UK - A member of UK Parliament, Roger Godsiff, claimed that a small elite based in Brussels is making the decisions regarding the integration in Europe, while the population of EU member states is unaware of the negative outcomes of unification. The European electorate has not been asked whether they would like to live in "the United States of Europe," a member of UK Parliament for the constituency of Birmingham Hall Green told Sputnik on Tuesday:
GREECE - Greek premier says IMF bears “criminal responsibility” as authorities vow only to transfer reserves if it’s the "last drop of blood" that will save the country from a euro exit. Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras escalated his defiance towards the country’s official creditors, with a pointed attack on the International Monetary Fund, accusing the institution of “financial asphyxiation”.
USA - The organization’s ‘Deliver Us From Abortion’ project notes that, over the past 40 years, 56 million Americans have died due to abortion. That is an average of 1.2 million per year, or one child every 26 seconds. Americans are closely divided on their views about abortion; however, a Gallup poll published last month found, for the first time in 7 years, more identify as “pro-choice” than “pro-life” (50 to 44 percent).
UK - Britain has an estimated Muslim population of about 2.8 million. Of these some 5% are Shia, the rest are Sunni. The historical split occurred 1400 years ago, following the death of Muhammad in Medina, in modern day Saudi Arabia. Muslims who wanted to select his successor, or Caliph, by following the traditional Arab custom (Sunna) formed into a group known as Sunnis. Others insisted the Prophet had designated his cousin and son-in-law Ali as his legitimate heir. This group was called Shia Ali, or ‘Party of Ali’, from which comes the word Shia.
USA - One of the largest school districts in the country is going to start teaching children that there’s no such thing as boys or girls. Fairfax County Public Schools, just outside of Washington, DC in the Northern Virginia suburbs, has more than 180,000 students. It’s the tenth largest school district in the country. Now, kids as young as seventh grade – just twelve years old – will be learning all about liberal “gender identity” in their sex education classes. And tenth graders will learn that the concept of sexuality is a broad spectrum – essentially.
ITALY - Parents from the north of Italy have organized a massive demonstration, called “Defend Our Children,” against gender ideology in schools, which will be held this Saturday in the Saint John Lateran Square in Rome. The demonstrators will be protesting Italian educational programs that are meant to blur the sexual identity of children.
CANADA - A new consensus is emerging that bans on cannabis are counterproductive. Across the world, countries are legalizing its use for pleasure and medical treatment - but Germany still lags behind.
Ms Zeng speaks quietly, almost in a whisper, with a strong Chinese accent. ‘How long have you been having trouble sleeping?’ she asks her customer.
‘Maybe a few weeks’, he replies. Ms Zeng asks if he feels that cannabis helps him fall asleep. ‘Definitely,’ he replies. The non-medical practitioner then gives him what she gives all her patients, regardless of their symptoms: a prescription for medical marijuana.
VATICAN - Vatican condemns early release of document in which pontiff calls on people to change their lifestyles and energy consumption or face grave consequences. Pope Francis will this week call for changes in lifestyles and energy consumption to avert the “unprecedented destruction of the ecosystem” before the end of this century, according to a leaked draft of a papal encyclical. In a document released by an Italian magazine on Monday, the pontiff will warn that failure to act would have “grave consequences for all of us”.
VATICAN - The unexpected leak of Pope Francis’ much-anticipated environmental encyclical has meant the return of something that not long ago was fairly common around the Vatican but had become often dormant during the two-plus years of Francis’ mostly charmed papacy: intrigue. Who leaked it and why? Was this the work of frustrated conservatives in the Vatican, as some experts have speculated? Does it portend big fights at a pivotal October meeting in which church officials are expected to grapple with homosexuality and divorce? Or is it just a tempest in a teapot?
VATICAN - The depopulationists are on the move again, pushing hard for the elimination of six billion people on planet Earth in order to bring the planet down to what's being touted as its "sustainable carrying capacity of one billion people."
VATICAN - The plan is quite simple. And it should scare you. Top Vatican adviser Jeffrey Sachs says that when Pope Francis visits the United States in September, he will directly challenge the “American idea” of God-given rights embodied in the Declaration of Independence.
MEXICO - Can a country with deep Christian roots like Mexico find itself at the mercy of demons? Some in the Church fear so. And as a result, they called for a nation-wide exorcism of Mexico, carried out quietly last month in the cathedral of San Luis Potosí. High levels of violence, as well as drug cartels and abortion in the country, were the motivation behind the special rite of exorcism, known as “Exorcismo Magno.”
ISRAEL - Hamas sources reveal indirect talks via UN and European parliament to extend ceasefire, confirming Arab media reports. Israel and Hamas have been holding indirect contacts about ideas for cementing a long-term truce in Gaza, sources in the terrorist group said Tuesday, in confirmation of reports about secret talks from last month.
USA - A US drone has killed Al-Qaeda's second-in-command - but like the hydra, cutting off the head only strengthens the body. As Hercules knew, cutting off the hydra’s head is not the same as defeating the body. But in killing one - and perhaps two - of Al-Qaeda’s most respected and feared leaders the United States has shown it is quite good at cutting off heads.
ISRAEL - In an unprecedented move, the IDF announced on Tuesday that it would facilitate the use of shuttle buses from West Bank cities to the Temple Mount on Friday mornings, so Palestinian worshipers could attend Friday prayers at the al-Aksa mosque during the month of Ramadan. The decision was part of a series of sweeping gestures meant to help ease life for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza during Ramadan.