The United States is financing a new 24-hour satellite TV channel in northern Nigeria [allegedly] meant to counter insurgencies by the militant Islamist Boko Haram and other groups in the region, the New York Times reported on Friday. A US official confirmed the project was under way but did not give full details. The official said the United States would "support Nigerian efforts to provide an attractive alternative to the messaging of violent extremists." The project is a result of discussions with Nigeria dating back to late 2012 on ways to cooperate against Boko Haram and the content of the channel will be produced by Nigerians in Nigeria, the official said.

The world's second largest mobile phone company, Vodafone, says at least six unnamed governments can use its phone system to monitor customers whenever they want. ● The company's Disclosure Report says most governments need "legal notices" to access its networks, but there are six nations - which is says it cannot name for legal reasons - that have direct access. It says in those countries authorities have inserted their own equipment into the network or have diverted all data through government systems so they can permanently access customers' communications. "In a small number of countries the law dictates that specific agencies and authorities must have direct access to an operator's network, bypassing any form of operational control over lawful interception on the part of the operator," the company said. It added that in Albania, Egypt, Hungary, India, Malta, Qatar, Romania, South Africa and Turkey it could not disclose any information related to wiretapping or interception. Vodafone, which has 400 million customers in countries across Europe, Africa and Asia, said it had received requests in 29 countries.

The Irish Times: Thousands of requests made to secretly track Irish phone calls

Separatists in eastern Ukraine’s besieged city of Slovyansk have shot down a Ukrainian Army plane today, destroying it and forcing the two crew members to parachute away. ● Slovyansk mayor Vyacheslav Ponomaryov reported watching the anti-aircraft missile hit the plane with other people in the center of town, and said there was applause when the strike occurred. Rebels identified the plane as an Antonov AN-30 surveillance plane, while military leaders insisted it was an AN-26 supply plane carrying “humanitarian aid.” The videos of the shootdown make it difficult to tell which is which, but there had been no previous indication of any humanitarian aid being sent into the restive east, which the interim government has declared held by “terrorists.” Rebel fighters also attacked a military checkpoint on the outskirts of Slovyansk today, firing mortars at the troops there. The Ukrainian National Guard confirmed “dead and wounded,” but no specific numbers.

Is Ukraine a battlefield or the prize for Washington? Obama claims Russia uses "dark tactics" in Ukraine, but who is actually destabilising the country? CrossTalking with Patrick Smith, Daniel Faraci and Patrick Young.

PressTV: Putin urges immediate halt to Ukraine operation

The EU has lost control of its foreign policy to Washington, France's National Front leader Marine Le Pen told RT, calling the bloc's diplomacy a “catastrophe” in which no independent voice of reason could be heard. ● “The European Union's diplomacy is a catastrophe,” Le Pen told RT's Sophie Shevardnadze in an exclusive interview to be broadcast Monday. “The EU speaks out on foreign affairs either to create problems, or to make them worse.” Where Ukraine is concerned, Le Pen believes that Europe had no right to blackmail the country into breaking up its historical and cultural ties to Russia. Le Pen, whose National Front party in late May secured a third of France’s seats in the European Parliamentary elections, says the EU's foreign policy has been badly misguided by the United States – Syria and Libya being just some of the most recent examples.

Michael Snyder ■ Everywhere you look, Americans appear to be extremely obsessed with wealth and money. These days, networks such as CNN endlessly run "news stories" with titles such as "Best cars for the super rich". We have television shows where people proudly show off how wealthy they are, and it seems like Hollywood is putting out an endless parade of movies that glorify the lifestyles of the elite. We have hordes of motivational speakers and "life coaches" that will teach you how to be "more successful" in life, and every small movement in the stock market is carefully monitored by the mainstream news media. Even in the world of faith, we have an entire class of ministers known as "prosperity preachers", and many of those ministers wear that label quite proudly. Yes, those that grew up in the 1980s may have been the "greed is good" generation, but the truth is that they didn't have anything on us. As a society we love money, and we are not ashamed to admit it. In fact, there are times we absolutely revel in it. For example, Time Magazine published an article this year entitled "Science Proves It: Greed Is Good" and hardly anyone even raised an eyebrow. But where will America's sick obsession with wealth and money end? Could it end up destroying us?