The U.S. and Global Security Review - Blog by Michael Novakhov

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan is threatening to crack down on U.S. defense contractors it says owe hundreds of millions of dollars in back taxes, including by freezing their bank accounts and refusing to renew yearly business licenses when they expire.

IMF warns of huge financial hole as Greek vote looms
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:02 PM

ATHENS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund delivered a stark warning on Thursday of the huge financial hole facing Greece as angry and uncertain voters prepare for a referendum that could decide their country's future in Europe.

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Israel accuses Hamas of aiding Islamic State in Egypt
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:02 PM

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli general has accused members of Hamas in Gaza of providing support to militants linked to Islamic State in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, where the Egyptian army has fought deadly battles with Islamist insurgents in recent days.

Drone attack on al Qaeda in Yemen kills four -witnesses
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:01 PM

SANAA (Reuters) - A drone attacked an army base held by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in southeastern Yemen in the early hours of Friday, killing four suspected militants, witnesses said.

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China angered by new U.S. military strategy report
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:01 PM

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Foreign Ministry expressed anger on Friday after the Pentagon's updated National Military Strategy slammed Chinese claims in the South China Sea as aggressive and inconsistent with international law.

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Saudi-led planes attack Yemen capital, six reported killed
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:01 PM

SANAA (Reuters) - Warplanes from a Saudi-led coalition bombed targets in the Yemeni capital on Friday, residents said, and sources in the country's dominant Houthi militia reported at least six people including a woman and child were killed.

Pakistan police arrest cleric who led mob attacking Christians
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:01 PM

LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani police said on Friday they had arrested a Muslim cleric accused of leading a mob trying to kill a Christian couple for allegedly desecrating the Koran.

Iran nuclear talks in endgame, negotiators push on sticking points
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:00 PM

VIENNA (Reuters) - A year and half of nuclear talks between Iran and major powers were creeping towards the finish line on Friday as negotiators wrestled with sticking points including questions about Tehran's past atomic research.

Obama to host Vietnam's Trong at White House Tuesday
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:00 PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will hold talks with Vietnam Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong at the White House on Tuesday, the White House said on Friday.

Vietnam Communist Party chief to meet Obama on landmark U.S. trip
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:00 PM

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

HANOI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vietnam's Communist Party chief will visit the United States next week in a landmark trip that could prove pivotal in Washington's bid to bolster its Asian alliances in the back yard of an increasingly assertive China.

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Armenian Protesters Throw Down EU Flag In Yerevan
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:00 PM

Participants in the ongoing protests against electricity price hikes in Yerevan scuffled with a politician waving an EU flag late on July 2. Protest leaders said that their movement is nonpolitical, and that they don't want to add fuel to Russian claims that they are politically aligned.

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Contributing Op-Ed Writer: Greece’s Sorry Reckoningby NIKOS KONSTANDARAS
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:59 AM

NYT > World

A lot more is at stake than the only stable currency the nation has had in a history punctuated by bankruptcies.

Alexis Tsipras Urges Greeks to Vote No in Referendumby DAN BILEFSKY
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:59 AM

NYT > World

The Greek prime minister called on voters to reject the terms of a bailout offer, saying that ‘‘it’s not Greece’s participation in the euro that’s at stake.”

Giant pig hot air balloon crashes after tangling with a cowboy-shaped one by Associated Press in Provo
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:58 AM

Remaining air trapped in pig’s head ‘saved my bacon’, says pilot, slowing descent after balloon ripped open and deflated during Utah festival

A pig-shaped hot air balloon crashed into a tree and caught fire at a balloon festival in Utah, cutting the pilot’s face.

Paul Warner, a festival executive, said the licensed pilot of the fallen balloon also suffered minor facial burns. He was treated at the scene and released.

'Information is the most powerful weapon against North Korea regime' by John Sweeney
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:58 AM

Independent media service is vital to reverse decades of brainwashing so, despite cutbacks, the BBC must step up

The drought in North Korea will have only one consequence if it continues: many of the country’s chronically malnourished population will die.

Yet their deaths won’t change the way the country is run because the two vectors of power in North Korea – Kim Jong-un’s regime and the government of neighbouring China – have no real public opinion to answer to.

George Orwell, human resources and the English languageby James Gingell
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:58 AM

The HR industry misuses language as a sort of low-tech mind control to avert our eyes from office atrocities and keep us fixed on our inboxes

In our age there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of human resources’. All issues are human resource issues, and human resources itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.

OK, that’s not exactly what Orwell wrote. The hair-splitters among you will moan that I’ve taken the word “politics” out of the above and replaced it with “human resources”. Sorry.

Five men found guilty of being members of 'predatory paedophile ring' by Steven Morris
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:57 AM

Group who preyed on vulnerable boys in north Wales in 1970s and 80s, plying them with amyl nitrite, convicted in relation to five boys aged 10-15

Five men, including a former professional wrestler, a radio presenter and a civil servant, have been found guilty of being members of a “predatory paedophile ring” that preyed on vulnerable boys in north Wales in the 1970s and 1980s.

Boys as young as 10, who were often isolated, were manipulated by the men and groomed with treats ranging from alcohol to car trips and meals. They were plied with amyl nitrite, or “poppers”, and passed around the group, sometimes given money to buy their silence.

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Why British air strikes in Syria would be pointless | Shashank Joshi by Shashank Joshi
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:57 AM

Michael Fallon’s suggestion would be a futile gesture in the fight against Isis, not least because of a lack of allied ground forces

Defence secretary Michael Fallon has complained about the “illogicality” of attacking Islamic State in Iraq, but not Syria. He wants to ask this parliament to sanction what its predecessor would not, allowing Britain to join the United States and Arab allies. Fallon was extremely guarded in his speech to the (dispiritingly, half-empty) Commons, and the whole media blitz has the air of a rather perfunctory trial balloon, prompted more by the need to be seen to be doing something, post-Tunisia, than any careful thought.

But he has a point. Isis has gained territory in Syria since the war began. It has exploited its territorial depth to move men and equipment seamlessly between the two countries, and in May captured the last remaining crossing point. However, Fallon’s impulse to expand the war should be tempered with a sense of strategy.

Islamic State beware – it’s Cameron’s full-spectrum renaming campaign | Marina Hyde by Marina Hyde
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:56 AM

International News, Opinion And Analysis - Newsweek World

As the terror group’s reach expands, MPs are getting down to the serious business of what they and the BBC should call it

Amid all the shocking images from Syria, there was one the other week that took a chastening new tack. It showed a group of rebels from the town of Kafranbel – which resists both Assad and Isis – holding up a huge banner. This alluded to a certain au courant Vanity Fair cover. “Caitlyn!” it read. “We would write Kafranbel with a C, if it meant, like you, we would be free. Maybe liberated Cafranbel?”

Back then, I glossed this discomfiting attempt to give their plight a celebrity angle as effectively saying: “Did we get your attention yet, shitheads?” (Though of course, the Syrians’ version was the mannerly and elegant way of making that point.)

Solar-powered flight across the Pacific - World Record brokenby itnnews
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:56 AM

Itnnews's YouTube Videos

From: itnnews
Duration: 01:28

The Solar Impulse 2, a solar-powered plane, breaks solo flight record across Pacific to Hawaii. Report by Asana Greenstreet.

Current affairs, amazing footage and incredible stories. Welcome to ODN - On Demand News. Formerly the ITN YouTube channel, ODN is your home for the top visual stories happening across the globe.

Like us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/ODNface
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Man dressed as giant penis...but it's for a good reasonby itnnews
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:55 AM

Itnnews's YouTube Videos

From: itnnews
Duration: 01:16

A nineteen-year-old, glitter-spraying penis mascot was sent out by sexual health charity RFSU to spread awareness of STI prevention and er, glitter. This is what happened..! Report by Claire Lomas

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Men in high heels race along Spanish street by itnnews
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:55 AM

Itnnews's YouTube Videos

From: itnnews
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Madrid celebrates gay pride festivities with a high heels race for men. Report by Gabriella Darlington.

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Dear ISIS, We Need to Talk
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:55 AM

Dear ISIS, We Need to Talk

Negotiating with terror groups may be the only way to defeat them.

This post has been generated by Page2RSS

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Shark Expert: "Something strange is going on"
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:54 AM

Home - CBSNews.Com

Surge of swimmer-shark incidents off the Carolinas has beachgoers nervous, scientists puzzled

U.S. on high alert heading into July 4 weekend
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:54 AM

Home - CBSNews.Com

As Americans celebrate country's 239th birthday, an increased threat of ISIS-inspired plots will see thousands of extra officers on duty

Despite past quarrels with Russia, Georgians are returning to its orbit by Michael Birnbaum
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:54 AM

Europe News: News And Headlines From Europe - The Washington Post

TBILISI, Georgia – In this fiercely pro-Western nation that fought a brief war with Russia in 2008, few thought the Kremlin could ever regain a toehold. But with the West backing away from Georgia’s path to E.U. and NATO membership after a year of conflict in Ukraine, pro-Russian sentiments are on the rise.Read full article >>

Confusion reigns in Greece on last day of campaigning before referendum by Griff Witte
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:54 AM

Europe News: News And Headlines From Europe - The Washington Post

ATHENS — Confusion reigned across Greece on Friday as a court weighed whether to allow a referendum planned for Sunday that could shape the country’s direction for decades but has also sown bitter divisions in a blink-and-you-miss-it campaign.Read full article >>

Officer cleared of Rodney murder
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:53 AM

BBC News - World

A police marksman is cleared of the murder of suspected armed robber Azelle Rodney in 2005.

Greece: Poll shows 2 sides neck and neck before referendumby By ELENA BECATOROS
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:53 AM

AP Top Headlines At 11:51 A.M. EDT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- The brief but intense campaign in Greece's critical bailout referendum ends Friday, with simultaneous rallies in Athens for "Yes" and "No" supporters in what an opinion poll shows will be a very close race....

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Slovak Agency: Russian Spies Increase Activities in EU, NATO
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:51 AM

ABC News: Top Stories

Slovak spy agency: Russian spies increase activities in EU, NATO countries over Ukraine crisis

Europe's Crowning Glory Imperils Postwar Project
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:49 AM

The great project some hoped would eventually create a European superstate faces the biggest challenge of its history Sunday, when Greeks vote in a referendum that could decide whether they crash out of the eurozone.

Concern Rises About More Colombian Cocaine
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:49 AM

Colombia posted a sharp rise in coca cultivation for 2014, the United Nations said, raising concerns about a resurgence in cocaine trafficking after years of steady declines backed by billions of dollars in aid from Washington.

What Do You Get for the Man Who Has Nothing?
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:49 AM

Party planners in Southern California are seeking the answer as they plan a birthday celebration for the Dalai Lama, who will turn 80 on Monday.

Iran and U.N. Work Out Ways Forward in Nuclear Talks
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:48 AM

The IAEA’s Director-General Yukiya Amano has returned from Tehran after seeking clarification on possible military dimensions of the country’s nuclear program.

Iraq, Kurdistan Oil Deal Close to Collapse
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:48 AM

An oil-sales deal between Iraq and the semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government is close to collapse, undermining the country’s unity as it struggles to fight Islamic State and contain an escalating financial crisis.

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Palestinian Authority Cracks Down on Hamas
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:48 AM

Palestinian security forces in the West Bank arrested more than 100 Hamas members overnight, in one of the biggest crackdowns in years by the Palestinian Authority on the Islamist militant group.

Poll Suggests Greek Bailout Vote Close
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:47 AM

Momentum in Greece’s referendum appears to be shifting toward a “yes” vote on creditors’ demands, an opinion poll says, although the gap between the two camps is minimal—suggesting Sunday’s outcome hangs in the balance.

For Greece, Iceland Shows Risks of Capital Controls
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:47 AM

Since imposing restrictions on capital outflows following banking collapse in 2008, business in the Nordic nation has been stifled and the country remains a pariah among international investors.

Dutch City Hit by Riots
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 11:47 AM