‘America Must Always Lead,’ Obama Tells West point Graduates

Mark Landler / The New York Times
A day after announcing that the last American soldier would leave Afghanistan at the end of 2016, the president told this latest class of Army officers that the United States faced a new, more diffuse threat in an arc of militancy stretching from the Middle East to the African Sahel.

US Trains African commandos to fight terrorism
Eric Schmitt / The Times of India
United States Special Operations troops are forming elite counterterrorism units in four countries in North and West Africa that American officials say are pivotal in the widening war against al-Qaida’s affiliates and associates on the continent, even as they acknowledge the difficulties of working with weak allies
 
U.S. Industry gears up to fight Obama’s climate rules
Roberta Rampton / Reuters
On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to propose new rules to crack down on power plant emissions, part of President Barack Obama’s efforts to combat global climate change. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will release a report Wednesday analyzing the effect the yet-to-be-announced regulations will have on the economy.
 
Return of the ‘White Plague’: Fears over the rise of ‘incurable’ TB
Meera Senthilingam / CNN
Looking at the disease globally, in 2013 there were 72 cases of drug-resistant TB in the United States. In 2012 there were 64,000 cases in India and 59,000 in China. The more people and the closer their proximity, the easier the disease spreads.
 
Egypt election extended by a day after low turnout
Kevin Connolly / BBC News
At many polling stations soldiers on security duty have outnumbered voters and others have seen no voters at all for hours.Extending voting into a third day might look a little desperate – but it’s tantamount to an official admission that turnout has been worryingly low for the authorities.
 
White House: U.S. will have 9,800 troops in Afghanistan after 2014
Rebecca Kaplan / CBS News
The number of forces will be reduced by about half by the end of 2015, the administration says, and by the end of 2016 will eventually consist of a normal embassy presence with a security assistance office in Kabul, as is the case in Iraq. The move will mark the first time in Mr. Obama’s presidency that the U.S. has not had an active combat mission in a foreign country.

Brazil promises ‘greenest World Cup’
Agence France-Presse
This year’s World Cup, which runs from June 12 to July 13, is expected to directly add 59,000 tonnes of carbon to the atmosphere.The government has launched a program to offset that pollution by asking companies to give carbon credits in exchange for the right to advertise themselves as official “green seal” World Cup sponsors.


On Our Flashpoint Blog 
 
In Pictures: Egypt’s Election
Jeffrey Lloyd
On the ground photos of the 2014 Egyptian presidential election from voting stations in Cairo and the el-Behara Province
 
EU Parliamentary Election Recap
Dan Day
The UK Independence Party and France’s National Front headlined a strong showing at the polls for extremist parties across Europe.
 

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