| Hard News
Hezbollah fighter, five Syrian rebels killed on border;
At least two Hezbollah guerrillas and five Syrian rebels have been killed in fighting in Syria on the border with Lebanon, Lebanese residents and Syrian opposition sources said on Sunday.
UN: Both sides committing war crimes in Syria :
Both government forces and armed rebels are committing war crimes, including killings and torture, spreading terror among civilians in a nearly two-year-old conflict, they said on Monday.
Syrian government still ready to talk with armed groups: minister :
Syria is prepared to talk to armed opposition groups, the minister for national reconciliation said on Monday, the first time the government has offered to hold direct negotiations with rebel forces it long dismissed as terrorists.
Russia sending planes to Syria to deliver aid, pick up citizens:
Russia will send two planes to Syria on Tuesday to deliver 46 tonnes of humanitarian aid and pick up citizens that want to leave the war-torn country, an emergencies ministry spokeswoman was reported as saying on Monday.
EU rejects arming Syrian rebels:
Current sanctions to remain in place an additional three months
EU opens way for aid to Syrian rebels:
The European Union took steps on Monday to provide direct aid potentially including security advice to rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but stopped short of lifting an arms embargo on the country.
Foreign Fighters in Syria Talk Tough But Fear Defeat:
Tens of thousands, if not more, of foreign fighters are making their way into Syria to join the rebel forces as they fight against the regime of Bashar Al-Assad as the civil war enters its third year. Among the non-Syrians reported to be fighting alongside the rebel forces are Americans, Syrians, Moroccans, Libyans, Egyptians, Bosnians, and others.
Syria: The Growing
Power Of Jihadist Groups;Sky's Stuart Ramsay meets an increasingly influential group which says jihad is spreading and will not stop at Syria.
Qaeda front group claims Baghdad bombings:
Al-Qaeda's front group in Iraq has claimed a wave of bombings targeting Shiite areas of Baghdad that killed at least 21 people Sunday, in the latest violence to hit Iraq as it struggles with protests and a political crisis.
US Congress team warns Iraq after attack on Iranian refugees:
A team of US Congressmen met with the Iranian dissident group MEK in Paris on Sunday and threatened to declare Iraq's prime minister a sponsor of terrorism after a deadly attack on an Iranian exile camp there.
Palestinians Rally for Prisoners Held in Israel:
Palestinians blocked roads and held marches across the West Bank on Monday to protest the fate of thousands of their countrymen held in Israeli jails and demand the release of four detainees on hunger strike.
'Hamas official confirms indirect talks with Israel':
Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya on Sunday confirmed that the movement is engaging in indirect talks with Israel over the implementation of the ceasefire deal agreed upon following Operation Pillar of Defense, Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported.
Bennett: No Palestine in 'God-given' Land of Israel:
"There is no room in our small but wonderful God-given tract for another state," Bennett said in a speech that stressed Israel's Jewish religious heritage as a cornerstone of its society. "It won't happen. Friends, before every discussion on the territories, we need to declare: 'The land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel.' Only then can we start the debate.
Prisoner X Leaked Mossad Secrets:
A Mossad spy who had died in an Israeli jail in the year of 2010 was arrested by his spymasters after they believed he might have told Australian intelligence about his work with the Israeli intelligence agency.
Prisoner X: Israel says Mossad should be allowed to get on with their job:
The so-called 'Prisoner X' case remains shrouded in mystery and has embarrassed Bob Carr, Australia's foreign minister, who was initially unaware his own department knew Israel had secretly tried and imprisoned the Australian-Israeli citizen.
Two American Jewish organizations call for further review of Hagel statements:
The Anti-Defamation League and American Jewish Committee request explanation from Obama's defense secretary nominee on 2007 speech in which he allegedly said the State Department acted as an 'adjunct' of Israel's foreign ministry.
Militants attack political office in Pakistan, at least 2 killed;
Police officer Ahmed Khan says the militants who staged the attack on Monday were disguised in tribal police uniforms. They fired assault rifles at the office of the top political official for the Khyber tribal area. Explosions were also heard.
Pakistan: Shias refuse to bury dead; demand military takeover:
Shias called on the military on Sunday to take control of Quetta after a bombing by militants killed 85 people, and threatened to stage a long march to the capital if their demands were not met.
Afghanistan: Civilian Casualties in Jawzjan Taliban, Police Clash:
One civilian has been killed and three more injured during clashes between Taliban insurgents and local police in northern Jawzjan province, official said Monday.
Afghan president orders cameras to combat torture:
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered that all interrogation facilities should be equipped with video cameras in a bid to prevent torture, after a recent UN report said detainees were abused.
Revealed: UK sells arms to Sri Lanka's brutal regime
Government database shows that sales continue despite litany of rights abuses
Good news:
Arms sales drop for first time since 1990s:
Sales by 100 biggest weapons makers fell by five percent compared to last year, according to new think-tank report.
Viva Correa:
Ecuador's Correa wins third presidential term:
Leftist leader Rafael Correa, a critic of US foreign policy, defeats nearest rival by more than 30 percentage points.
Viva Chavez:
Hugo Chávez returns home to Venezuela:
Venezuelan president at military hospital in Caracas after returning from more than two months of treatment in Cuba
Most Terrorist Plots in the US Aren't Invented by Al Qaeda -- They're Manufactured by the FBI:
In the ten years following 9/11, the FBI and the Justice Department indicted and convicted more than 150 people following sting operations involving alleged connections to international terrorism. Few of these defendants had any connection to terrorists, evidence showed
US Gulag:
Guantánamo trials plunged into deeper discord as confidence in court wanes:
Revelations in pre-trial hearings further undermine US military court as defence lawyers paint legal proceedings as illegitimate
After 15 years in solitary, convicted terrorist pleads for contact with others:
He has been there for 15 years, in nearly 24-hour solitary confinement at the prison they call the "Fortress in the Rockies." Even his meals provide little relief, with the food trays shoved by unseen guards through a sally port between two steel doors.
Super Max Prisoner Represents Himself in Court while on Hunger Strike and Wins:
Supporters are requesting that people call OSP Warden David Bobby on Monday, demanding that Mr Harris be kept safe from retaliation and have his hunger strike demands met.
IL Prison Overcrowding Forces Inmates to Sleep in Gyms:
Inmates at the Shawnee Correctional Center and five other state prisons will be bunking in gyms in the coming weeks as part of the state's ongoing struggle with overcrowding.
China, Russia to drop dollar in bilateral trade:
China and Russia will stop using the U.S. dollar to settle bilateral trade and instead use the ruble or the yuan, according to a report in the state-run China Daily. "About trade settlement, we have decided to use our own currencies," Putin told reporters. Earlier this week, China added the ruble to the list of currencies that can be traded against the yuan on its domestic exchange.
Cost of Financial Crisis Tops $22 Trillion:
The 2008 financial crisis cost the U.S. economy more than $22 trillion, a study by the Government Accountability Office published Thursday said.
Don't Blink, or You'll Miss Another Bailout: Op-Ed:
MANY people became rightfully upset about bailouts given to big banks during the mortgage crisis. But it turns out that they are still going on, if more quietly, through the back door.
Obama Ready to Propose $1.5 Trillion Plan: McDonough:
The president has a plan to reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion, and Obama will insist that the changes happen in a "balanced way," which includes revenue increases, McDonough said on ABC's "This Week" program, one of three appearances he made on the Sunday morning news shows.
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"Let us be peace and joy"
Tom Feeley
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