United States and Canada

Obama welcomes EU renewal of terrorist finance tracking agreement

By Barack Obama, the White House

From Barack Obama, the White House:  The United States welcomes today’s decision by the European Parliament to join the Council and Commission of the European Union in approving a revised agreement between the United States and the European Union on the processing and transfer of financial messaging data for the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program (TFTP).

Russia sends warship to international naval drills in North Atlantic

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  The Severomorsk guided-missile destroyer from Russia’s Northern Fleet set sail Friday for British shores to team up with NATO warships in an international naval exercise in the North Atlantic, a fleet spokesman said. The Russian Navy earlier said the Frukus 2010 exercise will be held on July 22-25. The annual exercises, which […]

The Special Relationship in Peril

By Con Coughlin, the Wall Street Journal

From Con Coughlin, the Wall Street Journal:  The radical reappraisal of British foreign policy undertaken by Prime Minister David Cameron‘s new coalition government has raised serious questions about the future of Britain’s historic alliance with Washington..

Identities revealed in the largest spy swap since the Cold War

By Peter Baker, Ellen Barry and Benjamin Weiser, the New York Times

Obama sees Turkey turning eastward if snubbed by EU

By Reuters

From Reuters:  Turkey could end up seeking alliances outside the West if the European Union keeps it dangling over its bid for membership, U.S. President Barack Obama said in a newspaper interview on Thursday. Obama told Italy’s Corriere della Sera the United States believed it would be wise for the European Union to accept Turkey, […]

Officials: 3 arrested in Norway al-Qaida bomb plot

By the AP

British troops to leave Sangin this year, Liam Fox says

By the Telegraph

From the Telegraph:  British troops will be withdrawn from the Sangin area of Afghanistan later this year, Defence Secretary Liam Fox told MPs. He said the UK had agreed to a redeployment which will see US Marines assume responsibility for the area where nearly a third of UK deaths in the conflict have occurred.

Ukraine, NATO to hold Sea Breeze military drills in July

By RIA Novosti

Interim Ballistic Missile Defence for NATO forces ‘expected to be operational by the end of the year’

By ThalesRaytheonSystems

From ThalesRaytheonSystems:  ThalesRaytheonSystems (TRS) has been awarded a contract by NATO’s Active Layered Theater Ballistic Missile Defence (ALTBMD) Programme Office to provide the alliance commanders with real-time interim ballistic missile defence capabilities for deployed forces by the end of 2010.

Clinton and Putin disagree on ‘occupation’ of Georgia

By Hillary Clinton, the State Department