General Keith Alexander, director of the US National Security Agency (NSA) has defended his agency’s surveillance of friendly foreign governments but he said the orders came from American diplomats and policymakers. Gen. Alexander tried to justify the NSA’s programs based on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. He said they only keep the phone calls in addition to their date, time and duration,... 

High-ranking Pentagon officials told members of Congress this week that the United States is in dire need of billions of dollars’ worth of upgrades to the country’s arsenal of antiquated atomic warheads. Before a meeting of the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, United States Department of Defense officials said the US must spend at least a decade working to revitalize the high-power weapons,... 

US President Barack Obama has called on the National Security Agency to halt spying on the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in conjunction with a review of surveillance activities, Reuters reported. A US official told the news agency that President Obama curbed the spying within the last few weeks, around the same time he told the NSA to stop eavesdropping on the United... 

China has demanded explanation from the US after a report revealed that Australian embassies, including the one in Beijing, have been used in Washington’s spying operations. “China is extremely concerned about this report and demands that the United States offers a clarification and explanation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, told reporters on Thursday. “We... 

Amaya Muñoz cries in the arms of friends on being evicted from her home; the operation was conducted by 100 police officers. This is the mirror image of the horror affecting countless families across Spain, who are losing their jobs and their homes in the most shocking wave of austerity. Amaya Muñoz is the drama of the Spanish population facing austerity policies: she is jobless and homeless. “You... 

US President Barack Obama’s approval rating has declined to an all-time low, amid deep and widespread dissatisfaction with US political system and the nation’s direction, a new poll shows. For the first time since Obama emerged as a national political candidate, more Americans now view him negatively than positively, according to the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Just 42 percent of Americans... 

Israeli warplanes struck a Syrian air defense base near the port city of Latakia on Thursday, US official have confirmed to media. An Obama administration official told AP that the attack happened overnight on Thursday, but provided no details. Another security official told the news agency that it took place in the Syrian port city of Latakia, and that the targets were Russian-made SA-125 missiles. Another... 

A Washington state ballot measure to label food featuring genetically modified crops is under fire as food and chemical corporations pour millions of dollars against the campaign. On November 5, voters will head to the polls to decide whether or not to label food containing crops that have been genetically modified, but what started out as a landslide victory in the making has turned into a tight... 

US spymaster James Clapper has said that learning foreign leaders’ intentions is a “top tenet” of overseas surveillance operations. “Leadership intentions is kind of a basic tenet of what we collect and analyze,” Clapper told the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday. The Director of National Intelligence was reacting to growing international outrage over reports that the US National... 

San Antonio, Texas Mayor Julián Castro is currently negotiating with the United Nations to designate the Alamo as a UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site, meaning that a blue UN flag may fly above the historic shrine of liberty once it falls under UN control. UNESCO, a specialized agency within the UN, created the World Heritage Site status out of a 1972... 

Romania has begun building a military base that will become part of a controversial US-led NATO missile defense system stationed in Europe. The launch of the construction works in southern Romania was attended on Monday by both Romanian President Train Basescu and US Under-Secretary of Defense for Policy James Miller. The construction is taking place at the Deveselu Military Base and is scheduled... 

In an overwhelming UN vote, 188 countries have called on the US to lift its 53-year trade embargo on Cuba. Havana has slammed the financial sanctions as a flagrant violation of human rights and said they are tantamount to genocide. The recording-breaking opposition to the embargo saw Israel isolated as the only country to vote in support of the US. Palau, the island nation that got behind the US last... 

In an effort to attract a booming class of wealthy Muslim investors, Britain will be the first non-Islamic country to issue sovereign Islamic bonds, Prime Minister David Cameron has announced on Tuesday. Islamic finance is an opportunity not to be missed: Islamic investments have jumped 150 percent in the last seven years, and are due to be worth $2.1 trillion (£1.3 trillion) by 2014; Cameron told... 

The European Union is considering a possible imposition of sanctions on the United States as a response to Washington’s massive spying activities on its closest European allies. German officials said Monday that the EU is considering suspending a data-sharing agreement between the EU and the US. The agreement allows the United States access to funds transferred through the private, Belgium-based... 

Controlling social behavior: Proposal could ban criticism of Islam, feminism! A frightening proposal currently being considered by the European Parliament would direct governments to monitor citizens deemed “intolerant” and could even lead to a ban on all criticism of Islam and feminism. The European Framework National Statute for the Promotion of Tolerance (PDF), which was drafted by the European...