It sounds like something straight out of George Orwell’s nightmarish Nineteen Eighty-Four. In a move that harks back to the dark days of the KGB, the Russian security service has been given new powers to crack down on so-called ‘thought crime’. Read Full Article

FRENCH AID WORKER EXECUTED IN AFRICA AFGHANISTAN ‘SHOCKED’ BY LEAKED U.S. DOCUMENTS DRUG FIRM NOVARTIS FINED $295M FOR SEX DISCRIMINATION

The US government secretly advised Scottish ministers it would be “far preferable” to free the Lockerbie bomber than jail him in Libya. Correspondence obtained by The Sunday Times reveals the Obama administration considered compassionate release more palatable than locking up Abdel Baset al-Megrahi in a Libyan prison. Read Full Article

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38387214 http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/23/news/economy/bank_failures/index.htm

President Obama on Wednesday appointed health-care expert Donald M. Berwick to administer the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, bypassing the Senate confirmation process over strong objections… Read Full Article