War

The military provocations between NATO and Russia reached a new post-cold war high yesterday when Poland became the host to the largest joint NATO war game in eastern Europe since the end of the cold war. The purpose of the massive drill, according to the Guardian, is for NATO "partner countries to mount a display of strength as a response to concerns about Russia’s assertiveness and actions." The 10-day military exercise dubbed Anaconda-2016, involves 31,000 troops and thousands of vehicles from 24 countries.

A one-year-old bear lost its life after making its way into a Finnish army base disrupting a brigade training exercise with more than 3,000 troops. Local media reported that some of the troops took  cover in their trucks. RT reports: Kainuu brigade, one of the largest and most capable units in the Finnish army which trains around 4,000 conscripts annually, was on high alert this weekend after a the young bear made his way into the military camp, according to Finland’s Iltalehti tabloid newspaper.

Tony Blair is expected to defend the Iraq war by claiming the situation in the Middle East would have been worse if Saddam Hussein had been left in power, but he will not comment publicly until Sir John Chilcot finally publishes his report on 6 July, Reports suggest that the former British prime minister will respond to the Chilcot report on the legality of the 2003 Iraq invasion by arguing the Middle East state was devastated by Iran, Al-Qaeda and a powder keg of tribal animosity unleashed by Saddam’s removal.

A bomb was placed inside a car and detonated as a bus carrying riot police passed during rush hour traffic in Istanbul today, killing seven police officers and four civilians, and leaving 36 wounded.

The explosion occurred on a busy intersection near an Istanbul University building, forcing officials to cancel exams. The blast caused the police bus to overturn from the force, and a nearby hotel was gutted and the windows were blown out - fortunately the hotel was closed and had no guests.

The U.S. State Department are warning U.S. citizens against travelling to all parts of Europe, saying that there is a strong chance of an impending terrorist attack.  According to the travel warning, the State Department claim that there is a strong chance that ISIS will strike major events, tourist sites, restaurants, commercial centers and public transportation in the coming summer months. State.gov reports: As part of the State Department’s continuous efforts to provide Americans travelling abroad with information about relevant events, we are alerting U.S.