Armed pro-Russia fighters prepare for the battle with Ukrainian forces (AFP Photo/Anatoliy Stepanov)

Updated: Declaring that Russian troops had crossed into Ukraine, President Petro O. Poroshenko on Thursday canceled a planned visit to Turkey and convened a meeting of the national security council to focus on the “marked aggravation of the situation” in the southeast of his country the New York Times is reporting today.

The meeting of the national security council will focus on shaping a response, and Ukraine will also request a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

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In the Jerusalem Post Wednesday Yossi Melman writes: If the cease-fire holds, and it is a big if, the results of the 50-day war in Gaza will mark an important and impressive achievement for Israel.

Hamas was forced to accept Egyptian and Israeli dictates.

Hamas crawled to the cease-fire. One should not be impressed by the well-organized victory festivities in Gaza. Most of Hamas’s demands and preconditions were rejected from the outset. 

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Updated: The Hill reported this month that President Obama’s message in 2008 was hope and change. In 2012, it was change takes time.

In 2014, it’s don’t be so cynical. How JV (junior varsity) is that?

As Obama struggles with the lowest approval ratings in his presidency and the real chance his party could lose the Senate in the midterm elections later this year, the one constant in his speeches — from weighty economic addresses to small fundraisers — is now: “Hope is a better choice than cynicism.”

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Russian Convoy enters Ukraine (BBC)

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko has accused Russia of a “flagrant violation of international law” after Russian humanitarian aid lorries entered Ukraine without permission according to the BBC.

More than 100 Russian lorries had entered on Friday without any customs clearance or Red Cross escort, he said.

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Obama with Bowe Bergdah’s parents at White House

President Obama violated a “clear and unambiguous” law when he released five Guantanamo Bay detainees in exchange for Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, the Government Accountability Office reported Thursday.

“[The Department of Defense] violated section 8111 because it did not notify the relevant congressional committees at least 30 days in advance of the transfer,” the GAO report said. “In addition, because DOD used appropriated funds to carry out the transfer when no money was available for that purpose, DOD violated the Antideficiency Act. The Antideficiency Act prohibits federal agencies from incurring obligations exceeding an amount available in an appropriation.”

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