NIGERIA - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who won office pledging to fight the country's outrageous graft habit, claims to have no foreign accounts or oil concessions and only $151,000 at a local bank. The 72-year-old military man who campaigned pledging to recover "mind-boggling" sums of stolen oil money enjoys "a spartan lifestyle", his spokesman said in a statement listing his assets late Thursday. With five houses, several farms, varied livestock and "a number of cars", Buhari unquestionably is better-off than the average Nigerian. Buhari has made transparency and the fight against corruption cardinal policies of his administration.
EUROPE - 4,000 covert terrorists already in place 'awaiting' orders. As the migrant-train standoff entered its second day in Hungary, with thousands of mostly Syrian refugees seeking passage to Germany, it’s time the West recognized this shift in Muslim populations for what it is, say American activists who have been warning of a “fifth column” for years.
IRAN - Even as President Obama was securing the Senate support necessary to assure passage of the nuclear deal with Iran, Tehran's top defense officials were scoffing at US claims the pact will restrict the Islamic Republic's military ambitions.
ISRAEL - The situation on the West Bank is volatile, but persistent reports suggest Israel could conclude a long-term cease-fire with Hamas. Are we on the verge of a new Palestinian intifada? The fragile status quo and the fact that there is no political solution in sight suggest that we may well be.
UNITED NATIONS - This month the UN launches a blueprint for a new world order with the help of the Pope. Did you know that the UN is planning to launch a “new universal agenda” for humanity in September 2015? That phrase does not come from me – it is actually right in the very first paragraph of the official document that every UN member nation will formally approve at a conference later this month.
UKRAINE - Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council has approved the country’s new military strategy, which defines Russia as a “military adversary”. Ukraine is also officially dropping its non-aligned status, and placing itself on course to join NATO. The new document, unveiled in a Wednesday statement, “emphasizes the need to improve” the professional skills of the country’s army, and warns of the “high probability” of foreign military involvement in its internal conflict. The Ukrainian Defense Council also supported the suggestion of the Cabinet and security officials to expand the list of economic sanctions imposed on Russian “legal bodies and individuals”, TASS news agency reported.
EUROPE - Europe's dream of open borders has turned into a "shambolic" nightmare as the migrant crisis reaches unmanageable levels - with even Germany saying it can no longer cope. The Schengen Zone, which allows passport-free travel between many EU countries, was on the brink of collapse as nations across the continent tightened up controls amid the growing influx of desperate refugees.
USA - Five of six deputies in the office of a Kentucky county clerk jailed Thursday for her refusal to issue marriage licenses after the Supreme Court allowed gays to wed say they will process the paperwork starting Friday. But Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, whom US District Court Judge David Bunning found in contempt of court, said through her lawyers that she will not authorize any of her employees to issue licenses in her absence. The judge placed her in the custody of US marshals and had her taken to Carter County jail. "My conscience will not allow it," Davis said earlier to Bunning. "God's moral law convicts me and conflicts with my duties."
USA - Same-sex marriage supporters outside the federal courthouse here erupted into cheers and chants of "love wins" as they learned Thursday afternoon that a federal judge had ordered Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis to jail. "Justice has been served, and love and equality has prevailed," said Carl Geiman Jr. Close by, hundreds of those who supported Davis stood silently. Others prayed and sang hymns. Those who support same-sex marriage said Davis' refusal to issue marriage licenses has given Kentucky a black eye, making the state appear backward. "I'm here because I'm tired of people hiding behind religion to just find a legal way to bully people," said Laura Dobbins of Greenup.
JAPAN - Japan’s Spread Vegetable Factory is working on a novel way of producing high quantities of lettuce using factory automation, reports the Wall Street Journal. Starting next year, the company will begin construction on a large-scale, fully-automated lettuce factory that’ll cost up to 2 billion yen to build ($16.5 million USD). According to the Kyoto-based company, its automated process will be able to produce 30,000 heads of lettuce in a single day starting in summer 2017 with a goal of 500,000 heads of lettuce within five years. Except seeding and germination that requires visual confirmation, most of the growing process is automated, requiring minimal human intervention to take the lettuce to harvest.
UK - This farm is located 11 stories, or about 33 meters (108 feet) below the streets of London. Growing Underground is the world’s first underground eco-farm and there isn’t a tractor in sight. This farm is located 11 stories, or about 33 meters (108 feet) below the streets of London.
USA - President Obama – who graduated Columbia University with a degree in political science – became an environmental and ecological expert Monday night in time to decry America’s contributions to global warming and the alleged melting of Arctic ice caps at this year’s GLACIER Conference, predicting a dire future for humanity.
USA - President Barack Obama walked down a winding wooded path, past a small brown post marked "1926" and a glacial stream trickling over gravel that eons of ice have scraped off mountain peaks.
CHINA - China has held a lavish parade in Beijing to mark the defeat of Japan in World War Two, showcasing its military might on an unprecedented scale. President Xi Jinping in his opening speech paid tribute to "the Chinese people who unwaveringly fought hard and defeated aggression" from Japan.
USA - By one dismal measure, America is joining the likes of Third World countries. The number of US residents who are struggling to survive on just $2 a day has more than doubled since 1996, placing 1.5 million households and 3 million children in this desperate economic situation.