs union with the EU, at exactly the same time as Brussels has rejected Theresa May’s plans for a frictionless border between Ireland and the UK post-Brexit, has all the precision of dressage. And it is Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, who is holding the reins.

Last December the Prime Minister broke the negotiating deadlock with the EU by agreeing that, come what may, there should be no hard border between the North and South of Ireland.

Republican senator Cory Gardner is championing a legislative initiative to determine whether Russia should be billed a "state sponsor of terrorism." Radio Sputnik discussed this with Manuel Ochsenreiter, director of the German Center for Eurasian Studies and editor-in-chief of the German news magazine "ZUERST!"

WARSAW and Budapest are expected to lose out on MASSIVE amounts of cash as Brussels proposes to move tens of billions of euros in EU funding away from central and Eastern Europe to the countries worse hit by the financial crisis, such as Spain and Greece.

EMMANUEL Macron’s time as the European Union’s golden boy has well and truly passed with even Germany losing patience with the struggling French president.

Immigration is an issue that causes tempers to flare. Many Americans want our borders to be firmly closed to outsiders, especially if those outsiders are brown. Having lived in and been welcome in another country, and having brought my children to the United States, obviously, I’m pro-immigration.

But only to a point.

Europe has opened their doors generously but now, they are filled with areas of high risk and looming flashpoints. Let’s take a look at what has happened in Sweden, where unchecked immigration has created a public safety crisis.

The crime in Malmo and Stockholm has skyrocketed. You can read about it in these articles:

Violent crime in Sweden is soaring

Hand grenades and violence rattle Sweden’s middle class

Violence against women has also increased dramatically.

According to the Swedish Crime Survey, compared to 2015, attempted rape against girls 15 – 17 was up 46 percent in 2016.

Something strange happened in the days immediately preceding Trump's airstrikes on Syria: first Germany, then Italy, refused to join the US-led effort, which ultimately also included the UK and France. Commenting on this curious split within the European core, we said that "there are at least two European nations who remember that when it gets cold in the winter, there is one country they call to provide the natural gas they need for heating. Russia"

The West should resume meaningful dialog with Moscow on all major international issues, and Russia should be invited to return to the G7, German opposition lawmakers say.

“If the West seriously intends to engage in a constructive dialog with Russia, it would be the right moment to do it now,” the head of the parliamentary faction of the Left Party, Sahra Wagenknecht, told DPA news agency. She added that the G7 group should once again become the G8.

Armenian authorities have prevented a series of terrorist attacks and the detention of citizens who planned to organize over a hundred explosions on the territory of the republic. According to the Armenian National Security Service (SNB), the criminal group was created by two citizens of Armenia associated with the convicted oppositionist Zhirayr Sefilyan, and the group “Sasna Tsrer”, who seized the building of the patrol and guard service in Yerevan in 2016.

It is reported that the criminals were going to arrange terrorist attacks, placing 100-150 homemade explosive devices in public spaces, which are controlled remotely. In particular, explosions were planned at Freedom Square in Yerevan, in the Dalma Garden Mall shopping mall and the entertainment center, under vehicles and bridges, and in residential buildings “to create an atmosphere of fear and illegal pressure on public authorities.”

AN INDIAN expert and broadcaster has revealed how long it will take for Britain's trade with the 52 Commonwealth countries to surpass its trade with the EU - and it will not please Brexiteers.

Ashis Ray told BBC Dateline that it could take a century before Britain's trade with the Commonwealth is stronger than its trade with the European Union.

The Indian expert and broadcaster also raised the possibility that this scenario may in fact "never happen" due to global competition.

This prediction follows the Commonwealth summit, CHOGM, which took place in London over five days this week.

Theresa May claimed that Britain will put the Commonwealth at the centre of its post-Brexit policy as the country looks to bolster its global trade ties.

CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel has sounded a chilling warning to German savers by telling them they will end up footing the bill if the Eurozone fails.

Mrs Merkel, who has abandoned her opposition to a common European deposit insurance aimed at offering protection across the bloc, told reporters at a press conference in Berlin that her countrymen will be liable in the event of it hitting the rocks.

Speaking alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, she said: "We are also ready to create a joint deposit insurance system in perhaps not the immediate, but more distant future.

“We do want liability and risks to be kept together.”

Russia's Crimea is hosting the 2018 Yalta Economic Forum. The event is being held just a few weeks after several European nations decided to expel Russian diplomats and to follow Washington’s lead in toughening sanctions against Moscow. Austria wasn’t among the «hardliners». Sputnik sat down with Detlef Wimmer – the deputy mayor of Austria’s Linz.

Why is the European Union pretending not to see how Israel is deliberately killing civilians in the occupied Gaza Strip?

On Friday, Israel killed four more unarmed protesters, including 14-year-old Muhammad Ayyoub, and injured hundreds more.

This brought to more than 30 the number of Palestinians killed by Israel in its violent suppression of the Great March of Return rallies that began on 30 March and are planned to continue until Nakba Day, the 15 May commemoration of the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

The victims include four children and a journalist.

Thousands more have been injured, more than 1,600 by live ammunition that has caused devastating injuries likely to leave them with lifelong disabilities.

Two weeks ago, the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor warned Israeli leaders that they could end up on trial for this violence against civilians.

This week, Emmanuel Macron travelled to Strasbourg to address the European Parliament for the first time. After entering the halls on a red carpet, “King Emmanuel,” as he was dubbed by Politico, delivered another enthusiastic speech in favour of radical reform of the European Union and showed once again that he is an unabashed supporter of more EU integration.

He called for deep monetary and fiscal reforms, especially on the budget, for a digital tax, and much more – and suggested that those who disagreed with him should leave the building (how enlightened): “If you don’t like the European Parliament, you should have run in other elections!” he declared.

At the same time, however, it seems as if the tide is slowly turning against EU federalists like Macron, Juncker, and Verhofstadt, and that a more realistic approach to today’s problems is taking hold.

MOUNTING eurosceptic pressure in the Czech Republic has threatened to bring down the caretaker government and trigger fresh elections, amid a resurgent anti-EU party that has called for a referendum on bloc membership.

Relations between China and Europe could face uncertainty as EU member states try to build a united front against Beijing’s “Belt and Road Initiative”, observers said.

Twenty-seven out of 28 EU ambassadors in Beijing, with Hungary the only exception, are reported to have signed a document denouncing the global infrastructure project for hampering free trade and giving an advantage to Chinese companies.

The Europeans’ concerns may overshadow an upcoming summit between China and the EU, scheduled for July, as the bloc has expressed increasing concern about Beijing’s influence over the continent.

With all the Syria and Skripal goings-on, you may have missed this one, and it's a biggie. This article was brought to my attention by Mr. L.G.R., and it's one of those that invites "careful reading between the lines." The story? The European Central Bank (based in Frankfurt), has ordered Deutsche Bank (also based in Frankfurt), to prepare a "crisis scenario":

ECB Tells Deutsche Bank To Simulate A "Crisis Scenario"

Now, I have no doubt that banks, corporations, government finance ministries and regulatory agencies probably run such games and scenarios all the time. It's the financial equivalent of a wargame, and this, indeed, is what we're being reassured of here, toward the end of the article:

EU MEPs are calling for Europe’s governments to BOYCOTT the Russia World Cup 2018 to punish Vladimir Putin for MOCKING European values.

MARIO Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank will remain a member of a secretive lobby group after the bank brushed aside concerns over a possible conflict of interest and defied the EU Ombudsman.

George Soros’ Open Society Foundations will close their office in Budapest and move their eastern European operations to Berlin, Austria’s Die Presse newspaper reported on Thursday.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has blamed Soros, a Hungarian-born U.S. financier, for a host of ills and pushed through legislation cracking down on non-governmental organizations called the “Stop Soros” laws which drew international criticism.

Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz has said that his country’s position towards Palestinian rights is “fixed” and “unchangeable,” Safa news agency reported on Friday.

Czaputowicz’s remarks came during a meeting with the ambassadors of Palestine, Morocco, Kuwait, Egypt, UAE, Algeria, Qatar, Libya, Tunis, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen and Mauritania, held in Warsaw on Thursday.

The meeting was held to discuss the mutual Polish relations with these Arab countries as Poland is currently a member of the UN Security Council.

Czaputowicz stressed that Poland is looking at the Arab world with interest and is seeking to develop relationships with Arab states.

George Soros' Open Society Foundations (OSF) may close their office in Budapest and move Eastern European operations to Germany, due to the “political hostility” it faces in Hungary, Austria’s Die Presse newspaper reported.

The office may shut down, reportedly, by the end of August and then move to Berlin or to Vienna. The report came a week and a half after Hungarian parliamentary elections, in which the conservative, anti-immigrant Fidesz party, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, secured a decisive victory.

In a press release on Thursday night, the Open Society Foundations neither confirmed nor denied the report, saying that it is “closely monitoring the situation” but emphasizing that, in any case, it will “remain committed to Hungary.”

Brazil's agriculture minister is accusing the European Union of trying to start a trade war with South America's largest economy after it threatened to cut off imports of domestic Brazilian chicken following a food-contamination scandal Bloomberg reported.

With the European Commission set to discuss restrictions on imports from BRF, Brazil's largest packaged-food producer and leading poultry supplier, Blairo Maggi is apparently turning up the rhetoric in hopes of averting a potentially devastating export ban.

Two brigades and a regiment are headed abroad in the upcoming months, according to three Wednesday releases from the Army.

The 3rd Cavalry Regiment will head to Iraq this spring, and in the summer, the 101st Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade will head to Afghanistan while the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade heads to Europe, according to the releases.

“This brigade is no stranger to Afghanistan, as this will be our fifth rotation there since 2001,” Col. Stanley Sliwinksi, commander of the Fort Campbell, Kentucky-based 101st Sustainment Brigade, said in a release.

The House of Lords inflicted an embarrassing defeat on Theresa May’s government on Wednesday, challenging her refusal to remain in a customs union with the EU after Brexit.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said that the European Union is a haven from the dangers of the world. He also called for the EU to strengthen European sovereignty in the world and claimed that France was willing to contribute more to the bloc as the UK leaves – if the union reforms in a way suitable to Paris.

Radio Sputnik discussed this with Dr. Russell Foster from the Department of European & International Studies at King’s College London.

The recent parliamentary elections in Hungary yielded a victory for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party, known for its anti-immigrant policies and its clashes with the EU over their differing stances on the matter. In the run up to the elections, globalist George Soros was accused of meddling in Hungary’s affairs.

Hungary’s government has once again warned of the threat Mr. Soros poses to the country, with government spokesperson Zoltán Kovács telling reporters on Tuesday that Soros has not accepted the outcome of the election and will continue to meddle in the country’s affairs to suit his pro-immigrant agenda.

“The events of recent days have made it crystal clear that George Soros is not prepared to accept the result of the Hungary parliamentary election,” spokesperson Zoltán Kovács said on April 17 in Budapest.

The leader of the Communist Party of Greece, Dimitris Koutsoumpas, has lambasted Athens for appeasing the US and EU governments, by allowing what he claims are American nukes in the country.

In an interview with ANT1 TV, the Greek communist leader has once again claimed that there are more US and NATO military facilities in the country than is commonly known-about.

He said that the US is reportedly stockpiling its nuclear arms in Araxos Air Base, has deployed drones to Larisa air field and keeps helicopters in Alexandroupoli. In addition to the joint US-NATO Souda Bay Naval Base in Crete, the alliance’s troops are also stationed in the east of the Aegean Sea under the pretext of countering a refugee influx, the politician claims.

A phone conversation between Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Austria’s Sebastian Kurz this week highlighted Vienna’s neutral, constructive approach towards Russia. The call came on the eve of FM Karin Kneissl’s first visit to Moscow.

During their conversation, the Austrian Chancellor and Russian President agreed that the US-led missile strikes on Syria had “aggravated” the situation in that country, and discussed ongoing humanitarian and deconfliction efforts. Writing on Twitter after the call, Kurz said that Russia was a “superpower” and “important player” in finding a peaceful resolution on the conflict. He added that Vienna would always be open to dialogue and negotiations.

Citing increasing tensions with Russia, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) has begun to prepare 35,000 troops for combat. The troops will participate in the largest training exercise conducted since the end of the Cold War.

NATO commanders revealed the thousands of soldiers from 30 different countries are expected to take part in the Trident Juncture drill in Norway. Massive parts of the Scandinavian country will be impacted by the influx of around 130 warplanes and 60 warships, reported The Daily Star. Trident Juncture will be aimed at rehearsing for any potential threat posed by Russia when it kicks off in October.

The United States Marines also maintain a constant presence in Norway, with tanks and other military hardware stashed away in frozen caves.

Well meaning Armenians have no idea that their grievances are being played upon by international interests like a pawn on a global chess board

Britain’s upper legislative house is to find itself more in agreement with the Opposition Party than the Government on Brexit.

British Prime Minister Theresa May's plans for the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union are set to receive another blow as the country's House of Lords is widely expected to vote for Britain to remain a member of the EU's Customs Union.

Today, on the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Political Prisoners, more than 150 European trade unions, political parties, human rights organizations and faith groups from over 16 European countries have issued a call urging the EU to uphold its legal responsibilities and exclude Israeli military companies from EU Framework Programs.

This call – accompanied by a video briefing – comes at a time when at least 35 unarmed Palestinians have been shot dead by Israeli snipers during three weeks of protests at Gaza’s border with Israel.

By firing missiles on Syria with its French and British allies, the strange President Donald Trump has managed to force the Western powers to accept the end of their unilateral domination of the world. The insignificant result of this demonstration of force drags NATO back to reality. Without having made use of its weapons, Russia now succeeds the Soviet Union in the balance of world power.

The European Commission President told MEPs the EU has to push to expand into the region torn apart by past ethnic wars fought in the 1990s.

A Commission report published on Tuesday recommends beginning membership talks with Albania and once again with Macedonia, despite the process being held up by a dispute with Greece over the country’s name.

Albania was first proposed as a potential EU member in 2014, but member states still need to give the Commission the go-ahead to start negotiations.

Speaking in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Mr Juncker pleaded with MEPs to consider his enlargement proposals.

ANGELA Merkel’s joint eurozone reforms with Emmanuel Macron are being restricted by German conservatives in a major blow to the European powers, documents have revealed.

EMMANUEL MACRON has provoked fury across the European Union with the French President due to push for a series of reforms as he debates the “future of Europe” with the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

European Union foreign ministers on Monday threatened new sanctions against Syria over its alleged chemical attacks, but held off from joining expected new punitive U.S. measures against Russia.

The European Union failed to agree new sanctions against Iran on Monday amid Italy’s opposition and fears that punishing Tehran for its missile programme and regional role would not stop U.S. President Donald Trump from abandoning a separate nuclear deal.

THE Israeli government accused Dublin City Council of “waging a campaign of hatred and discrimination” during a meeting with the Irish Ambassador in Jerusalem.

Ambassador Alison Kelly was summoned to a meeting with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a move that follows a row over the participation of Dublin Lord Mayor’s in an event in the disputed West Bank territory.

Tensions between the two countries are growing, with the Ministry this evening issuing a statement accusing the City Council of “two hostile decisions”.

This is a reference to motions passed by councillors on Monday. One proposed expelling the Israeli ambassador to Ireland, while the other supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign.

The European Commission in Brussels will soon give some pointedly negative updates to Turkey’s progress in joining the European Union in its country report.

In a draft version of the upcoming report, the EU Commission noted that "Turkey has made big steps away from the EU" and that there is a "serious relapse in the areas of justice, public administration reform, fundamental rights and freedom of expression." The Commission also predicted additional relapses "in an increasing number of other areas," according to Politico.

The draft report also urges Turkey to "end the state of emergency without any delay," referring to "disproportionate measures" used by its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his administration, including layoffs and arrests following a July 15, 2016, coup attempt.

When Brexit becomes a reality, the European Union will lose two members at once: Britain and Gibraltar, a member of the European Union that is part of its overseas territory. This decision is final, Michel Barnier said in Brussels. All disputable issues will be discussed in the future bilaterally by London and Madrid, which has never recognized the legality of this British enclave on its territory.

NATO calls on all members of the UN Security Council to confirm their duty in finding a political solution to the conflict in Syria, said Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance Jens Stoltenberg after a session in Brussels. At this meeting, the United States, Britain and France informed the allies on the military operations against Syria. Russia and all those who support the Syrian regime, called for constructive participation in the Geneva process.

In addition, Stoltenberg confirmed that Britain, the United States and France provided NATO with much information on chemical weapons in Syria, the alliance has no reason to doubt their assessment.

France together with the United Kingdom and the United States intends to submit a draft resolution of the UN Security Council to ensure a political transition in Syria, said France’s Permanent Representative to the Organization, Francois Delatra.

After Viktor Orban secured a new term in office in the parliamentary elections, a pro-government magazine published a list of “mercenaries” working for the pro-immigration billionaire. Further disclosures are to come.

The Hungarian magazine Figyelo, led by one of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s allies, has published 200 names of scholars, journalists and human rights activists from a local NGO (the Helsinki Committee, the Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International), branding them "mercenaries" of the US billionaire of Hungarian origin George Soros. According to the media, these people work within a network run by the financial tycoon, who reportedly funds pro-immigrant organizations and civic movements in different countries for his personal benefit.

The magazine announced that more names are to be published.