The top U.S. military officer told lawmakers Thursday that he supported President Obama’s plan to draw down forces in Afghanistan , but said Obama’s decisions were “more aggressive and incur more risk that I was originally prepared to accept.” Adm. Mike Mullen , the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that Obama’s decisions also had the support of Gen. David H. Petraeus , the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and Gen. James N. Mattis , head of the U.S. Central Command. “There is no jumping ship here. Quite the contrary,” Mullen told members of the House Armed Services Committee. “We will have at our disposal the great bulk of the surge forces throughout this — and most of the next — fighting season.” Read full article > >

More:
Mullen endorses Obama troop decision, acknowledges ‘risk’

The United States and its industrial allies in the International Energy Agency announced Wednesday that they would release 60 million barrels of crude oil from reserves over the next 30 days. The news immediately sent oil prices down about five percent. The release would be the biggest ever coordinated from strategic reserves, and over the next month it would exceed the amount of oil lost on world markets since the fighting in Libya. Half of the release would come from U.S. reserves. The release comes just as gas consumption is rising with the summer driving season, and it could bring some relief to consumers at the pump and to economies that have been already struggling to recover from economic downturn. Read full article > >

Here is the original post:
U.S., allies to release 60M barrels from oil reserves

Fourteen agencies missed opportunities to save a three-year-old boy who was killed by a couple who were meant to be caring for him, a report finds.

More here:
Murdered boy ‘was not protected’

Festivalgoers facing muddy conditions on the first day of Glastonbury are warned to expect more heavy downpours over the next four days.

Read the original post:
Mud greets Glastonbury arrivals

The government is to close its Central Office of Information (COI) – the agency behind public information films and government ad campaigns – with the loss of up to 400 jobs

See the rest here:
Government ad agency COI is axed

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Boston mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger was captured near Los Angeles 16 years after his run from the law sparked an international manhunt and served as a major embarrassment to the FBI as their onetime informant eluded authorities. The FBI finally caught the 81-year-old Bulger at a residence in Santa Monica along with his longtime girlfriend Catherine Greig on Wednesday, just days after the government launched a publicity campaign to locate the fugitive mobster, said Steven Martinez, FBI’s assistant director in charge in Los Angeles. The arrest was based on a tip from the campaign, he said. Read full article > >

Read the original post:
Police say fugitive mob boss James ‘Whitey’ Bulger arrested by FBI in Southern Calif.

Police investigating allegations of phone hacking at the News of the World arrest a woman in West Yorkshire.

More here:
Woman held in phone-hacking probe

The Dutch may become the first in Europe to use Skype and other web-based services on smartphones for no extra charge.

Read more:
Holland passes net neutrality law

Two men and a woman are arrested after a suspected burglar is stabbed to death while apparently trying to break into a house in Greater Manchester.

Here is the original post:
Suspected burglar fatally stabbed

The magical stories that conquered the world in print form will be available as audiobooks and e-books in multiple languages through a new Web site.

Go here to see the original:
‘Harry Potter’ Series to Be Sold as E-Books

A Londonderry man who was due to appear in court on Thursday is found dead in his prison cell.

Read more:
Defendant found dead in jail cell

Will sell e-books, create social-networking site.

See the article here:
Rowling Takes Harry Potter Online

EU leaders head to a Brussels summit under the cloud of the Greek debt crisis, which threatens the euro’s stability.

Excerpt from:
Greek drama to dominate EU summit

A 19-year-old man charged with five computer offences, including an attack on the Serious Organised Crime Agency, is remanded in custody.

Read more here:
‘Web attack’ teenager in custody

An untangling web shows how $75 million was spent on “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” more than twice as much as any production in Broadway history.

Read this article:
How the Numbers Add Up (Way Up) for ‘Spider-Man’