Headlines:

• Russia and Turkey to Create Buffer Zone in Idlib
• Tony Blair Challenges Muslims
• The Battle for the 21^st Century

Russia and Turkey to Create Buffer Zone in Idlib

In last ditch talks in Sochi, Russia, Russian president Vladimir Putin and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan have agreed to create a demilitarised buffer zone in Syria’s Idlib province to separate government forces from rebel fighters based there. Putin said it would be 9-15 miles wide and come into force by 15 October. Troops from Russia and Turkey will patrol the zone. The Russian president said that under the deal, all heavy weaponry, including tanks, rocket launch systems and mortar launchers operated by rebel groups would need to be pulled out of the buffer zone by 10 October. Other groups including the al-Nusra Front, Mr Putin said, would have to leave the zone. It was not immediately clear if the zone included Idlib city, which would require some rebels to withdraw from it. In effect this agreement means outside the buffer zone Bashar al-Assad and Russia along with Iran are free to conduct war and carry out the slaughter of the people.

Tony Blair Challenges Muslims

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has called for Britain to engage in a “battle of ideas” against groups that he claimed were intent on undermining Prevent, the government’s anti-extremism strategy, and which had campaigned against the appointment of the anti-extremism commissioner, Sara Khan. Mr Blair said that it was important to combat groups that promoted extremist ideas, even though they were not promoting violence. It is ironic that he is the Prime Minister most remembered throughout the world for forcing his liberal democracy upon Iraq and Afghanistan with bombs and bullets, yet now he sits on a moral high chair talking about an intellectual challenge. Tony Blair fabricated evidence and stood by the United States as they lied to the world trying to shore up support for their invasion of Iraq.

The Battle for the 21^st Century

Donald Trump has intensified his trade war with China by imposing new tariffs of $200 billion on Chinese goods arriving in the US from next week. Unlike previous tariffs which were aimed at businesses, the latest round will directly hit thousands of consumer goods, from luggage and electronics to housewares and foods, increasing their cost. “For months, we have urged China to change these unfair practices, and give fair and reciprocal treatment to American companies. We have been very clear about the type of changes that need to be made, and we have given China every opportunity to treat us more fairly. But, so far, China has been unwilling to change its practices.” China does not import nearly enough from the United States to target $200 billion in American goods — let alone the additional $267 billion in Chinese goods that Mr. Trump has threatened to tax. The US is targeting the economic sectors and technologies China’s rise has depended on. Unlike the other large economies, 20% of China’s economy is based on exports. The US is the largest destination for Chinese exports by far – in 2016, 23% of Chinese exports, worth roughly $481 billion, ended up in the United States. America GDP is $18.5 trillion, exports are $1.4 trillion – under 12%. The US imports, or China exports to the US are largely cheap consumer goods. The US can get these from other destinations, if needed. China on the other hand will not find another consumer market that consumes goods the way the USA does. The battle for the 21^st century has now begun.