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

Rescuers in the Philippines continue searching for 15 people still missing after a ferry capsized in the central part of the country. Officials said Friday three more bodies have been found, bringing the death toll to 38. At least 134 passengers were rescued or swam ashore. The Kim Nirvana went down Thursday just minutes after leaving Ormoc City on the island of Leyte on its regular route to the Camotes Islands. An initial investigation suggests a combination of bad weather and...

Greece's Financial Condition Getting Worse
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 1:05 PM

The International Monetary Fund said Thursday that debt-ridden Greece’s financial plight is even worse than first thought as the country heads to Sunday’s vote on whether to accept lenders’ demands for more austerity in exchange for new bailout loans.

China Seals Economic, Trade Deals With Europeby webdesk@voanews.com (Henry Ridgwell)
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 1:04 PM

For the past week, the red carpet has been rolled out across European cities for Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit. Climate change was high on the agenda – but economics and trade dominated. Speaking at a summit in Brussels, Li said China and Europe should expand mutual investment and even make joint investments. China has created a vehicle for joint investment – the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank or AIIB, with 50 founding members including Britain, France and...

Obama to Meet with Vietnam Communist Party Leaderby webdesk@voanews.com (Luis Ramirez)
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 1:04 PM

President Barack Obama will meet Vietnam's Communist Party leader at the White House Tuesday for talks on trade and other issues, U.S. officials said Friday. Nguyen Phu Trong is general secretary of the central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, but holds no government position. A White House statement said Mr. Obama looks forward to discussing with him "ways to strengthen further the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership." Trong, the first Vietnamese Communist...

Next Page of Stories

Page 3

Hispanic Leaders Warn GOP About Trumpby webdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press)
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 1:04 PM

VOAvideo's YouTube Videos

Hispanic leaders are warning of harm to Republicans' White House hopes unless the party's presidential contenders do more to condemn Donald Trump, a businessman turned candidate who's refusing to apologize for calling Mexican immigrants rapists and drug dealers. Trump's comments, delivered in his announcement speech last month, have haunted the party for much of the last two weeks and dominated Spanish-language media. It's bad timing for a Republican Party that has...

'Freedom Frigate' Replica Tours US Ports by VOAvideo
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 1:03 PM

From: VOAvideo
Duration: 02:47

A replica of the French warship that brought hope to American colonists battling the British in 1780 is in New York as part of Independence Day celebrations. On Saturday, the Hermione replica will join hundreds of vessels passing the Statue of Liberty for an Independence Day parade. VOA's Deborah Block reports on the ship and its relevance.

Originally published at - http://www.voanews.com/media/video/freedom-frigate-replica-tours-us-ports/2847416.html

Chinese Stock Markets Are in the Middle of an ‘Unprecedented’ Slide by pnashjenkins
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 1:03 PM

TIME

In what analysts are describing as an unprecedented economic situation, China’s stock indexes are currently tumbling into a free fall, with panic taking the place of the brash confidence that, until last month, led these markets to rapidly develop into an unsustainable bubble.

That bubble appears to have now burst: by early afternoon local time on Friday, the Shanghai Composite Index had fallen 3.25% to an anemic 3,785.57 points; in the three weeks since it reached a seven-year high, it has lost 30% of its value.

Monetary authorities in Beijing are currently grasping for straws to remedy the situation, but numerous market interventions, including the fourth cut in interest rates since November, have failed to keep investors from frantically selling their Chinese stocks.

The turbulent situation is not yet catastrophic, but it illuminates the greater volatilities of China’s fraught existential dynamic: between an autocratic Communist government and the currents of free-market capitalism. In a country where stock investors now outnumber Communist Party members, if the market heals, it will likely heal itself. Beijing’s economic policies have thus far proven mostly ineffective.

Meanwhile, state authorities are attempting to blame the economic instability on calculated “foreign forces,” theWashington Post reports. State media outlets have alleged that Morgan Stanley or prominent investor George Soros may be purposely interfering in the Chinese markets. Messages making the rounds on WeChat, the country’s preeminent messaging service, allege that “‘international capital’ — or simply capitalism itself — [is] attacking China,” according to the Post.

In the face of this supposed malfeasance, prominent figures are encouraging their fellow countrymen to have faith in their faltering economy.

“Hold stocks with confidence,” was the advice of Fan Shaoxuan, a executive at microblogging service Sina Weibo, according to the Post. “Win glory for the country even if you lose the last penny.”

Read the whole story

· ·

AP Top News at 10:47 a.m. EDT
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 1:03 PM

TheUnion Local.Com | TheUnion.Com

AP Top News at 10:47 a.m. EDT

The Latest: Greek banking officials meet with governmentATHENS, Greece (AP) - The latest news on Greece's financial woes and its upcoming referendum on Sunday (all times local): ---

Solar-powered plane due to land in Hawaii after 5-day flightHONOLULU (AP) - An airplane powered by the sun is scheduled to land in Hawaii Friday after a five-day journey across the Pacific from Japan. The flight is the longest leg of an around-the-world voyage planned by two Swiss pilots who have been taking turns flying the single-seat airplane. It is also the riskiest because the plane has nowhere to land in an emergency.

Greek villagers secret weapon: Grow your own foodKARITAINA, Greece (AP) - Ilias Mathes has protection against bank closures, capital controls and the slashing of his pension: 10 goats, some hens and a vegetable patch. If Greece's financial crisis deepens, as many believe it must, he can feed his children and grandchildren with the bounty of the land in this proud village high in the mountains of the Arcadia Peloponnese.

Could searchers' sonars have missed wreckage of Flight 370?CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - Amid rising frustrations over the expensive, so-far fruitless search for vanished Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, experts are questioning the competence of the company in charge, including whether crews may have passed over the sunken wreckage without even noticing. Such carping in a small, fiercely competitive and highly specialized industry isn't unusual - and some of the strongest comments have come from a company whose bid for the lucrative job failed. But others have also criticized what they suspect is shoddy work, inappropriate equipment use and a focus on speed over thoroughness by the Dutch underwater survey company hired by Australia to find the plane that vanished in the Indian Ocean on March 8 last year with 239 people aboard.

Rarely seen color photos by Robert Capa in Budapest exhibitBUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) - Rarely seen color photographs by Robert Capa, the legendary Hungarian photographer best known for his battlefield pictures from the Spanish Civil War and D-Day, are being shown for the first time in Europe at the Budapest institution which bears his name. Capa, born Endre Friedmann in Budapest in 1913, began experimenting with color photography in 1938 and it soon became an integral, though seldom published, part of his work. . Afterward, he always carried two cameras, one loaded with color film, the other with black and white.

This post has been generated by Page2RSS

AP Top News at 6:46 a.m. EDT
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 1:03 PM

TheUnion Local.Com | TheUnion.Com

AP Top News at 6:46 a.m. EDT

Greece: Poll shows 2 sides neck and neck before referendumATHENS, Greece (AP) - The brief but intense campaign in Greece's critical bailout referendum ends Friday, with simultaneous rallies in Athens supporting "yes" and "no" answers to a murky question in what an opinion poll suggests could be a very close vote. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called the referendum last weekend, asking Greeks to decide whether to accept creditors' proposals for more austerity in exchange for more loans - even though those proposals are no longer on the table.

The Latest: High court hears case against referendumATHENS, Greece (AP) - The latest news on Greece's financial woes (all times local): ---

Hispanic leaders say Republican Party must condemn TrumpWASHINGTON (AP) - Hispanic leaders are warning of harm to Republican White House hopes unless the party's presidential contenders do more to condemn Donald Trump, a businessman turned presidential candidate who's refusing to apologize for calling Mexican immigrants rapists and drug dealers. Trump's comments, delivered in his announcement speech last month, have haunted the GOP for much of the last two weeks and dominated Spanish-language media. It's bad timing for a Republican Party that has invested significantly in Hispanic outreach in recent years, given the surging influence of the minority vote.

Analysis: Root of tattered US-Russia ties date back decadesWASHINGTON (AP) - The stumbles, blunders, and policy chaos that have sent increasingly frosty U.S.-Russia relations into what many now call a new Cold War might have been inevitable. The fundamental hopes and fears lurk, sometimes subconsciously, in the collective minds of the Russian and American nations despite the collapse of the Soviet Union nearly a quarter century ago. That puts their world views at odds and on a collision course, with the crisis over Ukraine the latest and biggest confrontation.

SHANGHAI (AP) - A complete bootlegged copy of Michael Lewis' bestselling book about Wall Street, "Liar's Poker," was hosted on the official website of the Chinese Commerce Ministry, the agency responsible for intellectual property protection in China, The Associated Press has found. How and why a PDF, in English, of Lewis' raucous memoir about the excesses of Wall Street in the 1980s ended up on the ministry's site remains a mystery. The ministry did not respond to multiple requests for comment this week, but on Friday removed the page from its website.

AP Exclusive: North Korean farmers face dry fields, droughtUNPHA, North Korea (AP) - North Korean farmers work to pump underground water into parched fields. Instead of rice seedlings standing in flooded paddies, the baked earth is cracked. A big lake that used to supply surrounding farmland with water is almost completely dry. There has been almost no rain in this part of the country, an hour's drive from the capital Pyongyang and one of the country's main rice-growing regions, according to farmers and local officials interviewed by The Associated Press. While the situation in this area visited by the AP looks grim, it is unclear how severe the drought is in the rest of the country.

Insurer Aetna to buy Humana in $37B dealHARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Aetna will spend $37 billion to buy rival Humana in a deal that would significantly bulk up its government business and create the nation's second-largest health insurer The cash-and-stock acquisition, announced early Friday, would make Aetna a sizeable player in the fast-growing Medicare Advantage business, which offers privately run versions of the federally funded health care program for the elderly and people with disabilities.

This post has been generated by Page2RSS

Read the whole story

· ·

AP Top News at 3:00 a.m. EDT
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 1:02 PM

TheUnion Local.Com | TheUnion.Com

AP Top News at 3:00 a.m. EDT

Greece: Referendum campaigns squeezed to deadlineATHENS, Greece (AP) - Rival campaigns in Greece's bailout referendum end Friday, with rallies planned in Athens for "Yes" and "No" supporters - at the same time. The events will happen 800 meters (875 yards) apart in central Athens, to accommodate a five-day campaign on one of the most important votes in Greece's modern history that still has many voters confused about about what's at stake.

AP Exclusive: China Ministry posted bootleg 'Liar's Poker'SHANGHAI (AP) - A complete bootlegged copy of Michael Lewis' bestselling book about Wall Street, "Liar's Poker," was hosted on the official website of the Chinese Commerce Ministry, the agency responsible for intellectual property protection in China, The Associated Press has found. How and why a PDF, in English, of Lewis' raucous memoir about the excesses of Wall Street in the 1980s ended up on the ministry's site remains a mystery. The ministry did not respond to multiple requests for comment this week, but on Friday morning removed the page from their website.

Poll finds Greeks split on keeping the euroATHENS, Greece (AP) - The latest news on Greece's financial woes (all times local): 9:49 a.m.

Could insulin pills prevent diabetes? Big study seeks answerCHICAGO (AP) - For nearly a century, insulin has been a life-saving diabetes treatment. Now scientists are testing a tantalizing question: What if pills containing the same medicine patients inject every day could also prevent the disease? Thirteen-year-old Hayden Murphy of Plainfield, Illinois, is helping researchers determine if the strategy works for Type 1 diabetes, the kind that is usually diagnosed in childhood. If it does, he might be able to avoid the lifetime burdens facing his 5-year-old brother, Weston. They includes countless finger pricks and blood sugar checks, and avoiding playing too hard or eating too little, which both can cause dangerous blood sugar fluctuations.

Russian supply ship launched to International Space StationMOSCOW (AP) - A Russian booster rocket on Friday successfully launched an unmanned cargo ship to the International Space Station, whose crew is anxiously awaiting it after the successive failures of two previous supply missions. A Soyuz-U rocket blasted off flawlessly from Russia-leased Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan, placing the Progress M-28M ship into a designated orbit, safely en route to the station. On Sunday, it's set to dock at the station currently manned by Russians Gennady Padalka and Mikhail Kornienko and NASA's Scott Kelly.

VA hospital that once treated Civil War veterans could closeHOT SPRINGS, S.D. (AP) - Perched atop a bluff in the remote Black Hills, a veterans hospital built of thick blocks of pink sandstone and topped with red-tiled roofs in a Spanish mission style overlooks the tiny town of Hot Springs, South Dakota, and has provided recovering soldiers a bucolic haven for more than a century. Wounded warriors from Civil War battles at Antietam and Gettysburg came to the Battle Mountain Sanitarium for brief, intensive treatments for musculoskeletal and respiratory conditions. Physicians believed the dry air and warm, fabled mineral springs helped mend broken soldiers. Today, veterans from the Vietnam to Iraq wars suffering from ailments such as post-traumatic stress disorder and drug and alcohol abuse recuperate at this quiet retreat.

Thousands truckin' to Chicago for final Grateful Dead showsCHICAGO (AP) - The Grateful Dead is closing the lid on its storied half-century of concerts this weekend in Chicago, where a museum has captured the band's prankster heart by displaying its artifacts, skeletons-and-roses iconography included, in the shadow of a world-famous dinosaur. Soldier Field, which was the last place legendary guitarist Jerry Garcia played with the band before his death in 1995, is hosting the final three shows of the short "Fare Thee Well" tour in what the remaining core members - rhythm guitarist Bob Weir, bassist Phil Lesh and percussionists Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann - say will be the last.

AP PHOTOS: Surfing takes Brazilian kids out of Rio slumRIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - It's dawn and barefoot boys are hustling down the inclined alleys of Rio de Janeiro slums, surfboards under their arms. They're heading to nearby Sao Conrado and Arpoador beaches, where they catch waves and momentarily leave their impoverished lives behind. The youngest boys use pink, yellow and neon green bodyboards of foam, while the teens strap leashes from their short, sturdier surfboards to their ankles before gleefully paddling out to the waves.

Tour de France? More like Tour de-void of AmericansAs the Tour de France drew near, Jonathan Vaughters was still poring over power outputs and training results, trying to determine the nine riders that he would send to represent Cannondale-Garmin at the start line in the Dutch city of Utrecht. Andrew Talansky was a given, his best shot for an overall podium. But by the time Vaughters had finalized the rest of the U.S.-based team, Talansky was the only American on it.

This post has been generated by Page2RSS

Read the whole story

· · ·

Next Page of Stories

Page 4

Greece after 5 years of belt tighteningby The European Union Times
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 1:02 PM

The European Union Times - World News, Breaking News

The EU and its financial institutions have been pushing an austerity policy on Greece for the last five years. High unemployment, more taxes, billions of euros fleeing, and an increase in suicides mean Greeks on Sunday have to decide if enough is enough.

What happened?

In January, the left-wing Syriza party led by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras promised to end years of austerity measures without leaving the eurozone.

What went wrong?

Greek debt negotiations have been fruitless for five months. Creditors wanted economic reforms in return for bailout money, but Syriza refused to budge on key election promises.

RT shows you what has happened to the Greek economy during the era of austerity.

1 – “In five years in Greece, we have cut pensions by 44 percent, reduced private sector pay by 32 percent, destroyed the job market, smashed the welfare state, bled employees and the middle class dry with taxes, and reached one and a half million unemployed in a country with an active population of six million,” Alexis Tsipras said in an interview with an Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

2 – Greek GDP per capita has fallen to $21,700 in 2014 from $26,900 in 2010 in current US dollars, World Bank data suggests.

3 – Youth unemployment has reached more than 50 percent. Around 55 percent of those unemployed are under 35, according to UK entrepreneurship charity Endeavour.

4 – 44.8 percent of Greek pensioners are living below the poverty line. Their pensions amount to no more than €665 and have been cut 44-48 percent since 2010.

5 – The Greek suicide rate jumped 35 percent during the peak of the crisis in 2011 and 2012. Almost 80 percent of the suicides were men. Greece’s rate used to be the lowest in Europe, but it soared during the crisis.

6 – The Bank of England has warned that the Greek debt crisis is a threat to the UK’s financial stability and could trigger wider problems for financial markets. The market value of European banks shrunk by more than €50 billion on July 29, when the Greek government closed banks across the country and limited daily cash withdrawals to €60.

Source

Read the whole story

· · · ·

France intercepts international communicationsby The European Union Times
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 1:02 PM

The European Union Times - World News, Breaking News

France’s external intelligence agency has been intercepting international communications for the last couple of years, a new investigation reveals.

The findings of a weeks-long investigation carried out by the French daily Le Nouvel Observateur, published on Wednesday, show that France’s Directorate-General for External Security, known by its French acronym DGSE, has been spying on the international communications via a secret network of submarine cables linking Europe to the rest of the world.

According to the newspaper, in 2008, France’s then President Nicolas Sarkozy authorized DGSE to launch a comprehensive espionage on global communications transmitted through the cables.

About €700 million was earmarked by the secret service for the “Top Secret” plan over five years, from 2008 to 2013, to install interception stations where the cables end in France, particularly in the cities of Marseille, Penmarch Saint-Valéry-en-Caux, the probe by the daily further said.

At least five major cables, routed to the United States, Southeast Asia, East Africa, and India, were tapped during this period with the help of the operator Orange and Alcatel-Lucent group, Le Nouvel Observateur added.

The newspaper also said that President Francois Hollande has authorized the DGSE to extend its espionage operations and increase the cable stations in a new five-year plan, from 2014 to 2019.

The article also added that there has been an intense cooperation between DGSE and the UK’s intelligence agency GCHQ following a secret 2010 accord on cooperation between Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Source

Read the whole story

· ·

Gay Marriage Ruling Renews Debate Over Legalizing Polygamyby The European Union Times
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 1:01 PM

The European Union Times - World News, Breaking News

The Supreme Court decision supporting gay marriage has sparked a debate on whether to legalize polygamy, especially after Chief Justice John Roberts pointed out the ruling paves the way for a legal marriage between three or more people.

Not long after the decision, a Montana man applied for a marriage license to wed a second wife, encouraged by the fact that the same legal argument made in favor of gay marriage also applies to polygamy.

“It’s about marriage equality,” the man, Nathan Collier, told the AP on Wednesday. “You can’t have this without polygamy.”

“My second wife Christine, who I’m not legally married to, she’s put up with my crap for a lot of years; she deserves legitimacy.”

Roberts, one of the four justices dissenting the decision, predicted this would happen.

“Although the majority randomly inserts the adjective ‘two’ in various places, it offers no reason at all why the two-person element of the core definition of marriage may be preserved while the man-woman element may not,” Roberts wrote in his dissent of the ruling. “Indeed, from the standpoint of history and tradition, a leap from opposite-sex marriage to same-sex marriage is much greater than one from a two-person union to plural unions, which have deep roots in some cultures around the world.”

Politco’s Fredrik Deboer came out in favor of group marriages, stating that “polygamy today stands as a taboo just as strong as same-sex marriage was several decades ago.”

“We should turn our efforts towards the legal recognition of marriages between more than two partners,” he wrote. “It’s time to legalize polygamy.”

The vast majority of Americans, however, disagree: a recent Gallup poll shows that only 16% of the public finds polygamy morally acceptable.

But whether public opinion will prevent the legalization of group marriages remains to be seen.

Source

Read the whole story

· ·

Overwhelming majority of Italians say no to “refugees”by The European Union Times
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 1:01 PM

The European Union Times - World News, Breaking News

Interviews of nearly a thousand Italians by Rai News, show that more than 8 out of 10 Italians say they do not want “refugees” brought into their country.

The interviews, conducted from the 23rd to the 24th of June also showed that:

1 out of 4 (25%) Italians thought immigration was the country’s top problem.

2 out of 5 (38%) thought immigration was a “a serious security threat“ and can “be connected to terrorism.“

Over 2 out of 5 (40%) wanted to send illegal immigrants back and use the military if necessary.

Only 1 out of 4 (16%) wanted to bring in “refugees”.

It’s good to see that most Italians have not been fooled by the “refugee” label.

Both the mainstream media and government are trying to “repackage” illegal immigrants as these vulnerable “refugees” who were forced to flee… but no one will tell us why they pass through several safe countries on their way to Europe.

Interestingly, the survey found that 2 out of 5 (34%) thought Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, “does not protect the national interest.“

This week Renzi scorned other European countries in an emotional outburst for not accepting a quota on illegal immigrants, saying that “you aren’t worthy of calling yourselves Europe.”

I can see why a growing number of Italians are unhappy with this anti-Italian sleazebag. He tried to push yet more genocide on Europe, but turned into a big cry-baby when democracy ensued.

Read the whole story

· ·

West wants to remove Russian government from power: Kremlin security council head
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:59 PM

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Western powers want to Remove Russia's government from power, Nikolai Patrushev, head of the Kremlin's Security Council, said on Friday.

Podcast: Is the Kremlin Drinking Its Own Kool-Aid?
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:53 PM

Russian politics has long been performance art. But now it is turning into a comic opera.

Next Page of Stories

Page 5

Russian Yoga Ban Leaves Officials In Awkward Poseby support@pangea-cms.com (Kira Morozova, Claire Bigg)
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:53 PM

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Authorities in a central Russian city have suffered an embarrassing backlash after attempting to ban yoga.

Dylann Roof's sister Amber crowd funding for her HONEYMOON
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:53 PM

Amber Roof was to marry US Army Reserve Recruiter Michael Tyo at The Mitchell House and Gardens in Lexington on June 21.

Archbishop Justin Welby rebukes US Anglicans for recognising same-sex marriages
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:53 PM

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (pictured) told the Americans that their radical reforms would cause distress among Anglicans and the faithful of other Christian churches.

More than 100 asylum seekers to walk free from detention after ministers defeated in legal fight over fast-track scheme
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:52 PM

Ministers admitted defeat in a long running legal battle over the system designed to fast-track the removal of people with 'very weak or spurious claims'.

ISIS terror risk forces US Air bases in UK to cancel July 4 celebrations
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:52 PM

A planned Red Arrows display at an RAF base in Norfolk hosted by the US Air Force for Independence day has been cancelled due to the heightened Jihadi menace.

New HIV vaccine completely protected against virus in half of monkeys
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:51 PM

Positive results of trials in monkeys triggered the pharmaceutical company to begin trials in humans, according to researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston.

Next Page of Stories

Page 6

Failing to take on ISIS in Syria is a sign of 'weakness' warns Jeremy Hunt
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:50 PM

Network Front | The Guardian

A militant Islamist fighter waving a flag, cheers as he takes part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. The fighters held the parade to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq, a monitoring service said. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), posted pictures online on Sunday of people waving black flags from cars and holding guns in the air, the SITE monitoring service said. Picture taken June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3WKMT

Europe’s leaders must end this reckless standoff with Greece | Guy Verhofstadtby Guy Verhofstadt, former prime minister of Belgium
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:50 PM

There’s so much more at stake than just euros. We need a cooling-off period in order to deliver and a real, sustainable solution on Greek debt

The possibility of a Greek exit from the eurozone has never been more likely. We shouldn’t be under any illusions – this would be a catastrophe for Greece’s eurozone creditors, the Greek state and the European Union.

Like it or not, we are all in this together. If we continue on our current trajectory, everyone stands to lose from what now resembles a reckless, self-destructive standoff. The Greek economy is on the verge of complete collapse. This would not only be devastating for the people of Greece, it will guarantee that creditors never see their money again. We must remember that Germany has lent approximately €80bn. This is an astonishing figure, close to a quarter of Greece’s budget for 2016. Yet the sad irony is, the longer the current impasse continues, the greater pressure Angela Merkel will face within her own party to reject any solution that is accepted by the Greek government.

The Latest: No Services Planned for Slain Prison Escapee
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:48 PM

ABC News: Top Stories

The Latest: No services planned for slain prison escapee, funeral home abiding by son's wishes

Liberia Works to Contain Ebola, Find Source of New Cases
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:48 PM

ABC News: Top Stories

Liberia works hard to contain Ebola, determine source of new cases

Thomas Keller's Per Se restaurant pays $500,000 to waiters after 'cheating staff from hard-earned tips'
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:48 PM

- World RSS Feed

There’s labour involved ferrying back and forth salads of French leeks, pickled Persian cucumbers and stonecrop and morel mushroom vinaigrette.

Baby rescued 1km out to sea after parents forgot about her
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:47 PM

- World RSS Feed

A 10-month-old baby was rescued floating out at sea 1km from land after her parents forgot about her.

Next Page of Stories

Page 7

San Francisco TV news crew attacked by armed robbers during live broadcast
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:47 PM

- World RSS Feed

Two TV news crews in America were robbed and attacked live on air while they were reporting from the scene of a murder.

Study: Mass shootings can be contagious
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:47 PM

Home - CBSNews.Com

Researchers found "significant evidence" that school shootings and killings of 4 or more people at a time are contagious for almost 2 weeks

Divers search for missing after Philippine ferry sinks, 38 dead
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:02 PM

MANILA (Reuters) - Divers will search waters in the central Philippines on Friday for 15 people still missing after a ferry carrying 187 passengers and crew sank a day earlier, killing 38 people, the coast guard said.

Read the whole story

· ·

Afghanistan targets U.S. defense contractors in row over back taxes
Friday July 3rd, 2015 at 12:02 PM

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.

Read the whole story

· ·

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.

Next Page of Stories

Page 8

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