Demetris Christofias, the Greek Cypriot President, who is the only communist leader within the European Union, has taken over the EU Presidency for a term of six months. The EU presidency is a largely ceremonial role, but it is also a role that involves planning the blocs agenda and chairing many of its meetings at this pivotal time, especially with the Euro currency imploding rapidly. Are we to be... 

Cognizant of the fact grabbing guns from law-abiding citizens will not stop psychos from engaging in mass shootings, former Homeland Security boss Michael Chertoff believes government should hone its ability to spot criminals and terrorists before they inflict damage on society. “We need to understand more about the signs that show somebody is either becoming deranged or becoming a terrorist, because... 

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (L) speaks during a press conference alongside the Cypriot Foreign Affairs Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoulis (C) at the EU Headquarters in Brussels, July 24, 2012. The European Union has flatly rejected an Israeli call to blacklist Hezbollah as a terrorist group, saying there is no such agreement among the bloc’s member states. “There is no consensus... 

Wealthy tax evaders, aided by private banks have exploited loopholes in tax legislation and stashed over $21 tn in offshore funds, says a report. The capital drained from some developing countries since 1970 would be enough to pay off national debts. ­The findings show the gap between the haves and the have-nots is much larger than previously thought. The document, entitled The Price of Offshore... 

Syria’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Jihad Makdissi speaks during a news conference in Damascus July 23, 2012. Syria says it will only use its chemical and biological arsenal against “external aggression,” and never against own population. The US has warned the Arab country against using the arsenal under any circumstances. ­Torn by a 16-month civil conflict, Syria will not use the weapons... 

Here’s another news brief from the backlog that accumulated while I was in Brussels. It’s from our Swedish correspondent PMP, and concerns a recent decision by the Swedish government to extend “free” healthcare to all illegal immigrants. As with similar decisions by the American government concerning “undocumented” migrants from Latin America, the ruling renders the distinction between... 

According to a report, foreign governments decide which gangs inside Syria should receive arms to fight the Syrian government. Above, members of an armed Syrian gang are shown. In a new media offensive against Damascus, Washington has claimed that the Syrian government possesses and intends to use chemical weapons. “We believe Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile remains under Syrian government control,”... 

A second case of deadly police-involved shooting is reported in Anaheim over the weekend. It comes just a day after police shot a 24-year-old man, sparking chaotic protests. Police shot dead a handcuffed man in the Guinida neighborhood of the city, reports OC Weekly, citing eyewitness accounts. Family friends told the Weekly that the victim was Joel Acevedo, a resident of Anaheim. Residents on the... 

Moshe Silman self-immolated in Tel Aviv during a demonstration against social injustice and high cost of living, July 14, 2012. Another Israeli man has set himself on fire in the city of Yehud, two days after an Israeli protester died of burns sustained in self-immolation. The 45-year-old disabled man self-immolated at a bus stop in Yehud, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) east of Tel Aviv. Medical sources... 

Oscar-nominated screenwriter Peter Morgan, will pen the biopic telling the life story of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. The movie about Hugh Hefner will be released by Warner Bros. The writer behind The Queen and Frost/Nixon movies, currently in talks with producer Jerry Weintraub, The Hollywood Reporter says. 86 year-old Hefner has already held a meeting with the screenwriter and then posted on his... 

Danger: ‘The Devil’s Breath’ is such a powerful drug that it can remove the capacity for free will A hazardous drug that eliminates free will and can wipe the memory of its victims is currently being dealt on the streets of Colombia. The drug is called scopolamine, but is colloquially known as ‘The Devil’s Breath,’ and is derived from a particular type of tree common to... 

Poverty is spreading at record levels across many groups in the United States, from underemployed workers and suburban families to the poorest poor. Poverty in the United States is projected to climb to the highest level in nearly half a century as the recession threw millions of people out of work last year. According to a survey conducted by The Associated Press, US poverty could reach a 46-year... 

A company charged with decontaminating the devastated Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant encouraged its workers to falsely lower their radiation dosimeter readings by covering the devices with lead, according to a leaked tape of an internal meeting. Nuclear plant workers are not allowed to be exposed to more than 50 millisieverts of radiation a year. But managers at Build-up, a company that provided insulation... 

An astounding report prepared by the Ministry of Finance for President Putin today estimates that up to $35 Trillion in assets owned by what are estimated to be the 10 million individuals classified as “global elites” has been lost to global tax havens over fears that President Barack Obama is about to “shatter” the United States “permanent war economy” that has been in place since 1944. The... 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a controversial status bill that brands externally-funded NGOs as “foreign agents”. The document is to come into force in 120 days following its publication. ­The bill, previously approved by both chambers of the Russian parliament, will now force non-profit organizations receiving funding from abroad and engaging in political activity to register...