Latest horrible ceasefire violations in Donbass by the Kiev's regime are likely intended to demonstrate the "inefficiency" of the OSCE mission to its Western patrons and are evidence of Ukraine's attempts to circumvent the jurisdiction of the Minsk truce co-brokered by Russia, Germany, and France.

Indeed, Minsk-2 is very inconvenient for Poroshenko, because it documents for the first time the need for direct dialog between Kiev and the Donbass. And they need to discuss more than just war and peace, because in fact there are a whole range of issues that must be resolved politically, such as the format for local elections, as well as constitutional reform and economic recovery in Ukraine. Minsk-2 undermines the power structure in Ukraine, which after Maidan has been built around nationalist and military mobilization and the persecution of political opponents. There's a good reason why President Poroshenko immediately tried to disavow the agreement as soon as he returned from Minsk. In March 2015 the Verkhovna Rada passed an amendment to the law on the special status of the districts controlled by Donetsk and Luhansk (in violation of the spirit of the Minsk agreement), rather than adopting a new law as Angela Merkel had asked Poroshenko to do. These actions, as well as others that undercut the foundations of the truce, are causing extreme irritation in Berlin and Paris.

It is already clear that Poroshenko's regime is incapable of negotiating. The two Minsk agreements - dating from Sept. 5 and Feb. 12 - would never have been reached had Kiev not suffered military defeats. As soon as Petro Poroshenko won the election on May 25, 2014, Russia and the EU leaders offered to open a dialog with the Donbass militia. At that time there had been no mass casualties or widespread public acrimony. It seemed that Poroshenko, who had been elected to office (albeit without the voters of the Donbass), was capable of listening to the urgings of the leaders in Europe and Russia and begin a peace process. At least his campaign platform offered some hope of that. However, pressure from US officials forced Poroshenko to embrace a military solution. On May 26, 2014, for the first time since WWII, Donetsk was subjected to an air raid, the Donetsk airport was bombed, civilians were killed, and a real war began.

On June 4, German FM Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that the current G7 format of the world's leading economies cannot remain for long and Russia may renew its membership in the group.

Steinmeier also said the G7 needed Russia to resolve existing global conflicts, including those in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq and Libya.

"We need Russia to settle the frozen conflicts in Europe, Syria, Iraq, and Libya and also in dealing with the issue of the Iranian nuclear program," Steinmeier told the German newspaper Neue Ostanbrücker Zeitung.

In 2014, the G8 format became G7 after Russia was suspended from the group by the other seven member nations over Crimea's reunification with Russia and allegations over Moscow's involvement in the Ukraine's internal conflict, repeatedly denied by Moscow.

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker said he is prepared to sign into law a 20-week abortion ban without any exceptions for victims of rape or incest, arguing that women are concerned with those issues "in the initial months" of pregnancy.

Walker, a Republican who is expected to run for president in 2016, made the comments ahead of a public hearing in the Wisconsin legislature on proposed legislation that would outlaw abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Local television station WKOW aired Walker's claim that an exception for rape or incest is not necessarily needed in the bill.

"I mean, I think for most people who are concerned about that, it's in the initial months where they're most concerned about it," Walker said. "In this case, again, it's an unborn life, it's an unborn child, and that's why we feel strongly about it. I'm prepared to sign it either way that they send it to us."

When running for re-election last year, Walker would not definitively say where he stood on a 20-week abortion ban. But earlier this year, he publicly backed such legislation - including at the federal level - along with nearly every other Republican presidential hopeful.

Course Description - There were thousands of college commencement speeches around the country this year for the Class of 2015. But there was one missing -- one very truthful, funny and witty speech that graduates should've heard, but didn't.

Well, here it is, spoken by George Will, Pulitzer Prize - winning columnist at the Washington Post.

The European Union set up a special unit to counter what it says is "propaganda" coordinated by Russia amid the Ukraine crisis, Czech media reported on Thursday.

The Brussels-based unit is tasked with monitoring Russian media and promoting activity of EU institutions, Hospodarske Noviny newspaper said.

The team was created in the framework of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and consists of five individuals, according to the daily. The Czech Foreign Ministry sources confirmed the information, the newspaper added.

Western institutions have taken several attempts to counter Russian coverage of the global events.

FIFA boss Sepp Blatter's sudden resignation this week only days after being re-elected shows that the US campaign to bust the football federation over alleged financial corruption is probably going to intensify during the weeks and months ahead.

Blatter had been re-elected for the fifth time last Friday as the federation's president. He had earlier brushed off calls for his resignation from the American and British governments, amid a storm of media allegations over corruption at the World Cup organising body. Now only four days after being re-elected, the FIFA chief executive is quitting, saying somewhat cryptically that he does not have a sufficient mandate in the world of football to continue at the helm of the organisation.

The dramatic bust in a Zurich hotel last week of FIFA executives is "just the beginning", top US law enforcement officials have warned. British authorities have also jumped on the bandwagon with their own announced probe into financial irregularities at the World Cup organiser.

With seven FIFA officials arrested so far and seven more indicted, and the US authorities vowing to pursue others in the footballing federation over alleged financial corruption, it can be anticipated that this scandal will run and run into interminable extra-time.

As Cold War 2.0 between the U.S. and Russia remains far from being defused, the last thing the world needs is a reincarnation of Bushist hawk Donald "known unknowns" Rumsfeld.

Instead, the — predictable — "known known" we get is Pentagon supremo Ash Carter.

Neocon Ash threw quite a show at the Shangri-La Dialogue this past weekend in Singapore.

Beijing is engaged in reclamation work in nine artificial islands in the South China Sea; seven in the atolls of the Spratlys, and two others in the Paracel archipelago. Ash virtually ordered Beijing to put an "immediate and lasting halt" to the expansion; accused it of behaving "out of step" with international norms; and capped the show by flying over the Strait of Malacca out of Singapore in a V-22 Osprey.

Washington never ceases to remind the world that "freedom of navigation" in the Strait of Malacca - through which China imports a sea of energy - is guaranteed by the U.S. Navy.

The hard clashes have been going for the neutral settlement Marynka to the west of Donetsk. Kiev's Armed Forces started offensive actions there yesterday. They were actively using artillery and military rocket launcher systems banned by Minsk agreement. In turn, DPR warriors pushed Kiev's army from the positions in the settlement. According to the reports, the flag of the DPR is already hoisted over the center of Maryinka. The Ukrainian side disproves the information about the loss of Maryinka and claims that the situation there is under control. Meanwhile, the sporadic clashes are rising at the full length of the frontline in Novorossia.

Saakashvili's appointment to head Odessa oblast is really part of Ukraine oligarch wars. Poroshenko wanted the previous governor (Igor Palitsa) replaced because he is loyal to oligarch and Poroshenko rival Igor Kolomoisky. However, the problem for Poroshenko was that he didn't have anybody he trusted to replace him - he had already installed everyone from his clan to other key positions.

The pro-Maidan "Odessa Blogger" (Nikolai Holmov) with the analysis:

Israeli customs officials have confiscated a package with at least 120 rings, claiming the inscriptions in Arabic the jewelry bears are promoting Islamic State (formerly ISIS/ISIL).

Staff at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport intercepted a "delivery of 120 rings bearing an insignia associated with the Daesh [the Arabic acronym for Islamic State] terrorist organization," the Israel Tax Authority said in a statement.

The items of jewelry, inscribed with messages in Arabic, were confiscated two weeks ago while being shipped to Ramallah.

Some of the rings appear to have only the word "Allah" written on them. Many have a sign known as the Seal of Mohammed engraved on top. Islamic State militants use the Seal of Mohammed on their group's flag and as a part of their own seal.

The silver rings were reportedly produced in Turkey and sent in response to an order placed by an importer in the West Bank. The package containing them was deemed suspicious upon its arrival in Israel.

"Everything that comes for the Palestinian Authority is put through a security check," a customs official told the Ynet news outlet.

The rings, found among several hundred other jewelry items, are considered "banned propaganda" in Israel and have therefore been scheduled for destruction.

"Although the importer declared the items as rings, it's considered to be incitement," the customs employee said, explaining the decision to ban the items.

"We're talking about a Palestinian civilian and we have no right to open an investigation, so we sent him a letter that the items would be destroyed and he has 30 days to appeal. Of course we immediately informed security forces and the Shin Bet."

According to the customs employee, "a large number of rings tell us that there are buyers for this."

"It is frightening and terrifying to know that in the territories of the Palestinian Authority, there are supporters of this murderous organization, and who knows, maybe with our help they will discover a cell or ideological organizing by IS."