
Weekend’s tremors part of normal cycle of seismic activity
“It  appears from the signs that we have now that this is the start of an  earthquake crisis,” Mouin Hamzeh, the secretary-general of the National  Council for Scientific Research, told The Daily Star.  
5.7 quake hits NE Japan: USGS
A  5.7-magnitude quake hit off the coast of northeast Japan Saturday,  seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage.  
3.3 Magnitude Earthquake Reported Near Perry
GARFIELD COUNTY, Oklahoma - The United States Geological Survey reported a 3.3 magnitude earthquake in Garfield County Saturday evening.  
Light quake rattles nerves in Southern California
A  small earthquake rattled nerves and jostled store shelves in and around  the Southern California community of Big Bear Lake on Saturday.  
Isis chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi appears in first video
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Islamist militant group Isis, has called on Muslims to obey him, in his first video sermon.  Baghdadi has been appointed caliph by the jihadist group, which has seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria.  The video appears to have been filmed on Friday during a sermon at the al-Nouri Mosque in Mosul, northern Iraq.  
Kenyan coastal region of Lamu hit by deadly attacks
At  least 29 people have been killed in two deadly shooting attacks in  Kenya's coastal districts, the interior ministry has said.  Witnesses said heavily armed men raided a trading centre in the village  of Hindi, in Lamu county, and a police station in Gamba, Tana River  county, overnight on Saturday.  The Somali militant Islamist group al-Shabab said it was behind the  killings.  
Barrage of rocket fire hits South amid calls for Gaza operation
A  barrage of rocket fire hit southern Israel on Sunday afternoon amid  calls from within Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's coalition for a  wide-scale mission in the Gaza Strip.  The Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council area was battered with ten rockets  from Gaza. Residents of the communities in the Sha'ar Hanegev area were  instructed to remain in fortified shelters.  
Israel skeptical of Iran nuclear deal by deadline, pledges to help Jordan push back ISIS
Israel  does not expect world powers to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran by a  late July deadline, a government minister said on Friday, accusing  Tehran of maintaining a "hard line" at talks under way in Vienna.  Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz spoke on the second day of  what could be the final round of talks aimed at ending a decade-old  international dispute over Iran's nuclear program that Israel sees as a  threat to its existence.  
Neoguri a Dangerous Typhoon With Japan a Likely Target
Typhoon  Neoguri is rapidly intensifying and will likely become a super typhoon  as it moves northwest over the warm open waters of the western Pacific.  Anyone in Japan and even South Korea will have to watch this storm and  pay close attention to the track.  
CEO Of One Of The World's Largest Energy Majors "Sees No Reason For Petrodollar"
The  USA is fast running out of friends to support its 'exorbitant  privelege'. Having alienated the Germans over NSA-eavesdropping,  'boomerang'd the Russians into de-dollarization, tariffed and  quantitatively eased China into diversification, and finally 'punished'  France into discussing the dollar's demise; it appears no lessor person  than the CEO of Total (the world's 13th biggest oil producer and  Europe's 2nd largest), believes "There is no reason to pay for oil in  dollars." Clearly, based on Christophe de Margerie's comments, that we  have passed peak Petrodollar.  
Major victory for Ukrainian forces in area held by rebels
Government  forces made a major advance Saturday in a nearly three-month fight  against pro-Russian militants, raising the national flag back over the  town of Slovyansk in eastern Ukraine.  
Suicide Blast at Saudi Intel Office
Saudi  officials say two al-Qaida militants trapped inside an intelligence  ministry building blew themselves up Saturday after being surrounded by  security forces.  
Merkel to undertake seventh visit to China
German  Chancellor Angela Merkel will embark on her seventh visit to China this  weekend, accompanied by top business leaders and officials, who  continue to remain optimistic about boosting bilateral economic and  commercial ties between the two countries.  
N. Korea leader directs island assault drill: report
North  Korean leader Kim Jong-Un warned the South would "regret bitterly" any  incursion of their disputed sea border as he directed a large-scale mock  assault on an island, state media said Saturday.