(Text-only) Rhondda Records Home Page

For the present and the future,

the book on Fidel unveiled

in Vietnam

August 12, 5:14am

(Prensa Latina)

The deputy director of the National Political Publishing House

Su That (The Truth), Nguyen Thai Binh, described the book

Fidel Castro Ruz-From Childhood to Legend, unveiled

today in Hanoi, as reflections for the present and

the future.

Fidel - was not only the leader in the defense and construction

of the Cuban Revolution, he was a thinker and strategist who

transcended the borders of his time, Thai Binh said... during

the ceremony at the Ho Chi Minh National Policy Academy.

The work in Vietnamese was written by journalist Vuong Xuan

Nguyen, who participated in a discussion with the island's

ambassador here, Rogelio Polanco, as part of the

commemoration of the centennial of the birth

of the historical leader of the

Cuban Revolution.

Referring to the fact that the text is part of the efforts to disseminate

the thought of great men and bring them closer to new generations,

the editor pointed out that they seek to preserve historical memory

beyond generating documentation.

After recalling ...various qualities of the revolutionary leader, whose

birth is commemorated tomorrow, Thursday, Ambassador Polanco

pointed out that his universal values ---- led him to embrace

internationalism and selfless help to other peoples

throughout his life.

Asked about the coincidences with President Ho Chi Minh, the

diplomatic representative, said that both embraced the same

ideas in their struggles against colonialism and imperialism,

for the independence and unity of their peoples.

Fidel admired Ho Chi Minh's unique lineage, his ability to interpret

the ideas of Marxism-Leninism in a creative way, applied to the

reality of Vietnam and the oppressed peoples of the south,

he emphasized.

The text is the longest article in 25 years of journalism, said Xuan

Nguyen, who came to the profession ....after studying finance and

working at a company ...planting trees in the Presidential Palace.

He then introduced part of his team, including academics dedicated

to the study of South-South cooperation, including Professor Dao

The Anh, closely linked to agricultural development projects in

Cuba, including investments by private companies in the

cultivation of rice, as well as coffee, beans and corn.

Before the discussion in an auditorium of the Academy, the Cuban

ambassador was received by the permanent deputy director of

the centre, to whom he gave the book that was presented this

Tuesday and a painting with the image of Fidel Castro, built

through a montage of some six thousand photographs.

#Centenary of the Birth #cuba #ambassador Rogelio Polanco

#Book Fidel Castro from childhood to legend

#journalist Vuong Xuan Nguyen #vietnam

___________________________________________

Axios: US companies have not signed

ONE single oil deal with Venezuela

August 3rd, 2:56pm

(Pravda.EN)

US companies -- have not concluded a single oil deal

with Venezuela in 8 months, despite Washington’s

statements about the recovery of the industry.

This is reported by the Axios portal.

According to the newspaper, after statements by US

President Donald Trump that US companies would

be able to ''quickly restore'' the Venezuelan oil

industry, not a single deal was concluded.

Image: People hold up a banner as they protest against Israel at the entrance of the International Criminal Court.

Israeli-occupied Golan Heights,

inseparable part of Syria, says

Iranian Foreign Ministry

August 13, 10:31am

(PressTV)

The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denounced the latest

claims by Israeli officials over the occupied Golan Heights,

emphasizing that the strategic region is an

"inseparable” part of Syria.

The ministry, in a statement released on Thursday, vehemently

condemned the rhetoric of criminal Israeli prime minister

Benjamin Netanyahu, that the Golan Heights.. occupied

by the Tel Aviv regime for almost 60 years, will remain

part of Israel “for eternity”, and his fierce opposition

to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“Basically, the leader of the criminal gang and mafia ruling over the

occupied Palestinian territories is not in a position to comment on

the formation of an independent Palestinian state ---- because the

Palestinian land belongs to the Palestinian people, and the racist

illusions of the genocidal Zionist regime ---- cannot change this

reality,” the statement added.

It added that: “the Golan Heights - are an inseparable part of the

territory of Syria - and the colonial ambitions of a usurping and

occupying entity cannot change its legal & historical realities.”

The Iranian foreign ministry also condemned Colombia’s recent

recognition of the Israeli regime’s sovereignty over the

occupied Golan Heights, calling it a violation of

the UN Charter and international law.

“Within this framework, the Colombian government’s recent

decision to recognize the sovereignty of the Zionist regime

over the occupied Golan Heights is completely rejected

and condemned, and constitutes a clear violation of

the fundamental principles - of the Charter of the

United Nations & international law concerning

respect for the sovereignty and territorial

integrity of states,” the statement

also read.

It noted that such an action also conflicts with the recognized

principle of international law prohibiting recognition of the

effects of unlawful acts ...and entails the international

responsibility of the Colombian government.

While emphasizing the legal, moral and humanitarian obligation

of all governments, particularly Muslim countries, to help

Palestinians achieve their right to self-determination

and freedom from the Zionist regime's occupation,

apartheid and colonialism, the Iranian Ministry

of Foreign Affairs recalled the responsibility

of the UN Security Council ---- to stop the

occupation & relentless aggression of

the Zionist regime against occupied

Palestine, Lebanon, Syria ....and

other countries in the region.

The statement went on to note that the Palestinian issue remains

the most important humanitarian and moral subject of the

contemporary world, which began in 1948.... with the

creation of a fabricated entity in the historic land

of Palestine and ------- through its cancerous

expansion ----- has made the entire West

Asia region and the world insecure.

“There is no doubt that the comprehensive support of the United

States and certain Western countries, including Britain, France,

Germany and Canada, for the genocidal Zionist regime has

been the main factor behind its impunity ..and has led to

the continuation & intensification, of its expansionism

and crimes in the region,” the statement pointed out.

The Islamic Republic of Iran, while reiterating its principled position

in support of the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people to

liberate their land from occupation, strongly condemns any

attempt to marginalize the Palestinian issue, the Iranian

foreign ministry concluded.

_______________________________________

Iran warns US --- against ‘even bigger

miscalculation’ on Strait of Hormuz

August 13, 10:23am

(PressTV)

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says US intelligence failures

.....have led Washington to repeat its mistakes with the Islamic

Republic, warning that the US is making an “even bigger

miscalculation” over the Strait of Hormuz.

He made the remarks in an X post on Thursday, after US President

Donald Trump claimed that his country has “total control” of the

strait - despite shipping traffic through the strategic waterway

dropping to a one-week low as only eight vessels transited

the strait, under Iranian guidance, compared to around

130 daily transits prior to the war.

“The US has long miscalculated due to intelligence failures. Case in

point: The war on Iran. Now, an even bigger miscalculation on the

Strait of Hormuz,” Araghchi said.

“Worse than fake news is fake intelligence. Be careful. Allah is

Great, Greater than ANY power on Earth. In Allah we trust.”

Iran restricted transit through the Strait of Hormuz, responsible for

a fifth of global oil demand, in response to the illegal US-Israeli

aggression on the country that began on February 28 and

came to a halt under a ceasefire on April 8.‌

On June 17, Tehran and Washington signed the Pakistan-brokered

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), whose Article 5 places

responsibility for reopening and managing the strait

squarely in Iran’s hands.

However, the US attempted to undermine Iran’s sovereignty over the

vital global energy chokepoint.. by establishing an unsafe corridor

near the Omani shores. The US also resumed its aerial assaults

on Iran --- in violation of the war-ending deal.

The unlawful US measures prompted Iran to declare the Strait

of Hormuz closed at least until “the end of US interference

in the region.”

Meanwhile, Iran and Oman are engaged in talks to reach an

agreement on a new mechanism for managing shipping

through the strait.

Iran has stressed that the reopening of the critical waterway

depends on US compliance with its obligations under the

MoU - which was meant to end the war.

________________________________________

Hamas --------- hails Iran's vow to keep Strait

of Hormuz closed ..until regional ceasefire

August 13, 8:57am

(PressTV)

The Islamic resistance movement Hamas has strongly endorsed

Iran’s firm stance on regional security, praising Tehran’s

declaration that the strategic Strait of Hormuz will

remain closed until a comprehensive, region-

wide ceasefire is achieved, including an

immediate end to the wars in Gaza

and Lebanon.

In a statement released on Thursday, Basem Naim, Head of the

Office of Arab and Islamic Relations for Hamas, expressed the

movement’s high appreciation for the remarks made by Major

General Mohsen Rezaei, the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme

National Security Council (SNSC), regarding the

urgent need to halt the ongoing wars

across West Asia.

"Halting these wars is in the best interest of the region, its peoples,

and its future," Naim stated. He warned that the continuation of

hostilities, serves only the strategic objectives of the Zionist

enemy, whose overarching agenda is based on dismantling

the region, destabilizing its nations, and depleting its

vital resources.... to maintain its hegemony.

The remarks came ......after General Rezaei said in an X post that the

Strait of Hormuz will not reopen --- until the US ends its war and

blockade against the Islamic Republic, releases Iran’s
frozen financial assets, and formally agrees to a
comprehensive, region-wide ceasefire
encompassing Gaza, Lebanon,

and all other fronts of
the Resistance.

Iran and the US - signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in

June that allowed Iran to manage the strait and gradually return

transit to normal levels, in return for the US lifting its sanctions

and blockade on the country.

However, Iran reinstated restrictions in Hormuz after the US

violated the terms of the MoU ...by seeking to undermine

Iran's management of the strait.

______________________________________

Palestinian students, faculty members file lawsuit

against Columbia University - over discrimination

August 13, 8:17am

(PressTV)

A coalition of current and former Palestinian students and staff

members has filed a lawsuit against Columbia University,

asserting that the Ivy League institution discriminates

against Palestinians and specifically targets

pro-Palestinian activism on its campus.

A lawsuit was submitted to the New York State Supreme Court

this week, claiming that Columbia University has subjected

Palestinian students, faculty, and staff to discriminatory

treatment after the anti-Israel Operation al-Aqsa Flood

was carried out, by Hamas and other Palestinian

resistance groups on October 7, 2023, and the

Israeli military’s subsequent genocide

against Palestinians in Gaza.

The complaint states that Columbia “actively engaged in

and enhanced” racially, ethnically, and politically driven

targeting of Palestinians.

Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and former student

at Columbia University -- brought attention to the lawsuit

on the social media platform X -- noting that Palestinian

students are taking legal action against the university

for purported discrimination... in its handling of the

protests advocating for Palestinians and Gaza.

The plaintiffs assert that the university did not sufficiently

safeguard Palestinian members of its community from

harassment, while also exposing pro-Palestinian

activists ------------ to “unjust and prejudiced

disciplinary proceedings.”

Among the claims made is that Columbia hired private

investigators to monitor students participating in the

“Resistance 101” event in March 2024. As stated in

the lawsuit, six students were later suspended

and removed from university housing.

The complaint highlights that the university did not sufficiently

address reported physical assaults on Palestinians, which

include: instances - where students had their keffiyehs

forcibly taken away - and the January 2024 incident

involving the spraying of a foul-smelling substance

at a pro-Palestinian protest.

The lawsuit also disputes Columbia's decision to invite New York

City police onto campus - to dismantle the encampments of pro-

Palestinian protesters and arrest those demonstrating in 2024.

The plaintiffs consist of lecturer & former anthropology student

Hadeel Assali; former lecturer Bahia Munem; PhD candidate

Mahdi Sabbagh; 2025 graduate and past student organizer

Maryam Alwan; and Layla Saliba ---- who completed her

studies at Columbia's School of Social Work in 2025.

Saliba was part of a group of Palestinian students who had

previously lodged a federal civil rights complaint against

Columbia for discrimination in 2024. At that time, she

told, how Palestinian students were experiencing

unfair treatment and called upon the university

--------- to recognize the existence of anti-

Palestinian racism.

In New York, dozens of faculty, students, and community

members rallied outside Columbia University in protest

against the arrest of a student .........by US federal

immigration agents.

Palestinian activists and organizations advocating

for free speech - consistently claim that Columbia

University imposes excessive penalties on those

opposing Israel.

Students have reportedly encountered arrests,

suspensions, expulsions, and the revocation

of degrees - amid the university's efforts to

suppress pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

UK legislators call for comprehensive

arms embargo, settlement trade ban

on Israel

July 27th, 6:06am

(PressTV)

A coalition of 80 British lawmakers and peers has called on

newly appointed British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, to

impose sanctions on Israel -- including a comprehensive

arms embargo and a ban on trade that supports illegal

settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In a letter, spearheaded by MP Kim Johnson, they urged the

government to “decisively change its stance to uphold the

rights of the Palestinian people and to prevent Israel’s

continued violation of international law.”

It also called on the government to acknowledge the UN

Independent Commission of Inquiry report, which

validated Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Alongside recognition of the UN finding, the lawmakers urged

the government to fully enforce the International Court of

Justice' advisory opinion, delivered on July 19, 2024.

It holds that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories

is unlawful, that Israel should put an end to that occupation,

desist from creating new settlements, and evacuate those

already established.

“The previous administration ---- has willfully ignored the rulings of

international courts. It has still failed to issue a formal response

to the July 2024 International Court of Justice judgment

- which requires Britain to cease all actions that aid or

assist [Israel’s] grave violations of international law,”

the letter read.

It added, “Now is the opportunity for this government and for you,

as the new Prime Minister, to truly turn a new page.”

The letter bore the signatures of prominent legislators,

including Diane Abbott, Jeremy Corbyn, Baroness

Jenny Jones, and Baroness Warsi.

In an op-ed for Labour Outlook, Johnson stated that Palestine

has emerged as the “defining test” of the Labour Party’s

commitment to the notion --- that international law

applies to all.

“If we condemn violations in one part of the world while excusing

or ignoring them elsewhere, we undermine the very rules-based

international order that Britain claims to defend,” she said.

“Burnham tells us --- he has a plan to renew confidence in Labour. If

that renewal is to mean anything, it must begin by making a clean

break with the failures of Starmerism on Palestine. If we are truly

serious about turning the page, there could be no clearer place

to begin,” Johnson noted.

The letter is supported by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which

has been advocating for Burnham to distance himself from former

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s disgraceful legacy by implementing

extensive sanctions against Israel - comprising a complete arms

embargo, a cessation - of all military collaboration &
diplomatic support - and a total ban on all trade.

Rhondda Records exists to express the Rhondda's
vision --- when it was confident, powerful, caring,
and socialist.

A Rhondda very aware of the media's poisonous
tricks -- how they con working class people into
attacking each other, or racial groups, or, often,
even their best allies and friends... instead of
seeing their real enemies:--- an elite who hate
the very idea that working people can think,
create, or achieve a fairer society.

Thatcher said her proudest achievement was
Blair and New Labour - who parachuted in
careerists and expenses fiddlers - to stop
local Labour members having a say, and
who made genuine socialist MPs leave
the Labour party in disgust and many
members and voters to despair...
and the young to stop voting.

Jeremy Corbyn was always attacked because
he was trying to reverse all that New Labour
corruption --- that's why membership was
flooding in all over the UK.

______________________________________

Get Involved!

– If you feel you’ve been ‘purged’,
take this online survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/857YMDK

or this one:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0du5YuhPZ8ahI
oxC_b6pvBprmGA4XFdG-0r2dOVYyc4UNFg/viewform?c=0&w=1

– Request all your own data that
the Labour Party holds on you:

http://www.labour.org.uk/pages/privacy

_______________________________________

IF - YOU THINK you HAVE
BEEN UNFAIRLY BARRED:

“Any member who is suspended & intends
to appeal the decision should throw in a
‘Subject Access Request in accordance
with the Data Protection Act’ --- for ALL
data that the Labour Party hold on them.

The Labour Party are Data Controllers and
therefore have to, by law, provide you with
all material/information they hold on you.”

If anyone is in contact with anyone who
was barred from voting --- please can
you pass this info on:

The Labour leadership election was under the
jurisdiction of the electoral reform services.

If you were unfairly deprived of your vote you
can call them on 0208 365 8909 and lodge
your complaint, and inform them of your
Data Protection request.

https://www.electoralreform.co.uk

The notification letters barring new members
did not give a clear reason, or information on
how to appeal, so Vox Political suggests that
anyone in this situation, could also contact
Liz Davies here: http://www.whycantivote.com

She is a barrister --- who can
advise members on what to do.

**************************************

PONCY LABOUR MPS PROBLEM?

A huge drop in working-class Labour MPs,
caused a massive drop in support among
voters with similar backgrounds, reveals
research seeking to explain why support
has dwindled in the party’s heartlands.

The study says past leaders like Kinnock
and Blair made a concerted effort to pick
“more and more middle-class candidates
to run for office, during the 80s and 90s,
as part of an effort to rebrand” -- which
had initial successes at the ballot box.

But this “conscious electoral strategy”
stored up problems, as working-class
voters who initially, just didn’t vote in
response, now seek an alternative.

The solution? Trust each constituency to put
forward its own candidates, and don't impose
‘party-approved’ choices who can't do the job.

Now, unfortunately, there are "entryist" MPs who, for
decades, have been groomed by CIA cold war relic
organisations -- like the Atlantic Council -- and are
now trying to misdirect the Labour Party towards
cuts, a militarised police, and a US war agenda...
- and their anti-Corbyn slant is hobbling Labour.

‘How Can I Deselect My Labour MP?’ A Short Guide
to Reselection and Democratic Accountability
by Eric Sim, excellent free advice here:

http://novaramedia.com/2016/07/13/how-can-i-
deselect-my-labour-mp-a-short-guide-to-
reselection-and-democratic-accountability/

CHRIS BRYANT - SUPPORT THE MEMBERS'
LEADERSHIP CHOICE & POLICIES - OR GO!

Chris Bryant, the Rhondda's dodgy MP,
was on TV -- as soon as the PLP coup
started -- telling us that Jeremy MUST
go, because it was the ONLY way to
act in the Labour Party's interest...

Chris Bryant's voting record:
from TheyWorkForYou.com

On Tuition Fees:

On 27 Jan 2004:
Chris Bryant voted in favour of university tuition
fees increasing from £1,125 per year, to up to
£3,000 per year.

On 31 Mar 2004:
Chris Bryant voted to allow university tuition fees
to increase from £1,125 per year, to up to £3,000
per year.

On 31 Mar 2004:
Chris Bryant voted for the introduction of variable
university tuition fees (top-up fees) of up to £3,000
per year in place of the previous fixed fee of £1,250
per year.

On 31 Mar 2004:
Chris Bryant voted to allow university tuition fees
to increase from £1,125 per year to up to £3,000
per year, and to make other changes to higher
education funding and regulation arrangements.

On 14 Sep 2004:
Chris Bryant voted against: the immediate abolition
of all tuition fees, the re-introduction of maintenance
grants of up to £2,000 for students from low-income
homes, and changes to the country's higher
education system.

On 14 Sep 2004:
Chris Bryant voted to reject the Liberal
Democrat policy of abolition of tuition fees.

On 25 May 2016:
Chris Bryant was absent for a vote on Queen's
Speech - Forcing Schools to Become Academies
- Further Rises in University Tuition Fees

On Human Rights:

Consistently voted for introducing ID cards

Almost always voted for requiring the mass
retention of information about communications

Generally voted for mass surveillance of
people’s communications and activities

On the Environment:

Generally voted against greater regulation
of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract
shale gas

On Special Interests:

Almost always voted against limits
on success fees paid to lawyers in
no-win no fee cases

Generally voted against a
statutory register of lobbyists

On War or Peace:

Generally voted for use of UK military
forces in combat operations overseas

Consistently voted for the Iraq war

Consistently voted against an
investigation into the Iraq war

Generally voted for replacing Trident
with a new nuclear weapons system

On 2 Dec 2015:
Voted to support UK airstrikes in Syria
[without UN authorisation]

On 2 Dec 2015:
Voted to support UK airstrikes in Syria
[without UN authorisation]

On Independence:

Generally voted for more EU integration

____________________________

Chris Bryant Labour MP
From Wikipedia

(aka 1962-1986: Mr Christopher John Bryant
1986-1991: The Reverend Christopher John
Bryant, 1991-2001: Mr Christopher John
Bryant, 2001-: Mr Christopher John
Bryant MP.)

Born in Cardiff, to a Scottish mother & a Welsh
father, Bryant grew up in Cardiff, Wales (where
his father worked for 5 years), and Cheltenham.

He was educated at Cheltenham College, an
independent school for boys in the spa town
of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, where he
was captain of the school swimming team,
and Mansfield College at the University of
Oxford, where he graduated in 1983, with
a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in English.
This was later promoted to a Master of
Arts degree (MA (Oxon)), as per tradition.

After completing his first degree, Bryant began
training to be a priest in the Church of England
at Ripon College, Cuddesdon, in Oxfordshire.
There, he obtained a degree in theology.

Although a member of the Conservative
Party, and an elected office-holder in the
Oxford University Conservative Association,
he joined the Labour Party in 1986, after
leaving Oxford.

He was ordained deacon in 1986 and priest in
1987. He served as a Curate at the Church of
All Saints, High Wycombe, from 1986 to 1989;
then as a Youth Chaplain in Peterborough,
as well as travelling in Latin America.

In 1991 Bryant left the ordained ministry, after
deciding that being gay and being a priest,
were incompatible. Statements made by
Richard Harries, then Bishop of Oxford,
also influenced his decision.

After leaving the priesthood in 1991, Bryant
worked as the election agent to the Holborn
and St Pancras Constituency Labour Party,
where he helped Frank Dobson hold his seat
in the 1992 general election.

From 1993, he was Local Government officer
for the Labour Party; he lived in Hackney and
was elected to Hackney Borough Council in
1993, serving until 1998. He became Chair of
the Christian Socialist Movement.

He is both a member of the Labour Friends
of Israel and Labour Friends of Palestine &
the Middle East. From 1994 to 1996 he was
London manager of the leader-grooming
"charity", Common Purpose.

He was Labour candidate for Wycombe, in the
1997 general election (he lost by 2,370 votes),
and Head of European Affairs for the BBC,
from 1998.

His selection for the very safe Labour seat of
Rhondda, South Wales in 2000, shocked many
people given Bryant's background – gay, an ex-
Anglican vicar, and someone who was a Tory,
while studying at Oxford, and a member now,
of the Henry Jackson Society 'think tank' ---
described by The Guardian newspaper as
'neoconservative'. It is pro-US, pro-NATO
and pro-military intervention, as well as
being fundamentally anti-socialist.

Fifty-two people applied for the candidature
and a local councillor was hot favourite to
win, before Bryant was parachuted in.

In 2004, a photograph of Mr Bryant in his
underpants, which he had posted to a gay
dating website, was published in 'papers.

When an interviewer suggested he was
a 'disgrace to the Rhondda', he replied:
"They can't get rid of me."

His pay, allowances and some expenses:

The basic annual salary for an MP, from
April 1st, 2016 is £74,962. MPs also get
expenses: to cover the costs of running
an office, employing staff, having some-
where to live in London, plus, in their
constituency and travelling between
Parliament and their constituency.

His MP's expenses story:

Chris Bryant changed second home
twice to claim £20,000: the deputy
leader of the House of Commons,
"flipped" his second home twice,
in 2 years, allowing him to claim
almost £20,000 for renovations
and fees.

Chris Bryant, MP for the Rhondda, split over
£92,000 of expenses between 3 properties
in Wales and London --- within five years.

In 2004, he attempted to claim £58,000 to
overhaul his second home in Wales, after
allegedly complaining that properties in
his constituency were "terrace or mine
owners' houses".

Mr Bryant, a former Church of England clergyman,
wanted the money for a new bathroom & kitchen,
and to demolish his conservatory. He'd bought the
detached house for £97,500, under a year earlier.

He submitted a claim to the Commons fees office for
£58,493.26 --- almost 3 times the annual maximum.
He noted that the claim exceeded his allowance.

His alleged justification was disclosed... in
correspondence between Commons officials.
By email, an official wrote: "He had problems
finding a suitable property because in the
Rhondda there is a choice mainly of terraced
property or mine owners' houses." When
approached by the Daily Telegraph,
Mr Bryant said: "I have never said
or thought anything of the sort".

In all, he successfully claimed over £13,000
for renovations, repairs & appliances, in 2004.
Along with other bills, his annual claim was
£20,902.

In April 2005, he flipped his expenses to his flat in
west London, which he bought for £400,000 in April
2002. He also claimed £630 a month for mortgage
interest, along with other bills. After claiming over
£3,600 over 3 months, he sold the flat in July 2005
for £477,000.

Mr Bryant used his profits to buy a more expensive
flat in west London, which was valued at £670,000.
He immediately flipped his second home expenses
there, claiming almost £6,400 in stamp duty, legal
fees and mortgage fees, incurred in the purchase.

He then began claiming interest of £1,000 a month
on the mortgage. He also claimed a further £6,000
a year for the flat's service charge and ground rent.

In all, he claimed £92, 415 in second
home expenses, from 2004 to 2009.

Mr Bryant said at the time: "I moved flat in
London, so as to be closer to Parliament."

Research by Channel 4 News in 2015 found that
at least 46 MPs had this kind of system in place
– a move one Labour backbencher described as
“a new fiddle”. Channel 4 reported then:

“Our investigation found that many of the MPs
bought their London properties with the help of
the taxpayer, when a previous expenses system
allowed them to claim back mortgage payments.
But when those claims were banned, following
the expenses scandal, they switched to letting
out their properties, in some cases for up to
£3,000 a month. They then started claiming
expenses for rent and hotels in the capital.”

Among those identified was Chris Bryant, shadow
leader of the House of Commons. He had already
bought a penthouse in London back in 2005 and
claimed around £1,000 a month in mortgage
claims under the old system.

But after the expenses scandal, he started renting
the property out. It’s since been advertised by estate
agents as having a private lift and a porter, with rent
at about £3,000 a month. Meanwhile, Bryant moved
into a new flat;- claiming his own rent on expenses.

Russian/Scottish scientists hail long-range
secure quantum communication system.

A group of scientists from ITMO University
in Saint Petersburg, Russia, has developed
a new approach to constructing quantum
communication systems for secure data
exchange.

The experimental device based on the results of the
research is capable of transmitting single-photon
quantum signals across distances of 250 klmtrs
or more, which is on par with its cutting edge
analogues, the ITMO press-service says.

"Now researchers are on a mission -- to create
a fully-fledged quantum cryptographic system,
that will generate & distribute quantum keys
and transmit useful data simultaneously",
ITMO says.

Information security is becoming more and more
of a critical issue not only for large companies,
banks and defense enterprises but even for
small businesses and individual users.

But the data encryption algorithms we currently
use for protecting our data are imperfect - in the
long-term, their logic can be cracked. Regardless
of how complex and intricate the algorithm is,
getting around it, is just a matter of time.

Unlike algorithm-based encryption, systems
that protect information, by making use of
fundamental laws of quantum physics, can
make data transmission totally immune to
hacker attacks, in the future.

Information in a quantum channel is carried
by single photons that change irreversibly
if an eavesdropper tries to intercept them.
The legitimate users will instantly know
about any kind of intervention.

Researchers at the Quantum Information Centre
of the International Institute of Photonics and
Optical Information Technology at ITMO Uni.,
Russia, along with their colleagues from the
Heriot-Watt University, in Edinburgh, have
devised a new way to generate and
distribute, quantum bits.

This makes it possible to share quantum signals
--- via optical fibres --- 250 kilometres in distance.

"To transmit quantum signals, we use the so-
called side frequencies," says Artur Gleim,
head of the Quantum Information Centre,
at ITMO University,

"This unique approach gives us a number
of advantages -- such as a considerable
simplification of the device architecture
and the large pass-through capacity of
the quantum channel. In terms of bit rate
and operating distances, our system is
comparable to absolute champions in
the field of quantum communications."

According to Robert Collins, research associate
at the Institute of Photonics & Quantum Sciences
at Heriot-Watt University, and one of the authors
of the study, this may become a pivotal point for
the whole field of quantum communication and
cryptography:

"Down the track, this new approach can enable
smooth coexistence of numerous data streams
with different wavelengths in one single optical
cable. On top of it, these quantum streams can
be fed into the already existing fibre optic lines
--- along with conventional communications."

The research paper is published
in the Optics Express journal.

Scottish universities are to be
congratulated for their strong
& growing links with Chinese
and Russian universities....

What a shame, that Wales is
lying low --- with academics
too scared to break from
US military research.