| Hard News
Afghanistan: Bomb kills 5 in Nangarhar blitz:
The incident happened in Basolan area of Nawa district when a landmine exploded on dismounted police, said Muhammad Ismail Hotak, deputy head of Herlmand police coordination centre.
NATO Occupation Force Solider Killed In Afghanistan:
One soldier with the NATO-led coalition forces were killed Wednesday in insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan, the coalition forces confirmed in a press release.
Pakistan: Three cops killed in twin blasts in Karachi:
Three police personnel including DIP Kamal Khan Mangan have been killed and several others were injured in two bomb blasts at Sher Pao Colony, Landhi on Thursday.
Second Pak politician shot dead :
A Pakistani politician was shot dead in Karachi in the second such killing in a week, police said Wednesday, fuelling fears that violence may overshadow general elections expected this year.
Desecrations alarm Pakistan's Ahmadi sect:
Ahmadi community identifies itself as Muslims, but are considered as heretics by majority of Pakistanis.
US kills seven people in Yemen:
Wednesday's strike targeted a vehicle near the town of Khawlan, around 30km (20 miles) from the capital, Sanaa.
Malian Army accused of executing 33 civilians:
The Malian Army summarily executed several people for allegedly helping Islamist rebels and threw the bodies into nearby wells, according to eyewitnesses independently interviewed by the Associated Press (AP) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).
Mali's Ansar Dine rebel group splits into two:
In a statement published Thursday by RFI radio, former Ansar Dine leader Alghabass Ag Intalla says the new group will be called the Islamic Movement for the Azawad. Intalla said the group is looking for a "negotiated solution," adding his men are willing to fight Ansar Dine.
Russia's Putin says regional revolts led to Algeria hostage:
Putin and other Russian officials have said the United States and its NATO allies have sacrificed stability to their political ambitions in the Middle East and North Africa, often playing into the hands of radical Islamists.
Russia says West to blame for arms used by Mali rebels:
"Those whom the French and Africans are fighting now in Mali are the [same] people who ... our Western partners armed so that they would overthrow the Gaddafi regime," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a news conference.
UK, Germans, Dutch warn of threat to Westerners in Benghazi, Libya; urge nationals to leave:
Britain, Germany and the Netherlands urged their citizens to immediately leave the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Thursday in response to what they called an imminent threat against Westerners.
In Libya, fears of oil field attack grow:
While Libya has ratcheted up its protection of Benghazi and its nearby oil fields, its government downplayed the situation on Thursday. "The Ministry of Interior strongly denies existence of threats against the stabilities and security of the Western citizens and residents who live in Benghazi, and assure that the Benghazi security situation is stable,"
How US Ambassador Chris Stevens May Have Been Linked To Jihadist Rebels In Syria:
If the new Libyan government was sending seasoned Islamic fighters and 400 tons of heavy weapons to Syria through a port in southern Turkey-a deal brokered by Stevens' primary Libyan contact during the Libyan revolution-then the governments of Turkey and the U.S. surely knew about it.
France sees no sign Syria's Assad will be toppled soon:
"Things are not moving. The solution that we had hoped for, and by that I mean the fall of Bashar and the arrival of the (opposition) coalition to power, has not happened," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in his annual New Year's address to the press.
Western Hypocrisy:
Syria: From Rebellion to Civil War: Audio:
Journalist Nir Rosen spent eight months in Syria during the current uprisings with unprecedented access to all parties to the conflict, from opposition leaders and activists on the ground, to insurgent leaders and fighters on the ground, to Syrian army, security and loyalist militias (leaders and fighters on the ground).
Police fire tear gas at protesters on eve of Egypt revolution anniversary:
Egyptian riot police fired tear gas and clashed Thursday with dozens of protesters as they tried to tear down a cement wall built to prevent demonstrators from reaching the parliament and the Cabinet building in central Cairo.
42 Shia Muslims Killed in a Suicide Bomb by Saudi-Backed Terrorists in Iraq:
A suicide bomber made his way into a Shia mosque north of Baghdad and blew himself up in the middle of a packed funeral on Wednesday, killing 42 people and leaving corpses scattered across the floor.
Iraqi security forces arrest 250 Saudi-backed terrorists:
According to the commander of the Iraqi forces, Saudi spy chief Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud had allocated 250 million US dollars for the terrorist operations in Iraq.
Sadr Movement Withdraw from Maliki's Committee?:
Sadr movement leader, Moqtada al-Sadr, struck a fatal blow to the seven-member committee tasked by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Malik to consider the demands of protesters, announcing the withdrawal of all Sadr movement trend ministers from this commission.
Witness: Israeli soldier killed woman 'in cold blood':
This, says Suad Jaara, 28, is what she witnessed Wednesday afternoon when Israeli officers near al-Arrub refugee camp shot her and her friend Lubna al-Hanash. Lubna, 22, died hours later.
Abbas to invite Israeli politicians to talk peace:
Abed Rabbo says Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wants to sit down with Israeli lawmakers before Israel forms its next government. He said Thursday that all Israeli parties, "particularly the new ones," would be invited for dialogue on future accords.
After Israeli elections, Palestinians bracing for illusion of change:
But to the Western diplomats who see the elections as a victory for Israel's center-left, PLO representatives say that while Yesh Atid may be a centrist party in Israel, for the Palestinians it is a right-wing party in every way since it supports keeping the settlements in place and sees East Jerusalem as part of Israel's capital.
US says Israel likely to boycott UN rights review:
Israel is expected to boycott the UN Human Rights Council next week despite the United States urging its ally to show up for an examination of its record, the US ambassador said on Thursday.
Jordan's Islamists and other critics win quarter of the seats in new parliament:
The surprise victory of 37 Islamist and other government critics despite an election boycott injects a degree of dissent into Jordan's newly empowered parliament.
Kerry: 'Do what we must' to stop Iran on nukes:
Sen. John Kerry, President Barack Obama's nominee for secretary of state, said Thursday that the United States will "do what we must" to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon even as he signaled that diplomacy remains a viable option with Tehran.
Engineering consent for an attack on Iran:
"Nuclear Iran" is "approaching": Kissinger:
"The consequences of an Iranian nuclear program is that other countries in the area will also want nuclear weapons," and when nuclear weapons become "almost conventional," "we would face a nuclear war at some point, which would be a turning point in world history," he said.
Iran president warns against issues causing Shia-Sunni division:"
"The Zionist regime [of Israel] has established its dominance over a group of Muslims through deceit and lies, and Muslims are not united enough to confront this occupying regime because of different and incomplete interpretations of Qur'an."
17 million low-income Iranians to receive staple food coupons: report:
The government and the Majlis (parliament) agreed to give out rice, sugar and cooking oil to poor people and allocate two billion U.S. dollars to support low-income families in light of shortages of basic commodities and high inflation rate, according to Mehr.
12 suspected militants including 2 warlords killed in mountains of Chechnya:
Officials in Chechnya say 12 suspected militants were killed in a special operation in this Russian North Caucasus republic that was launched after two policemen were killed and seven injured in an attack on a police station.
DPRK threatens "all-out action" against U.S.: -
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday vowed to conduct more rocket launches and a higher-level nuclear test targeting its "sworn enemy" -- the United States.
Assange calls WikiLeaks film 'propaganda attack':
Julian Assange has lashed out at a Hollywood film about WikiLeaks, calling it "a massive propaganda attack" against the whistle blowing website, also accusing it of fanning "flames of war" against Iran.
400 Christian Leaders to Lobby against Hagel Nomination:
At least 400 Christian leaders will travel to Capitol Hill next week to lobby senators against the nomination of Chuck Hagel for secretary of defense, pro-Israel group Christians United for Israel (CUFI) announced Wednesday.
Rand Paul Brutalizes Hillary Clinton: 'I Would Have Fired You!': Video -
Watch the Full Clinton-Paul Exchange from the Benghazi Hearing
Anti-War Protester Interrupts Kerry Hearing :
A protester interrupts Kerry's statement. She says, "you're killing people in the Middle East for no reason... I'm tired of my friends in the Middle East dying."
Assault weapons ban introduced in the Senate:
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Thursday introduced a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips, briefing members of Congress in front of a display featuring various deadly firearms that would be prohibited under the ban.
Andrew P. Napolitano: Guns and the President: Op-Ed :
Who has killed more children, Adam Lanza or Barack Obama?
China, India to grow fastest in world: IMF:
The IMF forecasts that the eurozone will stay in recession in 2013 with the currency area's economy contracting by 0.2 per cent.
Obama Wants 100,000 American Students to Study in China:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday will celebrate the launch of a newly rebranded organization called the "100,000 Strong Foundation," which aims to have 100,000 American students studying in China by 2014
Spain's unemployment rate reaches record high:
Nearly 55 percent of Spanish youth under 25 years out of job as unemployment rate surges to 26 percent in final quarter.
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"Let us be peace and joy"
Tom Feeley
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