Gunmen in police uniform kill US troops in Afghanistan
Three Afghan gunmen dressed in police uniforms have attacked US troops in southern Afghanistan, killing one soldier, the allied command in Kabul reports. A search for the gunmen is said to be underway. Afghanistan has seen a rise in similar attacks conducted by renegade Afghan security officers against ISAF troops over the last months.
Six policemen shot in clashes in Greece
Six policemen have been shot and injured in a suburb of the Greek capital Athens, local authorities say. The police arrived in the area after a rowdy crowd of about 150 people started throwing rocks at a bus and smashing the windows of a nearby shop. Riot police reportedly quelled the mutinous crowd. It is not clear what sparked the violence or who fired at the policemen. The western suburb of the Greek capital has been the scene of a number of clashes between its predominantly Roma population and the police.
Magnitsky Act approval would cause imminent retaliatory steps
Both Washington and Moscow understand that the approval of the so-called Magnitsky Act would lead imminently to retaliatory measures, Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said after the president met with Barack Obama on Monday. Earlier, the head of the Russian Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs said that if the bill is passed Russia will take steps that would harm the interests of US businesses. The US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations announced that it would vote on its own draft of the so-called Magnitsky Act on June 19. The bill suggests the imposition of sanctions such as visa bans and asset freezes on a number of Russian law enforcers and officials allegedly implicated in the death of investment lawyer Sergey Magnitsky.
Russia doesn’t sell choppers to Syria – Putin spokesman
Russia does not sell or provide helicopters to Syria, Dmitry Peskov, press secretary to Russian President Vladimir Putin has told reporters. Speaking after a prolonged meeting between Putin and US President Barack Obama, Peskov noted that nobody accused Russia of supplying Syria with helicopters, and that Russia merely repairs old helicopters sold to the country a long time ago. Putin and Obama spoke tete-a-tete ahead of the G20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico.
Mohamed Morsi plans to take presidential oath on Tahrir
The Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi is planning to take his presidential oath on Tahrir Square on Friday, the group said in a statement. Although the official election results are not due to be announced until Thursday, the Muslim Brotherhood has already claimed its candidate has won Egypt’s presidential run-off with 52.5 per cent of votes cast, based on a count of 97.6 per cent of the ballots. Ahmed Shafiq’s campaign group has however rejected the victory claims of their rival, calling it an attempt to “usurp” the presidency.
BRICS are to boost IMF funds
The five BRICS countries have agreed to enhance their contributions to the International Monetary Fund in order to promote global financial stability. The statement issued after the meeting on Monday suggests that these new resources “will be called upon only after existing resources are substantially utilized.” The BRICS countries also discussed wider use of currencies other than the dollar and euro to diversify their reserve funds. The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa met on the margins of the G20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico.
US government to consider abridged health law
The Obama administration will probably continue to implement the parts of its healthcare plan the Supreme Court will not rule unconstitutional, say Democratic sources involved with the legislation. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the major provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act of 2009, a complex piece of legislation set to take effect in steps, with the aim of introducing universal healthcare coverage. Provisions of the act include expanding Medicaid, establishing a health insurance exchange to help low-income Americans afford their insurance and tougher rules for health insurance providers, as well as an obligation for all citizens to obtain insurance. The constitutionality of the clauses, especially the latter, has been challenged by a number of federal courts.
Putin invites Obama to visit Moscow
Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited US President Barack Obama to visit Moscow. He extended the invitation during a meeting before the latest G20 summit in Mexico. Obama said he was looking forward to visiting Russia and in return invited Putin to pay the United States a visit. The second meeting between Putin and Obama since 2009 took place behind closed doors at the Hotel Esperanza in Los Cabos on Monday.
Obama pick for Iraq envoy withdraws candidacy
Brett McGurk, the Obama administration nominee to become the next US ambassador to Iraq, has withdrawn his candidacy after a group of Congressional Republicans asked Obama to reconsider the pick over allegations that McGurk was involved in an extramarital affair while working at the US embassy in Iraq. McGurk’s nomination became controversial after a number of racy e-mails between him and Gina Chon, a Wall Street Journal reporter, were unearthed. These allegations were also backed by Chon herself, who resigned from the paper after admitting she had breached in-house rules by showing McGurk unpublished stories.
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