USA - Vast areas of California's Central Valley are sinking faster than in the past as massive amounts of groundwater are pumped during the historic drought, NASA said in new research released Wednesday. The research shows that in some places the ground is sinking nearly two inches each month, putting infrastructure on the surface at growing risk of damage. Sinking land has occurred for decades in California because of excessive groundwater pumping during drought conditions, but the new data shows it is happening faster. Mark Cowin, head of the California Department of Water Resources, said the costly damage has occurred to major canals that deliver water up and down the state. In addition, wells are being depleted, he said.
IRAN - Iranian president reviles Israel for 'massacre' attempt to burn down Al-Aqsa mosque - except it was done by an insane Australian Christian. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday gave credence to an old libel to attack Israel, falsely accusing it of a 1969 arson attack against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism.
VATICAN - Pope Francis has been photographed in the Vatican holding a sign calling for Argentine-UK talks about the Falkland Islands, called Malvinas in Argentina. The pontiff is from Argentina. He received the sign from Gustavo Hoyo, leader of a campaign for dialogue on the islands, during a papal audience.
YEMEN - Yemen's conflict has left it on the brink of famine, the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) has warned. Food shortages, lack of fresh water, and low fuel stocks have created a "perfect storm" for the Yemeni people, the WFP's Ertharin Cousin said. The organisation estimates nearly 13 million people urgently require help. The conflict has involved Houthi rebel fighters clashing with forces loyal to the Yemeni government and its allies, led by Saudi Arabia.
RUSSIA - Since Vladimir Putin's return to power in 2012, the Church has become visible in practically all spheres of public life in Russia, from charity drives to science and the army. Pictures of Orthodox priests blessing new weapons and even space rockets have drawn much criticism from online commentators.
USA - Noam Chomsky notes: According to the leading western polling agencies (WIN/Gallup International), the prize for “greatest threat” is won by the United States. The rest of the world regards it as the gravest threat to world peace by a large margin. In second place, far below, is Pakistan, its ranking probably inflated by the Indian vote. Iran is ranked below those two, along with China, Israel, North Korea, and Afghanistan.
CHINA - Stephen King of HSBC warns the world's financial system may not survive another crisis without China as a backstop. China's actions protected the global economy after the last financial crisis. China’s devaluation of the yuan reveals that the global economy will be without stabilisers if another crisis strikes, economists have warned.
RUSSIA - Iran and Russia have reached an agreement to deliver S-300 surface-to-air missile systems, Russia Today reported on Wednesday.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov was quoted as saying that "the topic is closed. We have reached full understanding on the matter together with our Iranian partners."
ISRAEL - Hamas’ political leadership tentatively accepted the terms of an eight-year truce with Israel, according to sources within Hamas.
The sources, speaking to WND from the Gaza Strip, said Israel gave support to Egypt to accept a Hamas delegation for further talks on the proposed long-term cease-fire.
GERMANY - Grain, fruit and vegetable harvests in Germany have been reduced by droughts in key areas this year, latest figures show. Farmers' woes have been further aggravated by falling prices and Russia's food ban.
USA - GOP Presidential candidate Dr Ben Carson, who is currently polling in second place behind Donald Trump, laid out his opinions on abortion and Planned Parenthood Sunday, again claiming that the organisation specifically targets black communities. Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, also ripped into Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger, noting that she was “a great believer in eugenics, and believed that certain people were like weeds that needed to be controlled.”
USA - LGBT organization wants to eliminate “gender stereotypes” to avoid upsetting transgenders. The biggest gay rights lobby group in the United States has called on schools to eliminate “gender stereotypes” by training staff to avoid using the words “boy” and “girl” in class. A new back to school guide published by the Human Rights Campaign designed to make classrooms “gender inclusive” urges teachers to “avoid using gender to divide and address students” so as to prevent any transgender students from becoming upset.
JAPAN - For 70 years, Japan has been a slumbering giant in the defence sector, but it is now waking up. In April 2014, as part of his new stance of “proactive pacifism”, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ended Japan’s self-imposed ban on the export of weapons. Japan has sophisticated military technology, but the question hanging over Mr Abe’s plan is whether producing high-quality gear will be enough. Success in selling defence equipment depends on many other factors, such as military training, that are hard for a pacifist nation to pull off.
USA - Vaccines are a very imperfect science, despite the good intentions of healthcare providers and parents seeking to protect their children from disease. Adverse, life-changing and deadly effects of vaccines are more common than ever. In fact, the US government has had to pay out over $3 billion to vaccine-injured families since 1986. Still think vaccines are safe?
USA - You can stop waiting for a global financial crisis to happen. The truth is that one is happening right now. All over the world, stock markets are already crashing. Most of these stock market crashes are occurring in nations that are known as “emerging markets”. In recent years, developing countries in Asia, South America and Africa loaded up on lots of cheap loans that were denominated in US dollars.