RUSSIA - Russia-West relations took a downturn this week when Moscow warned that any stationing of military equipment along its border with Europe could have "dangerous consequences" and President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would add more than 40 ballistic missiles to its nuclear arsenal this year.
GREECE - Greek premier Alexis Tsipras has accused Europe’s creditor powers of trying to subvert Greece’s elected government after five years of “pillaging”, warning in solemn terms that his country will defend its sovereign dignity whatever the consequences. The defiant stand came as the European Commission lashed out at the Greeks and warned that the country would collapse into a “state of emergency” unless there is a deal to avert a financial crash.
TURKEY - Terrifying new travel advice has been issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, warning Britons of active terrorist groups plotting attacks in the Mediterranean country. Holidaymakers visiting beach resorts, particularly those from Britain, are at risk of kidnap, suicide bombings, car bombings, rocket attacks and improvised explosives.
UK - We used to laugh at conspiracy theorists, but from Fifa to banking scandals and the Iraq War, it seems they might have been on to something after all, says Alex Proud. Conspiracy theories used to be so easy. You’d have your mate who, after a few beers, would tell you that the moon landings were faked or that the Illuminati controlled everything or that the US government was holding alien autopsies in Area 51. And you’d be able to dismiss this because it was all rubbish.
UK - British embassies have been ordered not to fly the rainbow flag during this summer's gay pride marches, according to reports. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond is believed to have said the flag, which is a symbol of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement, should not replace the Union flag on special occasions.
USA - On June 4, Oklahoma joined Utah, Texas, and Louisiana in affirming that gold and silver coins are (as they always have been under the Constitution) legal tender in the payment of debts in the state. On the surface this seems almost nonsensical: affirming a right that already exists in Article I, Section 10 of the US Constitution. But it is much more than that.
USA - Just two weeks after California's farmers - with the most senior water rights - offered to cut their own water use by 25% (in an attempt to front-run more draconian government-imposed measures), AP reports that the California government has - just as we predicted - ignored any efforts at self-preservation and ordered the largest cuts on record to farmers holding some of the state's strongest water rights.
ZIMBABWE - The Zimbabwean dollar will be taken from circulation, formalizing a multi-currency system introduced in 2009 to help stem inflation and stabilize the economy. The central bank will offer $5 for every 175 quadrillion, or 175,000 trillion, Zimbabwean dollars, Governor John Mangudya said in an e-mailed statement from the capital, Harare. While it marks the official dropping of the currency, transactions in the southern African nation have been made using mainly the US dollar and rand of neighboring South Africa for six years.
UK - Sebastian Lyon, who runs the popular Personal Assets investment trust, openly admits that its performance has “not been exciting” over the past couple of years. But this will not come as a surprise to the trust’s investors. Like many rival funds, it holds global shares. But its main aim is to preserve investors’ capital and to achieve this it also holds other assets such as gold and cash.
EUROPE - [Translated by Google:] It is brewing what together over Greece. The euro countries are preparing.
• If the euro zone finance ministers in debt dispute with Greece not reach an agreement, the leaders want to meet in Brussels.
• An emergency plan of the euro area provides, prepare capital controls from the weekend. However, the Greek parliament would adopt these controls.
• Already on Wednesday decided by the Board of the European Central Bank, whether they grant Greece more emergency loans (ELA).
GREECE - Greek premier Alexis Tsipras threatens Europe's creditors with a "big no" unless they yield on debt servitude. The radical wing of Greece's Syriza party is to table plans over coming days for an Icelandic-style default and a nationalisation of the Greek banking system, deeming it pointless to continue talks with Europe's creditor powers.
EUROPE - Greece and its creditors hardened their stances on Monday after the collapse of talks aimed at preventing a default and possible euro exit, prompting Germany's EU commissioner to say the time had come to prepare for a "state of emergency".
USA/GERMANY - The US intelligence agencies have full access to Germany and can do there whatever they want as if the European country was still occupied by Western allied powers, former head of the Austrian Civil Intelligence Service (BVT) said. "Germany was an occupied country and considering the activities of the intelligence services of the allied countries on German soil it still is," Gert R Polli said.
USA - US police departments are interested in procuring the foul-smelling skunk water that Israeli forces routinely use on Palestinians, according to The Economist. The Economist, which refers to skunk water as “a whiff from hell,” reports that the weapon “has attracted the interest of law-enforcement agencies in America which, after riots in Ferguson and Baltimore, crave better ways to scatter rioters without killing or injuring them.”
UK - David Cameron has been invited to "piggyback" on the Queen's state visit to Germany just hours before crucial EU talks involving Angela Merkel over Britain's relationship with Brussels. The unusual invitation has raised eyebrows among some German sources as it is only the second time that Mr Cameron has joined the Queen abroad since being Prime Minister.