The blunt message from two of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s most important allies marked another sign of European impatience with fighting that still engulfs the ex-Soviet nation five months after the signing of a broad truce.

The 13-point agreement reached in the Belarussian capital Minsk controversially guarantees three years of autonomy to militia-run districts of Ukraine’s industrial provinces of Lugansk and Donetsk. MORE

I guess Iran wants to make Russia look good.

“A compromise should be found,” Putin said after hosting a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the Urals city of Ufa, where he met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday.

“In my opinion, it will be found soon,” he said. MORE

The flights began last year. The government of Russian President Vladimir Putin, eager to send a message, began flying nuclear bombers on training missions near the United States and its allies around the world.

The message was one of intimidation and defiance: Russia is still a power to be reckoned with, and meddling in the Ukraine, Syria, and Russia itself — particularly on human rights issues — is not appreciated.

Now, after months of aggressive flying, Russia’s overworked air force is falling out of the sky. On July 5, a Su-24M tactical bomber crashed during takeoff at Khabarovsk in the Russian Far East. The plane banked sharply after takeoff and hit the ground. Both pilots were killed. MORE

All over the world, and especially in the US, unusual animal behaviors are causing some to ponder whether the world is witnessing a reprise of the Biblical Ten Plagues.

On Sakhalin Island in the far eastern side of Russia, remains of an unidentified sea creature, twice the size of a human, washed ashore a few days ago. The marine animal has a furry tail and a long, bird-like beak, but does not resemble any known creature. MORE

Trump makes it clear that he has nothing against legal immigrants and slams home his point; he is angry that the Mexican government is dumping their criminals, over and over, into America while our govt provides ‘sanctuaries’ to them.

Pope Francis delivered a fiery denunciation of modern capitalism on Thursday night, calling the “unfettered pursuit of money” the “dung of the devil” and accusing world leaders of “cowardice” for refusing to defend the earth from exploitation. MORE

Donald Trump not to far off, after all.

The demographers agreed: At some point in 2014, Latinos would pass whites as the largest ethnic group in California.

Determining when exactly that milestone would occur was more of a tricky question. Counting people isn’t like counting movie ticket receipts.

The official confirmation had to wait until new population figures were released by the Census Bureau this summer. The new tally, released in late June, shows that as of July 1, 2014, about 14.99 million Latinos live in California, edging out the 14.92 million whites in the state. MORE

Thank you Mr. and Mrs. America…

More than four million Syrians have fled their country’s civil war, the United Nations said on Thursday, with many now despairing that they will ever return to their conflict-wracked homeland. MORE

2:45 p.m.

The Vatican is seeking to explain the “Communist crucifix” given to Pope Francis by Bolivian President Evo Morale, saying it’s a symbol of dialogue and not an offensive melding of faith and ideology. Continue reading →

Less than 12 hours after the news broke in the English-speaking world that the Bolivian president Evo Morales had given Francis a blasphemous crucifix depicting the Lord Jesus Christ nailed to a hammer and sickle, and that Francis had accepted it without any sign of protest, disgust, anger, or resentment, the Novus Ordo news site Rome Reports published a story claiming that during this infamous exchange of gifts, Francis had actually rebuked the Socialist president with the words, “That’s not right” (“No está bien eso”). The report included a video clip of the occurrence, with very faint audio supported by subtitles. MORE

Malaysia has asked the United Nations Security Council to set up an international tribunal to prosecute those suspected of downing a passenger airliner last year in eastern Ukraine, but Russia dismissed the move on Thursday.

Malaysia, a member of the 15-member council, distributed a draft resolution late on Wednesday, which it hoped could be adopted later this month, diplomats said. It is a joint proposal by Malaysia, Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium and Ukraine. MORE

Obama wants to go out looking good.

The US-led coalition battling the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) has dramatically intensified its air war against the militant group with strikes pummeling the group’s de-facto capital of Raqqa, Syria. MORE

A green ghost rider appeared in the sky over the British city of Nottingham when scientists started testing a newly developed projecting device which allows the beaming of moving images directly onto clouds for the first time ever. MORE

After more than a week of blazing temperatures rushing over 40°C (104ºF), Germany was ravaged by hailstorms, flash floods and tornadoes. MORE

As California’s record-breaking drought continues to worsen, officials have introduced tough new restrictions that went into effect on June 15, 2015. The city’s one million residents face fines of up to $500 per day if they are found not to be in compliance with the strict new rules.MORE