Syria's Ja'afari says U.S. action on Raqqa would be illegitimate
Any U.S.- or Turkish-backed attack on Islamic State in the Syrian city of Raqqa would be illegitimate unless coordinated with President Bashar al-Assad's government, the Syrian chief negotiator at peace talks in Geneva said on Friday.
reuters.com
Russia reserves right to meet any French politician it wants to – Putin to Le Pen
President Putin has told French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen in Moscow that Russia has no intentions to influence the French elections, but reserves the right to meet any French politicians it wishes.
rt.com
Texas teenager 'admits rape and kidnapping was hoax'
Breana Talbott was arrested after telling police the alleged crime, which she had said was committed by "three black males", was in fact a hoax.
bbc.com
Geologist for Shell says company hid Nigeria spill dangers
Royal Dutch Shell's Nigeria subsidiary "fiercely opposed" environmental testing and is concealing data showing thousands of Nigerians are exposed to health hazards from a stalled cleanup of the worst oil spills in the West African nation's history, according to a German geologist contracted by the Dutch-British multinational.
apnews.com
YouTube Loses Major Advertisers Over Offensive Videos
Verizon, AT&T and more pull spots after learning ads were paired with clips promoting extremism, terrorism.
rollingstone.com
Egypt's Hosni Mubarak freed after six years in detention
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been freed from detention, six years after being overthrown.
bbc.com
US general calls for nuclear build-up against Russia
The Air Force general who supervises the US nuclear weapons stockpile made an unusual series of public appearances Tuesday in New York City, addressing the Harvard Club and giving an interview to editors of the New York Times at the newspaper’s offices.
wsws.org
U.S. State Department Issues Permit For Keystone XL Pipeline
The U.S. State Department has signed and issued a presidential permit to construct the Keystone XL pipeline. That reverses former President Barack Obama's 2015 decision to reject the controversial pipeline.
npr.org
Taliban seizes key Helmand district from Afghanistan army
Afghan forces forced to bomb own military installations to prevent insurgents using them.
independent.co.uk
Hungary threatens to ban Heineken's red star as 'communist'
Viktor Orban’s government proposes tit-for-tat measure after Dutch beer maker won trademark case against similarly named brand favoured by Hungarians
theguardian.com