Israeli rabbi bans male handshaking An Israeli Zionist rabbi has issued a ban on handshakes between men, saying the act might lead to sin. The head of the Gur Education Department, Abraham Benjamin Silberberg, said at a meeting with educational officials that handshakes between men is banned because it can cause “sinful thoughts.” According to the new verdict, men can touch only each other’s... 

NSA’s building in Fort Meade military base in the state of Maryland, near Washington DC Brazil may cancel a planned 4-billion-dollar purchase of US warplanes over recent revelations that American spy agency NSA also conducted electronic surveillance on Brazilian Internet communications. When visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry meets with top Brazilian officials in the capital of Brasilia... 

Germany and the United States will start negotiations this month on an agreement not to spy on each other, a senior German official has said. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff, Ronald Pofalla, said on Monday that such an agreement can set a framework for future activities of western spying agencies, the Associated Press reported. Pofalla, who is responsible for coordinating the various... 

India’s indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant is docked at the Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kerala, August 11, 2013. India has launched its first domestically built aircraft carrier on Monday, joining the world’s military elite. It comes two days after the activation of India’s first nuclear submarine, a move hailed as a “giant stride in technological capabilities.” The INS Vikrant will... 

US President Barack Obama (R) and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin US President Barack Obama says the United States is pausing to reassess relations with Russia, amid what he called ‘backward’ thinking by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow’s adoption of a more anti-US attitude. Obama said there are a number of other issues of concern such as emerging differences around Syria and around... 

A package of measures proposed by the Italian government aimed at improving its struggling economy has received final approval by the country’s parliament. The package, approved on Friday, includes measures aimed at reorganizing financial resources, limiting bureaucracy, and improving the country’s civil justice system. The package prioritizes infrastructure by allocating some 3 billion euros... 

Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says the government will take “all necessary measures” to defend its interests in British-held territory of Gibraltar amid a diplomatic row with London. Rajoy’s remarks on Friday came after reports revealed that the British Royal Navy is set to send aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious and two frigates to Gibraltar... 

Britain sends warships to Gibraltar as dispute with Spain continues. Britain is sending navy warships to Gibraltar amid growing tension between London and Madrid over the territory’s sovereignty. According to reports, Royal Navy rapid-reaction force including aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious and two frigates will sail for the Mediterranean on Monday, August 12 for a four-month deployment after... 

A row between the US and Moscow over Snowden’s extradition has reached a new level of tension after Barack Obama canceled a long-planned summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, again showing the adherence of US to double-standard politics. This goes back to Putin finally deciding to give temporary asylum to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, specifically ignoring Obama’s personal directive... 

British PM David Cameron (R), his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the UK, has held phone talks with his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy to voice “serious concerns” about recent events surrounding Gibraltar and its border crossing into Spain, local media reported. This comes after Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo announced earlier that... 

US President Barack Obama has canceled a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow which was scheduled for September. The move comes after Russia’s recent decision to grant temporary asylum to NSA leaker Edward Snowden. The US decision is seemingly a diplomatic snub to Russia amid heightened tensions between the two countries over recent issues listed by the White House as “missile defense... 

A stunning Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) report circulating in the Kremlin today states that two of the United States highest ranking military generals delivered a “personal plea” to President Putin from retired four-star general and former Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the 65th United States Secretary of State, General Colin Powell, and former President Jimmy Carter for... 

The British government claims the results of the Zimbabwe presidential and parliamentary elections have been beset with irregularities that call into question its credibility despite observers’ endorsement of the vote. “The irregularities in the lead up to the elections and on Election Day itself, reported by the observer missions and in contravention of SADC (South African Development Community)’s... 

USS Abraham Lincoln The United States has reportedly ordered its warships in the Middle East to be ready in case of a possible terror attack by al-Qaeda. DEBKAfile said on Monday that US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel “is reported by CNN to be considering a special deployment of US forces in the Middle East ready for action if a terrorist attack makes it necessary.” “US warships have been ordered... 

German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger German justice minister says the European Union needs tougher data protection laws, with sanctions against US firms that violate them. German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said Monday that Germany’s strong privacy rules serve as the ideal standard for the 28-member EU, amid revelations of intruding US surveillance...