The move by Harare and Tehran is expected to provoke international outrage because of the attempt to circumvent punitive Western sanctions imposed on the two regimes. Gift Chimanikire, the Zimbabwean Deputy Mining Minister, said that a memorandum of understanding had been signed to export uranium to Tehran, despite warnings from Washington of serious “ramifications” if such a deal went ahead.

“We have no capacity to handle uranium as a country, and besides we don’t even know the quantity of uranium deposits viable for mining," Bloomberg quoted Chimanikire as saying during a phone interview. He added that Zimbabwe "signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran, which covers various agreements in mineral trading such as diamonds, gold and other minerals.”

Nearly 3,000 people have been evacuated from the area on Palue island, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency. Mount Rokatenda is one of about 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands that's home to some 240 million people. The country is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it sits along the Pacific 'Ring of Fire,' a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines.

The clip released by LiveLeak shows a Muslim Brotherhood "demonstration" in Egypt that was specifically staged to get the most dramatic poses, as the actors freeze their poses for the photographers. Injuries and even bloodstains are faked. Which is not to say only the MB is responsible for such drama: what is shown is a prevalent tactic used across various ideologies and factions around the world to generate sympathy with the naive, gullible and easily influenced "western" audiences who are always willing to accept "reality" at face value.

The take home, if there is one?

Never trust anything you are told or shown, especially when national interests or intelligence agencies are involved and/or providing the funding. And always verify independently, preferably with numerous sources: after all the video may well be a counter-provocation to discredit the MB, or not. Nobody knows for sure.

That, and of course just enjoy what is shown on TV for what it is: a thrilling, and often times very fictional, action movie which ALWAYS has an agenda.

So what will happen to the venerable Washington Post now that it is being sold for US$250 million to Jeff Bezos, the owner of the internet bookshop Amazon? Nothing, he says: "The values of The Post do not need changing. The duty of the paper is to the readers, not the owners."

But what are Jeff's values?

Politically, he has supported both the Democrats and the Republicans. But on social issues, he is best known for throwing, together with his wife, $2.5 million into the coffers of the campaign in Washington state (where Amazon has its HQ) to legalize same-sex marriage. It was the biggest-ever donation to the cause. And he didn't have to. Even Bill Gates of Microsoft, only gave $100,000.

One of his former employees asked him to donate between $100,000 and $200,000. He wrote back, "this is right for so many reasons. We're in for $2.5 million. Jeff & MacKenzie."

Demolishing Iran’s nuclear program by force is entirely possible, he said, estimating that it would take “a few hours of airstrikes, no more.” He was not overly concerned with the possibility that Iran could fire missiles on Israel in response to an international attack on its facilities. Such an attack would cause “very limited damage,” he said, explaining that Israel would be able to intercept most of the missiles.

Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, has expressed willingness to negotiate with the international community over his country’s nuclear program. However, Israeli leaders have warned the world against being convinced by Rouhani’s public statements. “Of course he wants more talks. He wants to talk and talk and talk. And while everybody is busy talking to him, he’ll be busy enriching uranium,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned this week in a meeting with US lawmakers.

“This isn't a secret. The new Iranian president boasts that that is his strategy,” he added. Steinitz agreed. “Rouhani is charming, he is cunning, and he will smile all the way to the bomb,” he told the Post.

“What we witnessed in 2006 is the very tip of the iceberg,” said the official, referring to the 33-day war between Israel and the Lebanese-based Shiite militia Hezbollah. In that case, a third of the country was forced into bomb shelters for a month while rockets rained down on northern Israel.

The official spoke to reporters Wednesday on the condition that his name not be used, in keeping with Israeli military practice. In the 2006 Second Lebanon War, nearly 4,000 rockets were fired into Israel, killing more than 40 civilians and causing widespread devastation to property and the economy.

Hezbollah is now believed to have 60,000 to 100,000 rockets that boast longer ranges, improved accuracy and larger warheads. “This will be a whole new ballgame,” the official said.

The proposal of $15 billion in weapons contracts was allegedly made during the July 31 meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and influential intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Reuters reported. Neither Moscow nor Riyadh has officially commented on the agenda of the talks, but a Thursday AFP report revealed new details of the negotiations.

According to an undisclosed European diplomat, Prince Bandar proposed the deal and told Putin that "whatever regime comes after" Assad will be "completely" in Riyadh’s hands. The Prince reportedly stated that if the deal was accepted, Saudi Arabia would not sign any contracts damaging Russian interests by allowing Gulf countries to transport its gas across Syria to Europe.

The terms included Moscow dropping its support of President Bashar Assad, as well as not opposing any future Security Council resolutions on Syria. "President Putin listened politely to his interlocutor and let him know that his country would not change its strategy," a separate Arab diplomat told AFP.

But defence officials have revealed that three of them – the frigate Westminster and two support vessels – will call in at the British sovereign base at Gibraltar for three days, beginning on August 19. In a show of force, the warships will practise ‘a range of operations’ including ‘deterring adversaries’.

Although diplomatic relations between Britain and Spain over Gibraltar have plunged into the deep freeze, the Ministry of Defence insisted that the mission, called Cougar ’13, is a long-planned exercise. But senior government sources conceded that the timing is convenient since it will reassure the people of Gibraltar after Spain imposed draconian border checks in a dispute over fishing.

And while the deployment could have been delayed to avoid upsetting the Spanish government, it was not.

His frankness contrasts sharply with Tony Blair, who was advised by his spin doctor Alastair Campbell he should not ‘do God’ as it could put voters off. He said: ‘I’m a Christian and I’m an active member of the Church of England, and like all Christians I think I sometimes struggle with some of the sayings and some of the instructions.’

‘But what I think is so good about Jesus’s teachings is there are lots of things that he said that you can still apply very directly to daily life and to bringing up your children. Simple things like do to others as you would be done by; love your neighbour as yourself, the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount. To me they’re still pretty fresh and good instructions... but the particular one that you mention, I find a little bit more difficult.’

After 30 years of a double-digit economic growth average, China now "has arrived at the point," where it translates its "economic strength into political influence and military power," according to last year's colloquium held in the German capital by the Federal College for Security Studies (BAKS).

Various experts have now drawn the conclusion that the Peoples Republic of China's primary objective is to ward off from the China Seas, extraneous powers' offensive operations running counter to China's interests, as well as to protect its own maritime trade routes westward.

Currently, these are under the control of western nations, who, at any time could decide to put Beijing under strong pressure. In fact, Berlin is expanding its military policy activities along China's maritime trade routes. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the EU must enhance its influence in East and Southeast Asia.

And yes, when the Cold War ended Russia was in rough shape. I got the chance to go over there in the early nineties, and at the time Russia was an economic disaster zone. Russian currency was so worthless that I joked that I could go exchange a 20 dollar bill and buy the Kremlin. But since that time Russia has roared back to life. Once Vladimir Putin became president, the Russian economy started to grow very rapidly.

Today, Russia is an economic powerhouse that is blessed with an abundance of natural resources. Their debt to GDP ratio is extremely small, they actually run a trade surplus every year, and they have the second most powerful military on the entire planet. Anyone that underestimates Russia at this point is making a huge mistake.

The Russian Bear is back, and today it is a more formidable adversary than it ever was at any point during the Cold War. Unfortunately, whenever I write an article about Russia I find that most people simply do not get it. They will make statements such as "the Cold War is over" or "Russia is our friend" which show a complete and total lack of understanding of the current geopolitical situation. Russia has been steadily building a stronger relationship with China, and collectively they represent the number one strategic threat to the United States.

It is the latest move to stamp out abuses at the Vatican bank, which handles funds for the Catholic Church. The Pope recently set up a commission to investigate the bank and report back to him personally. Last month the Vatican froze the account of a senior cleric, Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, suspected of involvement in money-laundering. He and two others were arrested by Italian police in June on suspicion of trying to move €20 million ($26 million; £17 million) illegally.

Pope Francis's number one priority this summer is to sort out the financial mess at the Vatican bank and a parent body which looks after the financial assets of the Holy See, the BBC's David Willey reports from Rome. The new decree is intended to tackle "money-laundering, the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction", the Vatican said.

The Vatican bank, which is known officially as the Institute for Religious Works, handles the payroll for some 5,000 Vatican employees. It also handles the funds for the central administration of the Catholic Church and holds the accounts of cardinals, bishops, priests, nuns and religious orders around the world. It does not lend money and has assets worth $8.3 billion (£5.4 billion; €6.2 billion).

The announcement came a day after Chinese scientists reported the first likely case of person-to-person transmission of the H7N9 virus, which has killed 43 of the 134 people infected since March according to official figures.

US health authorities said any new H7N9 experiments that seek US funding would undergo a new, strict safety review, after concerns over such research on another bird flu, H5N1, in December 2011 raised fears that terrorists could unleash a virulent lab-grown strain and cause mass deaths.