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National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House on Monday that President Joe Biden had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to oppose Israeli plans to attack Hamas in the city of Rafah. Sullivan added that the president had asked Netanyahu an “interagency” team of military, defense, and humanitarian officials by “the beginning of next week” to meet with U.S. officials in Washington and negotiate over a Rafah operation. He said that the Biden Administration might approve limited, targeted strikes in Rafah, but would refuse a broader Israeli invasion of the town, saying that such an...

Just out on Netflix, Paul Greengrass's new film, 22 July, takes its title from the date in 2011 on which a lone maniac named Anders Behring Breivik murdered seventy-seven people in Norway. But only the first third or so of the movie covers the actual events of that date – the massive explosion Breivik set off in a parked panel truck outside the major government building in Oslo, killing eight, and the shootings he then carried out at the ruling Labor Party's annual summer youth camp on the nearby island of Utøya, which took sixty-nine lives. The second third of...

Germany's Foreign Ministry has summoned Turkey's ambassador to Berlin over the arrests of human rights activists, including German citizen Peter Steudtner. The Foreign Ministry issued a sharply worded statement. The German Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said it had summoned Turkey's ambassador in Berlin to protest the pre-trial detention of six human rights activists, particularly that of German citizen Peter Steudtner. "The Turkish government needs to immediately and directly hear the German government's outrage and incomprehension as well as its crystal-clear expectations in the case of Peter Steudtner and, this time, without diplomatic niceties," Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schäfer said.Read more: Turkish opposition gains new...

The German Foreign Ministry has summoned Turkish Ambassador Ali Kemal Aydın over the recent arrest of human rights activists, including German citizen Peter Steudtner.According to a statement from the German Federal Foreign Office on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schäfer said: “The Turkish government needs to immediately and directly hear the German government’s outrage and incomprehension as well as its crystal-clear expectations in the case of Peter Steudtner and, this time, without diplomatic niceties.” Schäfer said German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel had interrupted his summer vacation to attend government consultations over the Turkish court’s decision to jail Steudtner, a human rights trainer who was...

A Federal Foreign Office Spokesperson issued the following statement today (19 July): It was necessary to inform the Turkish Government directly, immediately and unambiguously about the German Government’s outrage and lack of understanding, as well as its crystal-clear views and expectations, in the case of Peter Steudtner – and to do so without using diplomatic pleasantries. That is why the Turkish Ambassador was summoned this morning on the instructions of Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel to a meeting at the Federal Foreign Office. This meeting has just taken place at the Federal Foreign Office. The Turkish Ambassador was told in no...

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A judge in southern Iran has ordered Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to appear in court to answer complaints by individuals who say Facebook-owned applications Instagram and Whatsapp violate their privacy, semiofficial news agency ISNA reported Tuesday. It quoted Ruhollah Momen Nasab, an official with the paramilitary Basij force, as saying that the judge also ordered the two apps blocked. It is highly unlikely that Zuckerberg would appear in an Iranian court since there is no extradition treaty between Iran and the United States. Some Iranian courts have in recent years issued similar rulings that...

Thomas Monson issued court summons to answer allegations of fraud - 2/4/14 The Prophet of the LDS Church, Thomas S. Monson has been ordered to attend court and face allegations of fraud. A court in London, England has issued Thomas Spencer Monson with 2 summons (see below) containing allegations of seven offences in contravention of Section 1 Fraud Act 2006. Mr. Monson is required to attend the court, Westminster Magistrates’ Court, on 14th March 2014. The court will then almost certainly refer the case to Southwark Crown Court for further proceedings. Failure of Mr. Monson to attend the Court on...

LUXEMBOURG: France called in the US ambassador on Monday to protest at allegations in Le Monde newspaper about large-scale spying on French citizens by the US National Security Agency, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said. "I have immediately summoned the US ambassador and he will be received this morning at the Quai d'Orsay (the French Foreign Ministry)," Fabius told reporters at a European Union foreign ministers' meeeting in Luxembourg.

This should be one of the least productive meetings ever held in Washington DC: President Barack Obama is summoning top Democrats from the House and Senate to the White House Wednesday afternoon for talks on raising the nation’s debt ceiling. White House spokesman Jay Carney says the meeting will take place shortly before 3 p.m. EDT. When asked why Obama was not meeting with Republicans, Carney would only say there were no other meetings to announce. I’m certain that the President wants to gather them in the West Wing to review all of their published plans for dealing with deficit...

Tea Party protestor assaulted, defends wife and gets a summons Former congressional candidate and longtime Canada Free Press (CFP) columnist Nathan Tabor was assaulted in front of his wife and daughter at a Greensboro Tea Party gathering, protesting the proposed government bailout of credit cards. You can see what Tabor describes as the “sucker punch” from the in-yer-face attacker. Wearing his swollen face like a badge of honour when being interviewed by Neil Cavuto on FoxNews, the Greensboro, NC resident was more concerned that his wife, Jordan and 5-year-old daughter, Abigail had to see the assault.

DENVER – A good Samaritan who helped push three people out of the path of a pickup truck before being struck and injured has gotten a strange reward for his good deed: A jaywalking ticket. ">snip<"