CNN: Belgium: Europe's front line in the war on terror

Belgium (CNN)Brussels: It's a quaint but bustling city, famed for its picture postcard squares, its chocolate and its beer. But it is rapidly becoming infamous, too, as a fertile recruiting ground for jihadi fighters.

According to police, the carnage of the Paris attacks was plotted here, and it was in these streets that fugitive Salah Abdeslam hid out in an apartment after abandoning his mission, dumping his suicide belt in a Parisian street and calling friends for help, after apparently driving his co-conspirators to their deaths.

That Abdeslam was caught at all appears to have been an enormous stroke of luck. Despite a massive security operation, the trail appeared to have gone cold, until police, initiating a search for evidence at Abdeslam's safe house on Tuesday, encountered a barrage of gunfire which tipped them off that something -- or someone -- important was inside.

Read more ....

Manhunt is on for new Paris attacks suspect amid fears of fresh terror plots -- CNN
Key Paris Attacks Accomplice Identified -- VOA
Is this the Paris bomb maker? Police hunt suspect whose DNA was found on suicide vests used in the massacre – as secret report reveals there could be '90 kamikazes' waiting to attack Europe -- Daily Mail
Disposable phones and no emails: Police report shows how the Paris attacks were planned -- Business Insider
Paris attacks suspect Abdeslam spends first night in jail -- France 24
Paris Attacks Suspect's Arrest Risks Activating Terror Cells Across Europe -- Sputnik
Europe's terror enclaves hidden in plain sight -- David Andelman, USA Today
For Parisians, capture of 'most wanted' terrorist brings little closure -- Colette Davidson & Sara Miller Llana, CSM
Despite Capture of Europe’s Most-Wanted Terrorist, the News Is Not Good -- Abigail R. Esman, Algemeiner
The inside story of the Paris attack -- Paul Cruickshank, CNN

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Foreign Policy: Ceasefire Reached in Yemen Civil War

The parties to the civil war in Yemen have agreed to implement a ceasefire in the run-up to peace talks set to begin next week. The arrangement was brokered in talks in Sanaa overseen by U.N. Yemen envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed. The de-escalation comes after a particularly bloody weekend in which 57 people were killed. Half of those died in fighting between Houthi and loyalist forces in Taiz, which has been an active front in the war for months. Other deadly clashes were reported in Shabwa, and two pro-government troops were killed in an ambush that has been attributed to the Islamic State. Saudi Arabia announced last week that it would be winding down its intervention in Yemen.

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WNU Editor: This talk of peace comes after a bloody weekend of fighting in Yemen .... At least 55 killed in two days of Yemen fighting (AFP). Will peace come to Yemen .... I doubt it but we can always hope.


Yemen govt, militias agree on ceasefire: Officials -- AP
Government, Houthi rebel forces agree to ceasefire in Yemen -- Al Bawaba
Houthis, Yemeni government agree to ceasefire ahead of talks: Report -- Middle East Monitor
Yemen's government, rebels agree to a ceasefire -- Arutz Sheva
Kuwait to host Yemen peace talks -- Ahram Online
Yemen peace talks could resume in Kuwait this month -- Gulf News

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Washington Post: Here’s why Obama didn’t meet Fidel Castro in Cuba

HAVANA -- Amid all the history-making in the Cuban capital this week, there is one landmark event that will not take place. Both Cuban and U.S. officials have made clear there will be no meeting between President Obama and former Cuban President Fidel Castro.

“Neither we nor the Cubans have pursued such a meeting,” Obama deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters last week. Obama, he said, “will be meeting with Raúl Castro as President of Cuba. That’s the appropriate government-to-government engagement, and so that’s what he’ll be pursuing.”

Assuming Fidel Castro — for decades the international embodiment of anti-Yanqui anti-imperialism —even wanted to meet with Obama, it would be bad optics for the administration. The White House sees the visit as the pinnacle of Obama’s forward-looking policy of international engagement. Raúl Castro, who grinned and gripped Obama’s hand when they met Monday, is the face for U.S. normalization with Cuba.

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WNU Editor: For people on the left .... meeting Fidel is like a monarchist meeting the Queen, a Catholic meeting the Pope, or a groupie meeting his (or her) rock star. If the Cubans had asked  President Obama if he wanted to meet Fidel .... he would not only say yes, but he would also show up early for the appointment. And as for the picture that would be taken .... it will be placed predominantly somewhere in his post-White House home.

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Washington Post: Cuba’s Raúl Castro meets Obama, calls on U.S. to leave Guantanamo

HAVANA — Cuban President Raúl Castro called Monday for the United States to abandon the territory it occupies at Guantánamo Bay and to lift the U.S. embargo against Cuba. Standing beside President Obama, Castro welcomed him for what he called a “historic” visit here, and congratulated him for taking steps within his executive power to normalize relations.

But relations will never truly be normal, Castro said after a meeting with Obama here, until the United States leaves Cuban territory and ends the sanctions that he said have done so much damage to the Cuban economy.

“Much more can be done” between the two countries “if the embargo is lifted,” Castro said. “We recognize the position President Obama is in, and the position his government holds against the blockade, and that they have called on Congress to lift it.”

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WNU Editor: Raul Castro actually said blockade .... not embargo. There is no naval blockade with Cuba .... everyone but the U.S. does business with Cuba, and they are not hindered by the U.S. embargo. But watching/listening to Raul Castro .... I can tell that he does not feel comfortable facing reporters that he does not control. As to his demand that the "blockade" be lifted and Guantanamo returned .... a no-go that was only said for public consumption.



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Voice of America: ICC Finds Bemba Guilty of War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity

The International Criminal Court has found former Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba guilty on five counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

A three-judge panel in The Hague ruled unanimously that Bemba was criminally responsible for acts of murder, rape and pillage carried out by his militia in the Central African Republic in 2002 and 2003.

Bemba's Movement for the Liberation of Congo, or MLC, was helping forces of then-CAR president Ange-Felix Patasse fight a rebel movement.

Judge Silvia Steiner of Brazil, who read the verdict Monday, said evidence clearly showed that MLC fighters deliberately targeted civilians across the CAR and that victims included women, children and the elderly.

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Congo ex-vice president guilty in landmark ICC war rape ruling -- Reuters
Jean-Pierre Bemba: from wealthy DR Congo vice president to war criminal -- AFP
In historic ruling, international court cites rape in war crimes conviction of ex-Congo official -- Washington Post
Jean-Pierre Bemba: DR Congo ex-warlord guilty of war crimes -- BBC
ICC finds ex-Congolese vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba guilty of war crimes -- The Guardian
African rebel leader convicted of rape during war -- USA Today
ICC convicts Congolese warlord Bemba on war crimes -- UPI
The ICC Just Convicted Ex-Militia Leader and Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba of War Crimes -- VICE News

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James Rothwell, The Telegraph: Is Kim Jong-un on the brink of declaring war on the US and South Korea?

Enraged North Korean leader gathers forces on the coastline and 'prepares for fifth nuclear test' after South Korea holds biggest ever military parade alongside US troops.

As Kim Jong-un places artillery guns and pursuit planes across the North Korean coastline and threatens to "bury his enemies at sea" this week, his uneasy truce with the South looks more precarious than ever.

The secretive regime's supreme commander is apoplectic with rage after South Korea and its US ally held their biggest ever military drill earlier this month, featuring more than 300,000 troops and a newly formed commando unit, "Spartan 3000," which has been trained to take down key army bases in the North.

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WNU Editor: North Korea has been at a state of war with South Korea since the 1950s .... so declaring one will be moot. Instead ... expect more missile tests, maybe a nuclear test, and if you are an American tourist in North Korea .... pray that they will let you out of the country.

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Reuters: China says U.S.-Philippines base deal raises questions

China said on Monday agreements like the one reached last week by the United States and the Philippines allowing for a U.S. military presence at five Philippine bases raised questions about militarization in the South China Sea.

The United States is keen to boost the military capabilities of East Asian countries and its own regional presence in the face of China's assertive pursuit of territorial claims in the South China Sea, one of the world's busiest trade routes.

The United States and its regional allies have expressed concern that China is militarizing the South China Sea with moves to build airfields and other military facilities on the islands it occupies.

Read more ....


China slams U.S., Philippine military deployment in South China Sea -- Xinhuanet
US, Philippines agree on 5 base locations under EDCA -- Phillipine Star
US and Philippines agree on locations for five new military bases, including one in South China Sea -- South China Morning Post
South China Sea dispute: US troops to return to Philippines -- The Australian/WSJ
US Troops to Be Based 160 Miles From Chinese Forces in Disputed Islands -- Defense World

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The Guardian: On patrol in the DMZ: North Korean landmines, biting winds and tin cans

As tensions on the peninsula escalate, a former South Korean guard describes life at one of the world’s most fortified borders. NK News reports

Of the 130,000 South Korean soldiers conscripted every year, only a handful will ever get to see their sworn enemies in the flesh. They are the ones stationed at the “demilitarised zone” that separates the two Koreas.

The area, commonly known as the DMZ, is one of the most fortified borders in the world – separating two counties that have technically been at war since 1953. It also a serves as a tourist attraction, visited by thousands of people a year.

Tensions along the border have been raised since two South Korean officers were gravely injured by a landmine last August. Seoul immediately blamed Pyongyang, who rejected the allegations but declared the country on a war footing.

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WNU Editor: I visited the DMZ about 25 years ago (or at least as close as I could come to the border). One word describes what it felt like .... "tense". I suspect that if I was to go there today .... nothing would have changed.

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NBC News: North Korea Launches 15th 'Projectile' in 2 Weeks

North Korea has fired several projectiles into the sea off its east coast, South Korean officials said Monday amid concerns that Kim Jong Un's regime is preparing to conduct another test of its nuclear weapons.

"We are confirming that North Korea has fired five short-range projectiles off its northeastern coast area into the East Sea," a South Korean military officer said. "North Korea has launched 15 different projectiles on four different dates since firing the long-range missile on Feb. 7."

No further information was immediately available.

The launches came as North Korea has condemned ongoing annual South Korean-U.S. military drills that it sees as an invasion rehearsal.

Read more ....


North Korea fires short-range projectiles into sea amid tension over nuclear ambitions -- Reuters
North Korea fires short-range projectiles into sea, South Korea says -- ABC News Online
Seoul: North Korea fires 5 short-range projectiles -- AP
'I'll bury my enemies at sea': North Korea launches new missile test as Seoul unveils 'Spartan 3000' special ops unit and warns Kim's threats could turn into nuclear war -- Daily Mail
North Korea fires 5 short-range ballistic missiles into Sea of Japan -- FOX News
North Korea fires short-range projectiles into sea -- USA Today
North Korea fires five short-range missiles into Sea of Japan amid escalating nuclear tensions -- The Independent
North Korea fires short-range projectiles, South Korea says -- CNN

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The Telegraph/Reuters: Colombia's Farc rebels 'to meet Kerry in Cuba during Obama trip'

Marxist guerrillas, designated a foreign terrorist organisation by US in 1997, are close to reaching peace deal with government in talks hosted by Havana.

Members of Colombia's Marxist Farc guerrillas will meet John Kerry, US Secretary of State, a negotiator for the rebels and two Colombian sources with knowledge of the peace talks said on Sunday.

A meeting with Mr Kerry will be the first time a secretary of state has met the negotiators from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, who have been talking peace with the Colombian government in Havana for more than three years.

A source at Colombia's Office of the High Commissioner for Peace and another source close to the government confirmed the meeting and said it would take place on Monday.

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Update #1: US Secretary of State John Kerry to meet FARC guerillas in Cuba (DW)
Update #2: Kerry to meet with Colombia’s FARC rebels in Cuba on Monday: Report (Colombia Reports)

WNU Editor: Here is an easy prediction .... US Secretary of State Kerry will make no mention of FARC's involvement in this .... Army seizes 762 kilos of cocaine in southwestern Colombia (FOX News)

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Washington Post: On first full day in Cuba, Obama meets with Castro and will address the public

HAVANA — President Obama’s historic trip to Cuba officially began Monday as President Raúl Castro greeted him with a military honor guard and the playing of the U.S. and Cuban national anthems at the Revolutionary Palace here.

Earlier, Obama stopped at the nearby Plaza of the Revolution, where he laid a wreath at the massive statue of 19th century independence hero José Martí, who gazes pensively down at the place where Fidel Castro later delivered stem-winding speeches denouncing U.S. imperialism.

Immediately after the wreath-laying, Obama was mobbed by Cuban and U.S. television reporters standing in the plaza. As he chatted, Secretary of State John F. Kerry and national security adviser Susan E. Rice hovered outside the media scrum before a smiling Obama made his way back into his security bubble.

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Obama's first full day in Cuba: Live -- BBC
Obama in Cuba: US president meets with Raúl Castro on historic trip – live -- The Guardian
Obama meets Castro in the heart of revolutionary Havana -- Reuters
Obama in Cuba: President Meets with Raul Castro -- NBC
Obama meets Castro after historic arrival in Cuba -- CNN
Obama and Raúl Castro to Meet in Pivotal Moment in US-Cuba Thaw -- NYT
President Obama Meeting With Cuban Leader Raul Castro -- ABC News
Obama holds historic, controversial meeting with Castro -- FOX News
Obama meets Cuban President Raúl Castro -- USA Today
Barack Obama: 'Change is going to happen in Cuba' -- BBC
Cuban Opposition Reports 180 Arrests for Obama’s Visit -- Havana Times
Obama in Cuba: Historic Castro summit a key test for detente -- AP

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Reuters: Iranian-backed Shi'ite militia demands withdrawal of U.S. force deployed in Iraq

An Iranian-backed militia said on Monday it said it would treat U.S. Marines deployed in Iraq to fight Islamic State as forces of occupation and "deal" with the foreign troops.

Washington said on Sunday a detachment of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit was in Iraq, bolstering efforts by the United States and a coalition of allies against Islamic State.

"If the U.S. administration doesn't withdraw its forces immediately, we will deal with them as forces of occupation," the Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia said on its TV channel, al-Ahd.

Read more ....


Iranian-backed militia threatens US presence in Iraq -- Al Bawaba
Iraqi Shiite militias say US troops ‘forces of occupation,’ demand withdrawal -- RT
Iraqi Shiite Militia Vows to 'Deal' With Deployed US Marine Detachment -- Sputnik

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Reuters: Obama to meet Castro face-to-face on historic Cuba trip

U.S. President Barack Obama turns from sightseeing to state business on his historic Cuba trip on Monday, pressing President Raul Castro for economic and democratic reforms while hearing complaints about continued U.S. economic sanctions.

Obama and Castro will have their fourth meeting, likely their most substantial, at the Palace of the Revolution, where Castro and his predecessor, older brother Fidel Castro, have led Cuba's resistance to U.S. pressure going back decades.

Read more ....


Syria death toll from Russian airstrikes rises, say activists.

Syria regime pressured on transition as talks open second week.

Russia demands urgent action to combat Syria violations.

Yemeni officials say government, rebels, agree on ceasefire.

Fears in Iraqi government, army over Shiite militias’ power.

Iranian-backed Shi'ite militia demands withdrawal of U.S. force deployed in Iraq.

Amid ISIS and Kurdish attacks in Turkey, Erdoğan vows to combat ‘biggest waves of terrorism’ ever. Erdogan says Turkey battling 'terrorist wave' after Istanbul bombing.

Biden says Israel settlements raise questions about commitment to peace.

US undermining Iran's banks - Khamenei.


North Korea 'fires short-range missiles' into sea. North Korea ups tensions with new projectile launch.

As North Korea flexes its muscles, some in South want nukes, too.

Indonesia protests China's retrieval of illegal fishing ship.

China slams U.S., Philippine military deployment in South China Sea. China says U.S.-Philippines base deal raises questions.

Chinese planner promises foreign companies access to markets.

Kazakh leader's party wins vote criticized by Western monitors.

2 British ships arrive in Japan to carry plutonium to US.

Australian PM takes bold gamble, sets in motion July 2 poll.



Kenyan army battles al-Shabab militants in Somalia. Kenya says it killed 34 Al-Shabab militants.

Egypt Sinai mortar attack death toll rises to 15 policemen.

Somali militants overrun military base, killing at least one.

It’s a #SuperSunday in Africa, with elections being held in Benin, Cape Verde, Congo, Niger, Senegal and Zanzibar.

Benin prime minister concedes defeat in presidential runoff.

Cameroon military frees CAR rebel hostages.

Algerian army kills militants behind Krechba gas plant attack: source.

Zambia arrests opposition leader for saying president misused public funds: police.


Russia mourns plane crash victims as investigation begins.

Paris attacks: Suspect's 'accomplice' named as Najim Laachraoui. Captured Paris attack suspect 'worth weight in gold' to police: lawyer.

Belgium: Europe's front line in the war on terror.

Greece appeals for logistics aid for migrant deal to work.

Ukrainian pilot Savchenko guilty of Russian journalists’ murder, illegal border crossing - court. Savchenko trial: Russian court gives verdict on Ukraine pilot.

Poland's president: good talks on security with US senators.

Vladimir Putin's public trust rating drops 10 percent in a year: poll.

Despite rising pressure from Moscow, Georgia committed to West, minister says.


Barack Obama in Cuba at start of historic visit.

Cuba breaks up weekly dissident march hours before Obama visit.

Venezuela leader overshadows Obama in Cuba media.

Brazil poll shows strong support for president's impeachment.

White House to lay out 'next chapter' for ObamaCare.

Haiti lawmakers reject acting leader's prime minister choice.

Army seizes 762 kilos of cocaine in southwestern Colombia.

IS suffers blows in Iraq, Syria but still launches attacks.

Iraqi military discover body of Daesh commander Shishani.

Al Qaeda’s strategy five years into the Syrian revolution.


Priceline strikes deal with Cuba to let Americans book hotels.

Exclusive: China central bank to Fed: A little help, please?.

Apple starts busy week with new iPhone launch.

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