USA - Oath Keepers pledges to prevent dictatorship in United States - Group asks police and military to lay down arms in response to orders deemed unlawful.
WASHINGTON, USA - Events are moving so quickly in the epicenter it can be difficult to keep track of, much less understand the big picture. So here it is in a sentence: An apocalpytic storm is forming over the Middle East. Consider the following data points:
GERMANY - Should President Václav Klaus not immediately ratify the "Lisbon Treaty" as soon as the Czech Constitutional Court hands down a positive decision, he must be forcibly removed from the country's highest constitutional body, insists the social democrat, Jo Leinen.
USA - Bankers have already forgotten the lessons of the credit crunch, it was claimed last night. They were accused of recklessly returning to the practices that tipped the world economy towards meltdown only a year ago.
RUSSIA/CHINA - The images of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin toasting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during his visit to China this week conjured up memories of the Sino-Soviet alliance during the early years of the Cold War. But despite the bonhomie and talk of common interests, the neighbors are now most aligned by the bottom line.
RUSSIA - A top Russian security official says Moscow reserves the right to conduct pre-emptive nuclear strikes to safeguard the country against aggression on both a large and a local scale, according to a newspaper interview published Wednesday.
USA - How freezing temperatures are starting to shatter climate change theory. In the freezing foothills of Montana, a distinctly bitter blast of revolution hangs in the air. And while the residents of the icy city of Missoula can stave off the -10C chill with thermals and fires, there may be no easy remedy for the wintry snap's repercussions.
UK - Britian's economy was consigned to a list of those at 'high risk' yesterday because of the spiralling national debt. The European Commission issued a humiliating warning that the worsening budget deficit poses 'serious concerns' that the country will be unable to meet future spending commitments, such as pensions.
USA - Ben Bernanke's dollar crisis went into a wider mode yesterday as the greenback was shockingly upstaged by the euro and yen, both of which can lay claim to the world title as the currency favored by central banks as their reserve currency.
USA - "Marge Simpson has done something that Homer might not like but will make Bart the proudest kid in his school: She's posed for Playboy magazine." 'Bart,' for those who do not follow teen television is "10 years old" and a global youth icon. This is Playboy's newest marketing device to seduce child consumers and future performers.
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - Jews in the town of Mitzpe Yericho are taking practical steps to prepare for the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, by preparing descendents of Cohanim (priests) and Levites for service. At the Mitzpe Yericho school, Temple priest hopefuls learn exactly how to conduct the daily Temple service and offer the required sacrifices.
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - Thousands of police officers have deployed in Jerusalem Friday in advance of Muslim prayers on the Temple Mount. Police are on high alert following a week in which Muslims rioted in and around Jerusalem, as Muslim and Arab leaders accused Israel of attempting to harm the al-Aksa Mosque atop the Mount.
USA - Central banks flush with record reserves are increasingly snubbing dollars in favor of euros and yen, further pressuring the greenback after its biggest two - quarter rout in almost two decades.
BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday the Taliban siege of Pakistan's army headquarters showed extremists are a growing threat in the nuclear-armed American ally, but she contended they don't pose a risk to the country's atomic arsenal.
USA - The dollar's position as the world's leading reserve currency faces increased pressure as the financial crisis allows emerging economies greater influence on the world stage, analysts said.