May 30, 2015

Anti-Semitic fliers found in neighborhoods across region
A day after anti-Semitic fliers papered a neighborhood in Chevy Chase, similar fliers turned up in a D.C. neighborhood, and people...had also seen the hateful leaflets at their doorsteps. Multiple people in the Takoma neighborhood in Northwest D.C. contacted the Post to say that they had found the flier — a two-page compilation of declarations about Jews and falsified quotations...  

Elderly face NHS discrimination under new UN death targets
The NHS could be led to discriminate against the over 70s to meet ‘highly unethical’ UN health targets which seek to reduce premature deaths in younger people, senior medics have warned. ...In an open letter published in The Lancet, an international group of ageing specialists say the new guideline sends out the message that health provision for younger groups must be prioritised at the expense of older people.  

US removes Cuba from list of state sponsors of terror
The United States has removed Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. ...The change allows Cuba to conduct banking in the United States, among other activities. President Barack Obama announced a historic thaw with Cuba in December, but the US trade embargo against the country remains, and may only be ended by Congress.  

Mers virus: China tracking nearly 200 for possible infections
China is trying to track down at least 193 people who may have come in contact with a man with Mers, the country's first confirmed case of the virus. The alert came as South Korea announced it had two more Mers cases, bringing the total within the country to nine. The outbreak has been traced to a South Korean who visited the Middle East.  

US calls for land reclamation 'halt' in South China Sea
The US has called for an "immediate and lasting halt" to land reclamation in disputed areas of the South China Sea. US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter told the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that China's actions in the area were "out of step" with international rules. China claims almost the whole of the South China Sea, resulting in overlapping claims with its neighbours.  

Islamic State militants in Libya 'seize Sirte airport'
Islamic State militants in Libya say they have seized the airport in the city of Sirte, as the group continues to make advances in the country. The news was announced by the group and by a Libyan militia that withdrew from the coastal city's airport on Thursday. Most of Sirte, former leader Muammar Gaddafi's hometown, fell to IS last week.  

Pentagon: Anthrax shipments broader than first thought
The Pentagon said Friday that the Army's mistaken shipments of live anthrax to research laboratories were more widespread than it initially reported, prompting the Defense Department's second-ranking official to order a thorough review.  

IS claims suicide bombing on Shiite mosque in Saudi, 4 dead
A suicide bomber disguised as a woman blew himself up in the parking lot of a Shiite mosque during Friday prayers, killing four people in the second such attack in as many weeks claimed by the Islamic State group.  

U.S. defense chief says China's island-building erodes security
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter warned on Saturday that Beijing's island-building in the South China Sea was undermining security in the Asia-Pacific and he called for a diplomatic push to solve the territorial dispute that is driving China's effort.  

Russia steps up propaganda push with online "Kremlin trolls"
Deep inside a four-story marble building in St. Petersburg, hundreds of workers tap away at computers on the front lines of an information war, say those who have been inside. Known as "Kremlin trolls," the men and women work 12-hour shifts around the clock, flooding the Internet with propaganda aimed at stamping President Vladimir Putin's world vision on Russia, and the world.  

Houthi rebels in Yemen are holding multiple Americans prisoner
The rebel group that has seized power in Yemen has taken at least four U.S. citizens prisoner, according to U.S. officials who said that efforts to secure the Americans’ release have faltered.  

How a banking law ensnared former House Speaker Dennis Hastert
“Past misconduct” alleged to have been perpetrated by former US House Speaker Dennis Hastert in a federal indictment would never have come to light were it not for a banking law meant to catch money-launderers.  

May 29, 2015

Radioactive leak at India's Delhi airport
Radioactive material leaked from a medical shipment on Friday at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, ...the incident had been contained and there was no risk to passengers. The leak was found at the airport's cargo-handling complex in a consignment of sodium iodide 131 - a radioactive liquid used in so-called nuclear medicine - that had been on board an inbound Turkish Airlines passenger flight.  

More rain pounds Texas as residents try to clean up
At Horseshoe Bend along the Brazos River in Parker County, residents hope their luck holds. Authorities say...the floodwaters have begun to recede — for now. ...Brazos River Authority closed the floodgates on the Possum Kingdom Lake dam upstream, allowing the river to crest at 23.6 feet about noon Thursday, almost 3 feet above flood stage.  

Syrian Islamist rebels 'seize Ariha in Idlib province'
An Islamist coalition that includes Syria's al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front has taken over one of the last government strongholds in western Idlib province, activists say. The Jaish al-Fateh, or Conquest Army, took control of the city of Ariha after a "lightning offensive", the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.  

Young Australian women trying to join IS, say police
As many as 12 young women have tried to leave Melbourne to join the Islamic State (IS) militant group, according to Australian police. The women, aged between 18 and 29, have been recruited on social media. Five of them are now living with IS militants in the conflict zones, according to a special investigation by Victoria Police.  

Home Front Command drill simulating multiple-front conflict set to begin on Sunday
A nationwide Home Front Command drill simulating conflict on multiple fronts will begin on Sunday, lasting through the week. On Tuesday, air raid sirens will go off across the country at 11:05 a.m. to test school responses to heavy rocket attack, and again at 7:05 p.m. to prompt civilians to seek cover in preselected safe areas.  

Al Qaeda-led rebels take Syrian regime bastion
A rebel coalition led by the Syrian affiliate of Al Qaeda stormed and seized the last regime-held city in Idlib province on Thursday, as Iraq exhumed the remains of 470 jihadist victims.  

Greece could use 'Zambia' option as progress on deal unclear
Greece and rescue lenders remained at odds over whether the two sides are close to a breakthrough in negotiations, as the International Monetary Fund confirmed Thursday that Athens had the right to ask for "bundled" repayments next month.  

Volcano erupts on southern Japanese island
A volcano erupted on a small island in southern Japan on Friday, spewing black clouds of ash and rock towering into the sky and prompting authorities to tell residents to evacuate the island.  

Iran, N. Korea 'collaborate' on nuclear arms: Iranian opposition
An exiled Iranian opposition group accused Tehran Thursday of a "vast collaboration" with North Korea in developing nuclear arms, alleging that experts from both countries made regular intelligence-sharing visits.  

Israeli Military: Iran Is Not Most Dangerous Threat
Israel’s military doesn’t consider Iran to be the greatest threat to the Jewish state, according to a new report.  

Martial law in Ukraine can be declared within hours - Poroshenko
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko says he can declare martial law in his country within hours, in case there is an advance on the Ukrainian army's positions.

May 28, 2015

Russia masses heavy firepower on border with Ukraine
Russia's army is massing troops and hundreds of pieces of weaponry including mobile rocket launchers, tanks and artillery at a makeshift base near the border with Ukraine, a Reuters reporter saw this week. Many of the vehicles have number plates and identifying marks removed while many of the servicemen had taken insignia off their fatigues.  

North Korea deploys new generation of fast warships
North Korea has deployed a new generation of high-speed, radar-evading warship designed to infiltrate special forces into South Korean territory. The Very Slender Vessel sits low in the water and is designed to pierce waves instead of riding over them. Capable of travelling at nearly 60 mph, the craft are armed with heavy machine guns and torpedoes, with...South Korean military officials as saying the ships pose a "new threat" to its security.  

Live anthrax inadvertently sent by U.S. military
Four lab workers in the United States and up to 22 overseas have been put in post-exposure treatment, a defense official said, following the revelation the U.S. military inadvertently shipped live anthrax samples in the past several days. CNN learned on Wednesday a Maryland-based lab received the live samples, which prompted an across the board urgent review to see whether any other live anthrax has been shipped.  

Gaza conflict: Hamas committed human rights abuses against Palestinian civilians, Amnesty says
Islamist movement Hamas has been accused of serious human rights abuses for the abductions, torture and killings of at least 23 Palestinian civilians last year. An Amnesty International report said Hamas used last summer's war with Israel in the Gaza Strip to carry out revenge attacks against its opponents.  

Iran, North Korea forging ballistic, nuclear ties, dissidents claim
An exiled Iranian opposition group said on Thursday a delegation of North Korean experts in nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles visited a military site near Tehran in April amid talks between world powers and Iran over its nuclear program.  

Saudi-led airstrikes kill at least 80 in Yemen
A day of deadly bombing by Saudi-led warplanes has killed at least 80 people in Yemen’s capital Sanaa and in an area along the border with Saudi Arabia. One strike targeted a Special Forces military base controlled by Houthi rebels. Witnesses said many civilians were caught up in the blast.  

Israeli air force chief unfazed Egypt may get Russia's S-300
The chief of Israel's air force on Wednesday played down worries voiced by some fellow officials about the possibility of Egypt acquiring advanced Russian-made air defenses. The Russian news agency TASS said in March Egypt would receive the Antey-2500 missile system, an S-300 variant, and put the value of the contract at more than a billion dollars. Neither Egypt nor Russia has formally confirmed it.  

Emboldened in Syria and Iraq, Islamic State may be reaching limits of expansion
With its two biggest victories in nearly a year in Iraq and Syria, Islamic State has energized its fighters, littered the streets of two cities with the bodies of its enemies and forced Washington to re-examine its strategy.  

Mexico Fires on Border Patrol
When one country crosses another’s sovereign border and launches an assault on that country’s citizens, it usually grabs headlines because such action is typically viewed as an act of war. Apparently this is not the case when the Mexican government acts aggressively toward its U.S. counterparts along the southwestern border.  

Catholic Group Exposes Red Influence in the Vatican
Doing the research and investigative work that the major U.S. media have all but abandoned, an organization called the American Life League (ALL) has uncovered dramatic evidence of links between the highest levels of the Roman Catholic Church and an international communist group known as the World Social Forum. The evidence suggests overt Marxist influence on the climate change movement that Pope Francis and his top advisers are now  

May 27, 2015

Appeals court keeps Obama immigration program locked up
The Obama administration suffered another immigration setback Tuesday, as a divided federal appeals court declined to lift a injunction imposed by a Texas-based trial judge. The 2-1 decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals means President Barack Obama’s executive action deferring deportation of certain immigrants will remain locked up in court for the foreseeable future. It also could force officials to make some tough legal and political choices.  

Rocket fired from Gaza lands near Israeli port Ashdod: police
A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed near the Israeli port city of Ashdod on Tuesday but no casualties or damage were reported, police and the military said. Palestinian militants in Gaza launched thousands of rockets and mortar bombs into Israel during a war last July and August in which Israeli shelling and air strikes battered the small, coastal Palestinian enclave. The region has been largely quiet since the August ceasefire.  

China to extend military reach, build lighthouses in disputed waters
China outlined a strategy to boost its naval reach on Tuesday and announced plans for the construction of two lighthouses in disputed waters, developments likely to escalate tensions in a region already jittery about Beijing's maritime ambitions.  

Iraq Shi'ite militia take lead in campaign to reverse Islamic State gains
Iraq's Shi'ite paramilitaries said on Tuesday they had taken charge of the campaign to drive Islamic State from the western province of Anbar, giving the operation an openly sectarian codename that could infuriate its Sunni Muslim population.  

Taliban claim attack on Kabul guesthouse after overnight siege ends
The Taliban claimed responsibility for an overnight attack on a guesthouse in the diplomatic enclave of the Afghan capital that ended on Wednesday morning after a stand-off with Afghan government forces.  

May 26, 2015

China and Chile sign currency swap agreement
China's Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet signed a currency swap deal on Monday seeking to deepen economic ties by boosting trade and investment.  

Greece rules out capital controls if bailout talks fail
Greece's government on Monday ruled out restricting access to bank accounts and the free movement of money if there is no breakthrough soon in tortuous talks with bailout creditors and its dwindling cash reserves dry up.  

The world is drowning in debt, warns Goldman Sachs
The world is sinking under too much debt and an ageing global population means countries' debt piles are in danger of growing out of control, the European chief executive of Goldman Sachs Asset Management has warned.  

Twitter trend ‘Charlie Charlie Challenge’ has teens trying to summon demon
The latest topic to create some commotion on Twitter has teens trying to summon a demon named Charlie. The Charlie Charlie Challenge surfaced Thursday on Twitter and has gone viral across social media platforms. The challenge includes putting two pencils on a piece of paper in the shape of a cross. The words “yes” and “no” are written in boxes outlined by the pencils. Then the participants say “Charlie, Charlie are you here?”  

Russia, Iran talks on S-300 missiles end in 'success'
Moscow and Tehran have concluded talks on the delivery of Russian S-300 missiles to Iran which should take place "quite" soon, Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Monday. "The negotiations on the subject have ended in success. I estimate that the S-300 delivery will take place in quite a short time," Amir-Abdollahian said in Moscow.  

28 Shootings, 9 Fatal, Over Memorial Day Weekend In Baltimore
It’s been a violent weekend in Baltimore after a surge of shootings–some deadly across the city. Amy Yensi has more. Police say 28 people were shot, 9 of them killed over this weekend, adding to the record-breaking violence.  

May 25, 2015

Blast in downtown Damascus kills Syria general: monitor
Beirut - A Syrian brigadier-general was killed in a blast that targeted his car in downtown Damascus on Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said. The Britain-based group said "a brigadier general and approximately six people with him were killed in an explosion in the Adawi neighbourhood in the centre of the capital."  

Palestinian stabs two Israelis teens: police
Jerusalem - A Palestinian youth on Sunday stabbed and wounded two Israeli teenagers on their way to the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City during a Jewish festival, officials said.  

New Orleans Cop Shot Dead in Cruiser
A New Orleans police officer was found shot dead in his marked patrol car this morning, city officials said. The shooting was reported around 7 a.m., the New Orleans Police Department said in a news release. The victim's car rolled forward and struck a curb after the shooting.  

Storms flood Plains, Midwest, killing 3, forcing evacuations
Record rainfall wreaked havoc across a swath of Texas and the Midwest on Sunday, causing flash floods in normally dry riverbeds, spawning tornadoes and forcing at least 2,000 people to flee.  

Three nations altered temperature data, and you can probably guess why
Let’s review the logic we are asked to accept from the we-must-act-now-on-global-warming crowd. They tell us that the science is undeniable in showing global warming is both man-made and running wild, and that only liberal policy ideas like carbon taxes and controls on industry can solve the problem.  

ISIS Suggests It Can Smuggle a Nuke Into US Through Mexico
The Islamic State is using the latest issue of its propaganda magazine Dabiq to pose the "far-fetched" hypothetical of purchasing its first nuclear weapon from Pakistan within a year and getting it into the United States through the porous Southern border.  

The Congressional Board of Exchange
We are living in a political world of the UniParty; it’s sort of like the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, a historic commodity and – in these modern times – financial derivative exchange based in Chicago.  

Obama’s Policies to Empower ISIS Exposed
For months, many Western observers have been closely following the minute-by-minute developments concerning the battle between Islamic State and coalition forces in the hopes that such data will help them discern what the future may hold.  

Memorial Day 2015
We need to remind ourselves that Memorial Day is not just another three-day weekend or a day when all manner of sales are offered to those who want to go shopping. It is a day set aside to honor the ultimate sacrifice of those who have fought to defend our nation and take military action in foreign nations. We honor, too, those who suffered wounds and returned home.  

May 24, 2015

Google Patents Toys That Watch and Listen to Your Kids
Worried about Google snooping on your Web browsing or email? That may be the least of the Internet giant's intrusions if this patent for sensor-packed dolls and toys ever gets put to use in your kids' room. Filed in 2012 but just published Thursday, the patent describes "interactive electronics that support social cues." In other words, toys that watch and listen.  

Greece issues fresh warning on IMF payment
Athens will be unable to repay the IMF on schedule next month, a Greek government minister says, reiterating previous warnings by officials during tense talks with the country's creditors.  

Carter says Iraq's 'will to fight' at issue after Ramadi
The Islamic State group's takeover of the provincial capital of Ramadi is stark evidence that Iraqi forces lack the "will to fight," Defense Secretary Ash Carter acknowledged, a harsh assessment that raised new questions about the Obama administration's strategy to defeat the extremist group that has seized a strategically important swath of the Middle East.  

As Russia growls, EU goes cool on eastern promises
EU leaders meeting in Latvia's capital Riga last week would have paid little heed to the rundown building across the street, seemingly unpainted since Brezhnev's day, or the fading slogan daubed across its roof. "You are not alone!" it yelled in Russian.  

Saudi-led warplanes launched a fresh wave of air strikes across Yemen
Saudi-led warplanes launched a fresh wave of air strikes across Yemen targeting Iran-backed rebels as fighting raged on the ground in the south of the country, witnesses said. The air raids pounded arms depots under the control of the Shiite Huthi rebels in the locality of Ghula, in Omran province north of Sanaa, residents said. 
Syrians try to build case against Assad in chlorine attacks

With only a cloth mask for protection, Firas Kayali rushed to try to rescue the residents of a house in a village in rebel-held northern Syria after a barrel bomb, suspected to be filled with chlorine gas, hit nearby.  

Ukraine crisis: Rebel commander Alexei Mozgovoi 'killed'
One of the top rebel commanders in eastern Ukraine, Alexei Mozgovoi, has been killed in an attack on his car, Russian and Ukrainian media report.  

UN nuclear weapons talks fail 'over Israel row'
A UN conference aimed at preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons has ended in failure after a row over a nuclear-free Middle East proposal. The Egypt-backed plan had envisaged a regional forum which analysts say might have forced Israel to reveal whether or not it has nuclear weapons. The proposal was blocked by the US, the UK and Canada. The next review is set for 2020.  

US 'deeply troubled' by Russia's NGO law
The United States said it was "deeply troubled" after Russian President Vladimir Putin officially enacted a controversial law banning what Moscow deems to be "undesirable" non-governmental organizations.  

Isis claims it could buy its first nuclear weapon from Pakistan within a year
Isis has used the latest issue of its propaganda magazine Dabiq to suggest the group is expanding so rapidly it could buy its first nuclear weapon within a year. The hyperbolic article, which the group attributes to the British hostage John Cantlie, claims Isis has transcended its roots as “the most explosive Islamic ‘group’ in the modern world” to evolve into “the most explosive Islamic movement the modern world has ever seen” in less than twelve months.  

Israeli Arabs rally against Morsi death sentence
Thousands of Arabs marched in northern Israel on Saturday to protest the death sentence issued in Egypt against ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. Organisers said 5,000 people took part in the demonstration led by Sheikh Raed Salah, a firebrand preacher who heads the Islamist Movement's radical northern wing.