| Hard News
17 killed in Pakistani tribal area blast: Wazir said that an explosives-laden vehicle had been parked outside the office of the Khyber's political agent, the area's top civilian administrator. http://is.gd/z8DNze
Six polio workers shot dead in Pakistani cities: In June, Taliban militants in Pakistan's North Waziristan region ordered a ban on polio vaccination campaign, saying it could be a cover-up for the US espionage in the country. http://is.gd/zY9TV9
Afghanistan: 3 police killed in separate attacks: A roadside bomb killed two police while a police officer was killed in a gun attack by Taliban in Kunar province, police said Monday. http://is.gd/fHKSb2
NATO occupation force troops killed by Afghan security forces: Timeline of rogue attacks: Two NATO coalition troops were killed at a joint base in Zhari district in Kandahar on Thursday after two Afghan men, one of whom was apparently a soldier, turned their weapons against them. http://is.gd/mgUj1l
59 Iraqis killed in violence: In the deadliest attack on Monday, a car bomb exploded at a car dealership in north Baghdad, killing at least 11 people and wounding at least 40, security and medical officials said. http://is.gd/HVW0IU
Iraq's foreign minister says President Talabani not dead: President Talabani a Kurd who has mediated among the country's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish parties, was in hospital on Tuesday after suffering a stroke that left him in "critical but stable condition," government sources said. http://en.trend.az/regions/met/iraq/2100507.html
Syria: 40 Civilians Killed in Rebels' Attack on al-Yarmouk Camp: Dozens of civilians were killed following the Syrian rebels' deadly attack on al-Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Southern Damascus. http://is.gd/sI2esL
Syrian rebels fight Palestinian pro-government group By Tuesday afternoon, the Syrian military deployed several tanks along camp's main entrance, the residents said. There were no Syrian government troops in the camp and most of the fighting was between rebels and PFLP-GC gunmen http://is.gd/ZLOFVr
Syria: Armed Opposition Takes Yarmouk Refugee Camp: After fierce battles on Sunday, 16 December 2012, Palestinian neutrality in the Syrian crisis collapsed completely as the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Islamist fighters overran most of the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus. http://is.gd/ss9cUO
Syria hits back at UN over Palestinian refugees: "Syria offered something to our Palestinian brothers decades ago that no other Arab host country has offered," he told Ban in a telephone call, quoted by state news agency SANA. http://is.gd/g2MaGx
Jihadis bankroll aid efforts in Syria to win followers:Among those with money to throw around in the scrum for influence are groups like Jabhat al-Nusra, which the State Department says has ties to Al Qaeda in Iraq. http://is.gd/auUOEt
Richard Engel and NBC crew freed from captivity in Syria: Engel says the crew managed to escape while being moved from one location to another. The journalists were being transferred Monday evening "when their captors ran into a checkpoint manned by members of the Ahrar al-Sham brigade, a Syrian rebel group," NBC reports http://is.gd/KErSM0
Syrian rebels delay execution of Ukrainian reporter: The Kremlin's Human Rights Council has joined the White House, the Reporters Without Borders and the International Press Institute in urging the Syrian rebels to immediately release captured Ukrainian journalist Ankhar Kochneva. http://is.gd/xsZfil
Russian Embassy in Syria Investigates Reported Abduction: The Russian embassy in Syria confirmed on Monday that two Russian nationals had been abducted near the western Syrian port city of Latakia. http://en.rian.ru/russia/20121217/178225396.html
Russia sends warships to Syria for possible evacuation: Russia sent warships to the Mediterranean to prepare a potential evacuation of its citizens from Syria, a Russian news agency said on Tuesday, a sign President Bashar al-Assad's key ally is worried about rebel advances that now threaten even the capital. http://is.gd/aR9zYr
Syrian rebels maintain threat to kill Ukrainian journalist: The abductors said they would execute Kotchneva by Dec. 13, but then delayed their plans, claiming they were waiting for Ukrainian or Russian authorities to meet their demands, which they refused to announce publicly. According to news reports, the rebels denied money was on the list of demands. http://is.gd/dO6xNU
Israel considering attack on Syrial: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has twice asked Jordan for its support to bomb Syria's alleged chemical weapons facilities. http://is.gd/DC0BRs
Israel presses on with plans for 6,000 new settler homes: The settlements are illegal and Western powers have been especially troubled by Israel's declared intent to build in E-1, a wedge of land between occupied East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank http://is.gd/XSd9v3
Palestinians threaten to involve UN over new illegal Israeli "settlement" plan: President Mahmoud Abbas' spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeina, told AFP news agency on Monday, that the leadership is about to take "important and necessary measures against Israel's illegal settlement building, including recourse to the UN Security Council, to prevent implementation of these decisions." http://is.gd/PRaFoa
4 EU nations to condemn latest illegal Israel "settlements": - A European diplomat says Germany and three other European members of the U.N. Security Council are preparing a statement condemning Israel's latest settlement plans in occupied east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. http://is.gd/xhBdxt
Palestinians prefer Hamas leader Haniyeh over Abbas, poll shows: If Palestinians were to vote for their president today, they would elect Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh over Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, a recent poll shows. http://is.gd/tTYY27
Poll: Majority of Israelis prefer two-state solution: According to the survey, 58% of Israelis would prefer to see Israel remain as a Jewish, "democratic" state through fixed state borders along the route of the West Bank security barrier, seeing Israel preserve its Jewish character alongside a demilitarized Palestinian state. http://is.gd/aw3zj0
Reciting a poem brings life sentence in Qatar: Qatari poet Mohamed Ibn Al Ajami, who after spending a year in solitary confinement, on November 29, 2012 was sentenced to life in prison by the Qatari courts. http://is.gd/1RqTnL
Seven online activists 'arrested in UAE': Last month, the UAE government tightened the law on internet use. It became a criminal offence to deride or damage the state or its institutions, or to organise unauthorised demonstrations. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20768205
US seeks 'world supremacy' through advanced weapons - Security Chief: The Secretary of the Security Council of Russia has provided his views on a number of national security issues, including the importance of preserving Russia's nuclear arsenal against potential adversaries. http://rt.com/politics/patrushev-nuclear-weapon-security-267/
U.S. Increasing Military Presence in the Philippines:In a move that prompted a swift and angry response from China, the U.S. has reportedly agreed to substantially increase its military presence in the Philippines, increasing the number of troops, aircraft and ships which routinely rotate through the country. http://is.gd/QNdF4s
Chavez allies sweep Venezuela polls: Ruling Socialist Party wins nearly all 23 states, as Henrique Capriles consolidates position as top opposition leader. http://is.gd/b0V2rK
Newtown shootings: Obama 'backs assault weapons ban': US President Barack Obama wants to reinstate an assault weapons ban in the wake of the mass killings in Newtown, Connecticut, his spokesman says. http://is.gd/2lSha1
Do Your Senators Support an Assault Weapons Ban?: Some of the answers may surprise you. http://is.gd/689OLU
The Bribery Aisle: How Wal-Mart Got Its Way: Wal-Mart de Mexico was an aggressive and creative corrupter, offering large payoffs to get what the law otherwise prohibited, an examination by The New York Times found. http://is.gd/7CPdQi
Foreign holdings of US debt hit record of $5.48 trillion in October; China's holdings rise: China, the largest holder of U.S. government debt, increased its holdings slightly to $1.16 trillion. Japan, the second-largest holder, boosted its holdings by a smaller amount to $1.13 trillion. Brazil, the country with the third-largest holdings, increased its total to $255.2 billion. http://is.gd/uqTKYb
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"Let us be peace and joy"
Tom Feeley
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