ECM WORLD WATCH: NATIONAL AND GLOBAL NEWS

July 1, 2015 (San Diego's East County)-- East County Magazine's World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflect all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:

U.S.

• After Charleston, black churches targeted by arsonists across south (Think Progress)
• Washington state wildfire destroys at least 23 homes (Reuters)
• Economic Crisis Looms For Puerto Rico, Report Says (NPR)
• Hillary Clinton's missing Libya e-mails: Do they add to 'trust' problem? (CS Monitor)
• Texas wants its gold back and promises to build it a safe home (Reuters)

INTERNATIONAL

• International terror attacks follow jihadist call for Ramadan 'calamity' (CS Monitor)
• U.S. allies target Islamic State with 28 air strikes in Syria, Iraq (Reuters)
• Greece officially announces bank closures for 6 days, limits on ATM transactions (AP)
• If The Mess In Greece Is All Greek To You, Then Read This (NPR)
• In Saudi Arabia, An Uphill Fight To Out-Shout The Extremists (NPR)
• Turkish police use water cannon to disperse gay pride parade (Reuters)
• EU nixes migrant-quota plan. A sign of a deeper division within Europe? (+video) (CS Monitor)
• Weeklong heat wave in southern Pakistan kills 1,233 people (AP)
• Car bomb attack kills Egypt's top public prosecutor (Reuters)
• In Lac-Megantic disaster, oil train operators face criminal charges (CS Monitor)
• NSA wiretapped two French finance ministers: Wikileaks (Reuters)
• Analysis: In Iran talks, Khamenei calls the shots, not Obama (JPost)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

U.S.

After Charleston, black churches targeted by arsonists across south (Think Progress)

Since nine people were gunned down in the Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina allegedly by a 21-year-old white man tied to white supremacist groups, there have been a string of arson attacks on other black churches in the South.

Economic Crisis Looms For Puerto Rico, Report Says (NPR)

"Puerto Rico faces hard times," says the report which was commissioned by the Government Development Bank and written by three former and current International Monetary Fund economists. It is to be released on Monday. 

 Hillary Clinton's missing Libya e-mails: Do they add to 'trust' problem? (CS Monitor)

The State Department says it has 15 Hillary Clinton e-mails on Libya that she never turned over, despite her assurances that she had turned over all work-related e-mails from her time as secretary of State.

Texas wants its gold back and promises to build it a safe home (Reuters)

Texas has a new law to set up a depository for gold that is backed by many in the state's Republican leadership who have expressed distrust of the U.S. Federal Reserve and feel more comfortable with a precious-metal backed currency.

Washington state wildfire destroys at least 23 homes (Reuters)

A wildfire burning unchecked in Washington state has destroyed at least 23 homes and three commercial buildings near the eastern foothills of the Cascades, state police and emergency management officials said on Monday.

INTERNATIONAL

International terror attacks follow jihadist call for Ramadan 'calamity' (CS Monitor)

Three Islamist terrorist attacks were carried out today on three different continents, almost simultaneously.

U.S. allies target Islamic State with 28 air strikes in Syria, Iraq (Reuters)

The United States and its allies staged 28 air strikes targeting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq on Thursday, including 10 near the Syrian border town of Kobani, the U.S. military said.

Greece officially announces bank closures for 6 days, limits on ATM transactions (AP)

Greece officially announces bank closures for 6 days, limits on ATM transactions.

If The Mess In Greece Is All Greek To You, Then Read This (NPR)

This week, Greek will miss a $1.73 billion payment to the International Monetary Fund. The debt crisis has the potential to create financial, economic and geopolitical trouble for Americans.

In Saudi Arabia, An Uphill Fight To Out-Shout The Extremists (NPR)

Can satire and commentary win out against ISIS? Some Saudi journalists and comedians are risking their lives to mock and question their country's religious extremists.

Turkish police use water cannon to disperse gay pride parade (Reuters)

Turkish police fired water cannon and rubber pellets to disperse a gay pride parade in central Istanbul on Sunday, after organizers said they had been refused permission to march this year because of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

EU nixes migrant-quota plan. A sign of a deeper division within Europe? (+video) (CS Monitor)

In the spring, European leaders came out strongly in support of a united plan to deal with the flood of migrants trying to enter the EU. But the plan to divvy up migrants among EU members by quota fell apart amid acrimony.

Weeklong heat wave in southern Pakistan kills 1,233 people (AP)

A devastating weeklong heat wave in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi killed 1,233 people, an official said. / Nazar Mohammad Bozdar, operations director at the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, said about 65,000 heatstroke patients were treated by doctors at all of Karachi's hospitals since June 20 when the heat wave struck Sindh province, where Karachi is the provincial capital.

Car bomb attack kills Egypt's top public prosecutor (Reuters)

Egypt's top public prosecutor was killed by a car bomb attack on his convoy on Monday, the most senior state official to die at the hands of militants since the toppling of an Islamist president two years ago.

In Lac-Megantic disaster, oil train operators face criminal charges (CS Monitor)

The rail line involved in the 2013 Lac-Megantic oil train derailment, which killed 47 people, now faces criminal charges for breaking Canadian safety and environmental laws. The disaster raised questions about oil train safety throughout North America.

NSA wiretapped two French finance ministers: Wikileaks (Reuters)

The U.S. National Security Agency wiretapped the communications of two successive French finance ministers and collected information on French export contracts, trade and budget talks, according to a report by WikiLeaks.

Analysis: In Iran talks, Khamenei calls the shots, not Obama (JPost)

The US seems anxious to clinch a deal in a matter of days. If it is achieved by July 4, Congress will have only 30 days to review the agreement. If there is no agreement by July 9, the congressional review period will be 60 days and, then, anything can happen. Thus, President Barack Obama wishes to stamp the deal as quickly as possible. But it is not entirely in his hands. The power broker is Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. He calls the shots.