Prime Minister Cameron should face the fact that the city of London has become a Las Vegas for Russian financial transactions that are self-serving.

Said : Zbigniew Brzezinski - former United States National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981 - in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria.

Zbigniew Brzezinski on Putin: "He has gotten himself into a horrendous jam."

 "I strongly suspect that a lot of people in Russia, even not far away from him who are worried that Russia's status in the world is dramatically being undermined, that Russia's economically beginning to fail, that Russia's threatened by the prospect of becoming a satellite to China, that Russia's becoming self-isolated and discredited.”

Read Full interview...

State sponsorship on a scale that involves the supply of missiles capable of bringing down an aircraft at 30,000 feet would seem to deserve a name more closely related to conventional warfare.

Richard Barrett

Said : Richard Barrett, a specialist in global counter-terrorism operations, in his analysis titled "Are the pro-Russian rebels terrorists?" published under today's CNN Opinion column.

Richard has presented a very meaningful analysis aimed at the question whether  the U.N. secretary-general can admit the demand made by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to label  the two main rebel groups in his country, the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, as terrorist organizations, especially in the wake of the rocket attack that downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. Poroshenko also told the world that everyone must chose between the terrorists and the civilized world.

According to Richard : "Although any country can declare those two rebel groups terrorist in accordance with their national legislation, and so make it illegal for any of their nationals to provide them with support, the U.N. secretary-general cannot, and nor can any other part of the United Nations, except possibly the Security Council."

Richard argues that there is no internationally agreed definition of terrorism. He writes that the debate on what terrorism means has been going on at the United Nations for at least 20 years. But it gets "stuck in major disagreement over what may be considered legitimate when people are fighting for their right to self-determination."

In his analysis, Richard has tried to make the understanding of Russia's role, in the Ukrainian case, more distinct given the kind of support the rebels - terrorists or separatists - are receiving from Moscow. He has brilliantly taken up this key issue as described below :

Photo: A Buk (SA-11) missile system similar to the one
US intelligence says was used to shoot down MH17 "by mistake". (Wikimedia)

"Another issue that arises in the Ukrainian case is that if the rebels are terrorists, what does that make Russia?"

"State-sponsored terrorism has been less of an issue since the rise of al Qaeda, which seems to have done perfectly well without it. And while there are murky relationships between illegal armed groups and governments in parts of Africa and South Asia, state sponsorship on a scale that involves the supply of missiles capable of bringing down an aircraft at 30,000 feet would seem to deserve a name more closely related to conventional warfare."

Richard notes that "we now have a nasty mix in many places around the world of terrorism, armed opposition groups and proxy wars, all dressed up in ambiguity, denial and obfuscation. And while these dirty wars drag on, only one thing remains constant -- the dead bodies strewn around the fields and towns, whether fallen from the sky or just lying where they stood."

Richard Barrett has headed global counter-terrorism operations for the British intelligence service and led the U.N. monitoring team on al Qaeda and the Taliban. He is a senior vice president of the Soufan Group, a New York-based firm that provides security services to governments and the private sector. 

The cronies of Mr Putin and his clique in the Kremlin are the people who have to bear the pressure

Said : UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond Commenting on the EU's enhanced sanctions.

EU sanctions on Russia : French want British to act first by curbing Russian oligarchs who have sought refuge in London.  

The US and UK have asked France to cancel the US$1.6 billion deal for the supply of two Mistral-class helicopter carriers to Russia in view of Moscow's role in the Ukrainian crisis. They have even suggested France to sell these ships to the NATO instead of Russia. However, French President Francois Hollande said that the plan to deliver the two Mistral helicopter carriers was made in Paris and will go forward despite calls from the US and UK.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday that the order is "unthinkable,” calling for tougher sanctions and to halt all arms sales to Russia.  He urged the EU to extend sanctions to the arms sector.

“The Russians have paid. Should we repay 1.1 billion euros if the boat was not delivered to the purchaser?” he asked while speaking to reporters late on Monday – the night before EU foreign ministers are to meet in Brussels to discuss tougher sanctions on Russia following the downing of a Malaysian airline which left 298 dead, reported rt.com.

Hollande’s decision has found support among French officials, despite going against the wishes of the US and UK.

Jean-Christophe Cambadélis, head of Hollande's ruling Socialist Party, told iTélé television on Tuesday : "Hollande is not backing down. He is delivering the first (ship) despite the fact he is being asked not to." "This is a false debate led by hypocrites...When you see how many (Russian) oligarchs have sought refuge in London, David Cameron should start by cleaning up his own backyard," he continued. 

According to BBC, a new sanctions list naming individuals and organisations will be drawn up by EU ambassadors by Thursday, Mr Timmermans told reporters after meeting his EU colleagues in Brussels. The sanctions would be aimed at forcing Russia to help defuse the Ukraine conflict and put pressure on the rebels to disarm. But the BBC's Europe editor Gavin Hewitt says it is still unclear if EU leaders will be prepared to accept harm to their own economies in order to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Philip Hammond

The EU and US have imposed asset freezes and travel bans on some top Russian officials, military commanders and companies since Moscow's annexation of Crimea in March. The US has gone further than the EU in targeting members of President Putin's inner circle.

BBC has quoted UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond's comments on the EU's enhanced sanctions. Hammond said : "the word is 'cronies': the cronies of Mr Putin and his clique in the Kremlin are the people who have to bear the pressure". "If the financial interests of the group around the leadership are affected, the leadership will know about it."

"I think so much of politics is background noise, and we don't need the background noise anymore"

Said : Bill Clinton in an interview with CNN in Vietnam, commenting on Hillary Clinton's chances for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016.

Bill Clinton said that although Hillary Clinton hasn't asked him for advice on her 2016 decision, he thinks that the former secretary of state "really does need some time to think through this."

"We've reached a point in our life when we think you really shouldn't run for office if you don't have a clear idea of what you can do and a unique contribution you can make and you can outline that," Clinton told CNN's Anna Coren. "Now that the book is done, she wants time to think about that and work through it. I think so much of politics is background noise, and we don't need the background noise anymore."

Defending his time on the paid speaking circuit, Bill Clinton said that after leaving the White House and paying his debts, he "wanted to try and save enough money so that if anything happened to me, Hillary and Chelsea could both be in public service if they wanted to be, and I don't apologize for that."

"I don't think it's a bad thing to make money," Bill Clinton said. "I think it's bad if you live in a system that's rigged against the poor and the middle class. That's a very different thing and the purpose of politics is to create a system of shared opportunities and shared responsibilities."

Full story and Video....

'Our economies are strong, and growing in strength. And yet we sometimes behave as if we need Russia more than Russia needs us...."

David Cameron

Said : British Prime Minister David Cameron, reported by the Daily Mail.

Writing in the Sunday Times Mr Cameron said: "We must establish the full facts of what happened. But the growing weight of evidence points to a clear conclusion: that MH17 was blown out of the sky by a surface-to-air missile fired from a rebel-held area. If it is the case, then we must be clear what it means: this is a direct result of Russia destabilising a sovereign state, violating its territorial integrity, backing thuggish militias, and training and arming them." Mr Cameron continued: "This is not about military action, plainly. But it is time to make our power, influence and resources count. We must turn this moment of outrage into a moment of action. That action must go wider than just bringing those responsible to justice, he said, adding: 'If president Putin does not change his approach on Ukraine, then Europe and the West must fundamentally change our approach to Russia."

More reactions from UK :

David Cameron: This is an outrage made in Moscow...

David Cameron Published: 20 July 2014

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17: UK government response

We'll freeze Russian billions, furious Cameron warns Putin over jet outrage and tells him: 'You have contributed to an appalling tragedy'

"The opportunity expires to show the world that Putin is serious about helping."

Said : Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in a press briefing, CNN reported on July 19. 

More than two days after the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed in Ukraine, the bodies still have not been removed from the crash site. The remains of the 298 people killed in the crash have not been secured. World leaders have complained that the recovery is not happening fast enough, mainly because pro-Russia militants control the crash site.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to use his influence to force the rebels to allow full access.

"I want to see results in the form of unimpeded access and rapid recovery," Rutte said in a press briefing. "This is now priority number one." Rutte called images of people rummaging through the debris and belongings of victims "downright disgusting."

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte during a news conference
at the Ministry of Safety and Justice in The Hague, The Netherlands, on Friday. 

According to CNN, Rutte told reporters of what he called "a very intense conversation" with Putin on Saturday in which he told the Russian leader "the opportunity expires to show the world that he is serious about helping."

Nearly two-thirds of the people on the jetliner, which was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, were Dutch.

More details at Read :

Furious Dutch prime minister tells Putin to exert his influence 

Dutch Premier Decries 'Utterly Disrespectful Behavior' At MH17 Crash Site
Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte warns Vladimir Putin of 'last chance' to help recover bodies

If you want it, you can't get it; if you can get it, you don't want it : Alibaba IPO

Rick Schmidt

Said : Rick Schmidt, portfolio manager at Bridgewater, New Jersey’s Harding Loevner, when asked about the forthcoming debut of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's IPO.

Harding Loevner manages $37 billion, primarily in international stocks, and Schmidt helps lead the firm’s $2.2 billion emerging markets fund.

Steve Schaefer of Forbes, spoke to Schmidt shortly before Alibaba formally filed documents to list in the United States, last month. "Schmidt lauded the company while lamenting that the deal would probably be priced too high to hold much appeal for him initially," Forbes reported.

In 2013, Ailbaba processed 11.3 billion orders worth $248 billion, well ahead of Amazon and Ebay combined, with its sales accounting for 84% of China’s online shopping.

Alibaba Group's corporate campus in Hangzhou, China

According to Schmidt, Alibaba's IPO has the typical characteristics of emerging markets IPOs where the appealing IPOs generally get too expensive thanks to growth-hungry buyers. “If you can get it, you don’t want it,” he adds. “If you want it, you’re not gonna get it.”

In Schmidt's opinion, the most-hyped IPOs draw demand that far exceeds the number of shares being offered, driving up price and shutting out all but the biggest institutions and most well-connected investors. "In the current landscape, with many high-flying tech stocks falling out of orbit, it’s worth remembering that even the hottest deals often revisit their IPO prices – Twitter has gotten close in recent sessions – and even those that don’t will go through trying periods that make for more attractive buying opportunities," he said.

Schmidt prefers to wait for some time before taking a call at a certain price in case things go sour either due to broader market headwinds or some kind of post-offering swoon. “The busts are the best,” he says. “There’s never more information asymmetry than an IPO – the company knows everything about themselves and only lets you know what they want you to through the filter of the investment banks. With time, every day we learn more and get a track record. I’d much rather wait.”