The leaders of Primitive Baptist Churches are considering whether to revoke the credentials of a Nashville pastor because he went against 100 years of church tradition by licensing women as ministers.

Pastor Frank Stevenson told WTVF that he broke St. Luke's Primitive Baptist Church's "don't ask, don't tell policy" when he licensed 15 women to be ministers earlier this month.

That decision prompted church elders and pastors in the Cumberland Association of Primitive Baptist Churches to call a meeting on Thursday to discuss Stevenson's future. In the end, they decided to put the fate of Stevens in the hands of a committee, which will consider the case over the next few weeks.

Stevenson argued that the 100-year-old tradition of not allowing women in the ministry had no basis in scripture.

"I was actually preparing for this before we licensed the ministers," he explained to WTVF. "I knew that there were some that would again hold to tradition versus the spirit of God. So we had already been praying and looking at all the avenues and aspects that we needed to address this very biased way of trying to orchestrate ministry."

Stevenson said that his congregation backed the decision to license women ministers.

Hillary Clinton may still be leading potential Republican rivals Jeb Bush and Rand Paul in polling for the 2016 presidential election, but a new poll shows her advantage is shrinking considerably.

According to a new Zogby poll taken between June 27 - 29, Clinton leads Bush by 12 points, 47 percent to 35 percent. That's a seven-point decrease when compared to poll results from early May, when her lead was 49 - 32.

Notably, Clinton's lead among key demographics is also taking a hit - all while she has spent the last two weeks promoting herself and her new book, Hard Choices. Among men, her lead is down from a high of 12 points over the last three Zogby polls to six. Her standing with independents has decreased from 17 points to 10, and from 60 points to 22 among Hispanics.

Writing at Forbes, pollster John Zogby also revealed Clinton has actually lost her lead among the "self-identified investor class" and married voters.

Russia is going to offer the OSCE to put its observers at Russia's checkpoints on the eastern Ukrainian border in case the ceasefire is prolonged and observed, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

"In the nearest future we [Russia] are ready to file a draft project to the OSCE permanent council that will authorize the placing of OSCE observers at Russian border crossing points, which would allow for monitoring the transparency and use of these border crossing points for illegal purposes," said Sergey Lavrov.

His statement comes shortly after Russia's President Vladimir Putin talked with the French, German and Ukrainian leaders on the phone.

During the conversation, the Russian president "offered that checkpoints on the Russian side" should be monitored by representatives of the Ukrainian Border service as well as OSCE observers for "the joint control of the border," Lavrov said.

Russia's proposal will only be effective if the ceasefire between Kiev and the southeastern regions is observed.

New Russian laws introduce prison sentences for public calls in support of extremist activities as well as for providing extremists with financial assistance.

People found guilty of financing extremist activities could face up to six years in prison. The crime is defined as "providing or collecting means while knowing that these means would be used for financing the organizing, preparation or committing of at least one act of extremism or for maintenance of an extremist organization."

Public calls for extremism, or attempts to humiliate people, will be punished with up to five years in prison. This applies to internet posts as well as mass media publications.

Organizing and maintaining political or religious communities that spread extremist ideology is now punishable with up to eight years in prison, correctional work or heavy fines.

The law also provides immunity for those who turn against the organizations and prevent crimes or get rid of the extremist groups.

The new laws are in line with the Russia's anti-extremism strategy, prepared by the Interior Ministry and presented to public in mid-June. According to the document, the authorities see the internet as the main channel for spreading dangerous information, and want to counter the threat through intensive monitoring of the web and imposing traditional values on the young.

In the strategy, the police list radical Muslim movements, domestic nationalist groups, football hooligans, illegal immigrants and certain foreign NGOs and religious groups as the main threats to security.

The new laws were published on the official web portal on Monday and as such has come into force.

• Education Secretary says 'Yes' vote would be cheered in Moscow
  

  © Stephen Simpson/LNPEducation Secretary Michael Gove said Britain was the 'second principal beacon of liberty' in the world and Scottish independence would leave it weakened
• The Tory Cabinet minister was born in Edinburgh and raised in Aberdeen
• He says break up of UK leaves the West's enemies emboldened
• Also attacks SNP for portraying England as a 'loads'a money' mean nation

Vladimir Putin would welcome Scottish independence because it would weaken Britain, the outspoken Education Secretary Michael Gove has claimed.

Mr Gove said a break up of the United Kingdom would put Russia in a 'stronger position' to dictate to the world.

He claimed Britain was the 'second principal beacon of liberty' in the world and its break up would weaken the West.

The bodies believed to be of three Israeli teenagers, who went missing in the occupied West Bank more than two weeks ago, have been discovered by the security forces, Israeli media report.

The discovery was made on the 18th day of the search in a field northwest of Hebron on Monday afternoon.

Earlier on Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon announced that progress had been made in the search for Gil-Ad Shaer, Naftali Fraenkel and Eyal Yifrah, Israel Radio reported.

The Israeli security agency, the Shin Bet, has been focusing its effort in the area over the past two days.

A large number of police officers and security forces had gathered at the Halhul junction north of Hebron and the area was declared a closed military perimeter.

The US put pressure on Danish authorities to close the Kurdish Roj TV channel in order to appease Turkey. This was done so Anders Fogh Rasmussen's position as NATO secretary general would be secure, the station's lawyer told RT amid WikiLeaks revelations.

WikiLeaks documents released back in March suggest Rasmussen abused his powers during his time as Denmark's prime minister, in order to secure his future job.

In 2009, Denmark reportedly agreed to start legal action against Roj TV, a Kurdish separatist channel that was broadcasting from Copenhagen, in order to appease Turkey. In return, Ankara said it would back Rasmussen as the future NATO chief.

"There were some conflicts of political character between Denmark and Turkey. And the US intervened because they liked very much [for the] then-Danish prime minister to become secretary general. And therefore they felt confident with him as a secretary general," Roj TV lawyer Bjorn Elmquist told RT.

"There was big pressure from the US to think in a creative manner how to indict and how to prove that Roj television was promoting terrorism. And in the end, the indictment was there. And within hours after that indictment it was announced that there was an agreement between the Turkish government and the other NATO countries to decide for the previous Danish prime minister to be secretary general."

Roj TV began broadcasting in 2004. In 2010, it was accused in Denmark of promoting terrorist activities. It was officially shut down in February 2014.

From the beating of Rodney King to the murder of Kelly Thomas, police tactics in the U.S. have become so heavy-handed that people are regularly being murdered by those ostensibly sworn 'to protect and to serve' them.

The militarization of police forces - particularly since 9/11, the steady erosion of civil rights via draconian laws, and an atmosphere of hysteria generated by the 'War on Terror' have all combined to place the police 'above the law'.

But tyrannical and dictatorial repression is what 'those other countries' do, right? Why is it, then, that we constantly see headlines of people in the U.S. being beaten, tasered, and even shot to death for such minor infringements as traffic violations? Are cops 'out of control'? Are they 'just obeying orders'?

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While the human politics of the crisis in Ukraine garner all the headlines, it is the gas politics that in many ways lies at the heart of the conflict.

Indeed, the energy issue has not only framed much of the economic dimensions of the crisis, it has revealed the deep divides that exist among the political and business elite of Europe who, despite their bluff and bluster about Russia's actions in Ukraine and the expansion of sanctions, understand quite clearly that Russia is an integral part of Europe's economic future.

However, that hasn't stopped the West and its proxies and clients in Eastern Europe from attempting to undermine Russia's strategic economic position through a variety of means. From derailing negotiations over pipeline construction to using puppet governments as a wedge between Moscow and Europe, the US and its allies have attempted to undermine Russia's economic and strategic position vis-à-vis gas delivery infrastructure, while simultaneously strengthening their own.Ukraine and the threat to Russia and Europe

Lost amid the horror stories of Kiev's military assault on the people of Donbas, the vicious attacks by Right Sector Nazis, and the general state of chaos in Ukraine's political institutions, is the fact that one of the central aspects of the Ukraine-Russia conflict is gas. Specifically, it centers on the Russian energy delivery infrastructure (pipelines, refineries, etc.) in Ukraine and its vital importance to Russia's continued energy exports to Europe.

Also, Kiev and the Russian energy giant Gazprom have been busy trying to negotiate terms of payment for the massive bill (at least $4 billion, though likely more) Ukraine owes, which undoubtedly raises the stakes for both sides as billions of dollars are on the line. Were the conflict only financial, then undoubtedly a resolution could be reached. However, in recent weeks there have been dangerous developments and accusations, which have cast the issue in a new light; it is no longer merely about profits, it's about security.

Saudi Arabia has dismissed accusations from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki that it supports terrorist groups in Iraq as "ludicrous."

Addressing a press conference in Jeddah at the end of the 41st session of the Council of Foreign Ministers meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Thursday, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal took a dig at Al-Maliki. "Those allegations are not from Iraq but Al-Maliki," he said.

He blamed Al-Maliki's sectarian policies for the crisis in Iraq.

"We have unequivocally condemned the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) as a terrorist group," said Prince Saud. "ISIS does not represent the will of the Iraqi people."

Responding to a question from Arab News that some people see the events in Iraq as a people's revolution, he said: "We don't see ISIS as revolutionaries. They found the space to operate in Iraq because of the policies of the (Al-Maliki) government that divided Iraqis, treated them unequally, subjugated and terrorized them."

Prince Saud said the Iraqi prime minister indulged in politics of vengeance and behaved in a dictatorial way by consolidating power in his office. "This is what led to the presumption that this is a people's revolt," he said.

Al-Maliki's politics of hate "led to the breaking of the will of the security forces in meeting the challenge of the terrorists," he said. "ISIS is a terror organization. It is not a savior, but a destroyer of Iraq," said Prince Saud. He said the Kingdom was "opposed to all militias" from whatever sect.

He said no one has suffered more than Saudi Arabia from terrorism. "We fought a successful battle against them," he said. "Therefore, those allegations (from Al-Maliki) are ludicrous," he said.