New York City Mayor Bloomberg As New York City wrestles with rising pension and health care costs, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has warned that the city runs a real risk of bankruptcy like Detroit. Detroit’s bankruptcy and the problems facing its pension funds have concerned many states and cities across America with Mayor Bloomberg becoming the latest official to warn that his city may go the way of... 

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... 

Havana – Renowned Cuban and foreign professors attend the XIII International Course on Dengue, expected to be held on the premises of the Institute of Tropical Medicine “Pedro Kourí” (IPK), in the Cuban capital from August 12 to 23. The current epidemiological situation, surveillance, genome replication, viral challenges and advances in vaccines, vector ecology, control methods,... 

A recent survey shows European citizens are losing confidence in their governments, with popular trust in political parties dropping to record low in some countries. The survey carried out by the Transparency International in 107 countries showed that only 23 percent of the studied people had approved of their governments’ anti-corruption efforts. However, the figures were meaningfully lower in... 

Mexican drug cartels are hiring US military personnel to carry out murders. In exchange for cash or drugs, some American servicemen are working as hit men or teaching gangsters their skills. Drug cartels have recruited American servicemen for years, paying them thousands of dollars to assassinate government informants, ousted cartel members, and other enemies of the group, law enforcement experts... 

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... 

The US extends its embassy closures through August 10, State Department has announced. The Al-Qaeda threat that forced US and European embassies in the Middle East and North Africa to shut down is the most serious in years according to a US lawmaker. Although some of the US diplomatic posts are scheduled to reopen on Monday, including those in Kabul, Baghdad and Algiers, most of 22 US embassies that... 

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... 

The Chinese Indo-Pacific pink dolphins are rare, are getting rarer and are in line for extinction, thanks to Humankind. Welcome to the twenty-first century. These beautiful sea creatures start their lives grey, and gradually turn pink. Soon, this will not matter, will it? The pink dolphin is native to the coasts off Taiwan and Hong Kong. Industrial expansion and sea pollution are creating the conditions... 

Supporters of Bradley Manning are willing to put their life on the line and serve part of his potential 136-year prison sentence and are urging the military judge in charge of the case to consider this option. The online petition titled “I Will Proudly Serve Part of Bradley Manning’s Sentence,” has gathered more than 2,500 signatures out of 3000 needed to submit it to Major General... 

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... 

Russian-Chinese anti-terror drills are in full swing with the latter’s tanks and gunships training at a military range in the Urals. It comes less than a month after joint naval drills, the largest of their kind China has participated in to date. The joint counter-terror exercises, codenamed Peace Mission 2013, went live on Saturday and will last until August 15. “The key goal of the upcoming... 

UK policies over illegal immigration are not necessarily the most effective, advisor warns. British Home office policies over illegal immigration are not necessarily the most effective, a government adviser has warned. Longstanding member of the government’s migration advisory committee Martin Ruhs said the tactics the British government is implementing to deal with immigration issues may not... 

Amid escalating denunciations and threats against both Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency (NSA) contractor-turned whistle-blower, and Russia, which granted Snowden temporary asylum on Thursday, the Obama administration on Friday issued a “global travel alert,” closing US embassies in Tripoli, Cairo, Tel Aviv, Baghdad, Riyadh and Doha based on supposed threats of Al Qaeda attacks. In...