Hard News
37 "militants" killed in Afghanistan within day: gov't:
"The Afghan National Police (ANP) supported by the army and the NATO-led coalition forces conducted several cleanup operations in Nangarhar, Baghlan, Kandahar, Zabul, Wardak, Ghazni and Paktika provinces, killing 37 armed Taliban over the past 24 hours," the ministry said in a statement.
CIA-funded corruption: Top Afghan officials on secret US payroll - report:
Top Afghan officials have been on the CIA's payroll for over a decade, often paid in cash in US dollars. The clandestine financial support was provided to key Afghan officials and even insurgent warlords in return for opposing the Taliban.
Pentagon claims $757 million overbilling by contractor in Afghanistan:
The Pentagon allowed a private firm providing food and water to U.S. troops in Afghanistan to overbill taxpayers $757 million and awarded the company no-bid contract extensions worth more than $4 billion over three years, according to the Pentagon's chief internal watchdog and congressional investigators.
Pakistan: Suicide bomber kills 8 in Peshawar:
A suicide bombing killed at least eight people, including two Afghan consulate staffers, and injured more than 40 in north-western Pakistan on Monday, officials said.
36 killed in Iraq:
Five car bombs struck in predominantly Shia cities and districts in central and southern Iraq on Monday, killing 36 people and wounding dozens, officials said.
Iraqi army losing hold on north to Sunni and Kurdish forces as troops desert:
Soldiers are deserting a beleaguered Iraqi army as it struggles to keep its hold on the northern half of Iraq in the face of escalating hostility from Sunni Arabs and Kurds who dominate in the region.
RAF pilots did take part in drone attacks on Iraq, says minister:
Armed Forces Minister Andrew Robathan has confirmed RAF pilots were involved in the USA's armed drone operations in Iraq, in which hundreds of civilians were killed.
Huge blast near Damascus school targets Syrian PM, at least 10 killed:
Syrian Prime Minister Wael Halqi survived an attempted bombing assassination in central Damascus on Monday. The explosion struck near a school in a southwestern district of Damascus, and at least ten were killed in the attack.
Fact or fiction?
Terrorists Kill 30 Syrian Citizens in Mass Execution in Aleppo:
Terrorists in Syria killed 30 Syrian citizens in a mass execution in the country's Northwestern city of Aleppo.
Missiles fired at Russian plane with 200 passengers onboard flying over Syria - reports:
Two missiles were fired at a Russian passenger plane flying over Syrian territory with 200 people onboard, an informed source in Moscow told Interfax news agency. The source of the attack remains unknown.
Robert Fisk: Assad sends his feared militia squads to the battlefront :"
In a decision that is certain to arouse fear among the regime's enemies, the Syrian government has decreed that thousands of volunteers loyal to President Bashar al-Assad should be recruited into uniformed and armed units under Syrian army command to fight on the front lines against anti-Assad rebels.
Obama Aide Says More Work Needed to Verify Syria Chemical Use:
The U.S. and its international partners are seeking to determine the "chain of custody" of evidence that sarin was used and gather physical evidence, he said. It's "not possible" to say how long that would take, Carney said.
Russia wary of Syrian WMD claims:
"I think it is unacceptable to use it, to speculate on (the use of chemical weapons) for geopolitical purposes," he was quoted by state-owned news agency RIA Novosti as saying.
Israel lawmaker claims Hezbollah getting chemicals:
A former Israeli defense minister alleged Monday that Syria's chemical weapons are "trickling" to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, the first claim by a senior politician in Israel that one of the country's nightmare scenarios is coming true.
Propaganda alert:
Graham: "Growing consensus" in Senate for U.S. action in Syria:
"If we keep this hands-off approach to Syria, this indecisive action towards Syria, kind of not knowing what we're going to do next, we're going to have war with Iran because Iran's going to take our inaction in Syria as meaning we're not serious about their nuclear weapons program," he said. "We need to get involved."
Robert Dreyfuss : Obama: Stay Out of Syria! : Op-Ed:
If, indeed, the United States goes to war in Syria, it will look less like Iraq 2003-11 and more like Afghanistan 1979-88, that is, a war in which the United States backs an Islamist-dominated insurgency against a Russian-backed regime.
Sanctions Cut Iran's Oil Exports to 26-Year Low:
Global sanctions cut Iran's crude oil exports by 39% in 2012, to 1.5 million barrels a day, the lowest level since 1986, during the Iran-Iraq war, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Friday.
'Iran already past nuclear red line,' expert says:
Former IDF intel chief says Tehran will be able to break out to the bomb this summer; calls for drastic increase in sanctions
Netanyahu says Iran hasn't crossed nuclear "red line":
"Iran is continuing with its nuclear programme. It has yet to cross the red line I presented at the United Nations, but it is approaching it systematically," he said in broadcast remarks.
Olmert accuses Netanyahu of exaggerating Iranian threat:
He indicated that Iran did not cross the "red line" yet in its nuclear capabilities as claimed by Netanyahu in his speech to the UN General Assembly several months ago. He affirmed the Iranian nuclear program has not been making progress in years and that the extent of the threat has been exaggerated.
Former Mossad chief defends decision to defy Netanyahu on Iran:
Meir Dagan warned that by beating the drums of war, Netanyahu was putting Israel at risk of provoking Iran to strike preemptively.
Journalist Carl Bernstein Tells Joe Scarborough: 'Jewish Neocons' Responsible in Part for Iraq War:
Renown and controversial journalist Carl Bernstein told MSNBC's Joe Scarborough Friday that the "insane" Iraq War was brought to bear by Bush, Cheney and "the Jewish neo-cons who wanted to remake the world."
BBC criticised for dropping film with 'severe ramifications':
The BBC has been accused of 'political naiveté' after dropping a controversial documentary which called into question the mass exile of Jewish people from Jerusalem in AD70 after their failed uprising against the Romans.
Fatah leader's car bombed in Gaza:
The Ma'an News Agency has reported that the attackers planted a 500-gram explosive device targeting the car of Monther al-Bardawil outside his home in Rafah at dawn on Monday. The reports came via police spokesman Ayman al-Bandakji.
Mayor: Undercover Israeli forces abducted man near Jenin:
Three armed men in plainclothes stopped in a car outside an internet café in Jaba, south of Jenin, and ordered coffees from the owner, 30-year-old Mahmud Alawneh. As Alawneh walked back to the café, the men pointed guns at his head and forced him into the car, witnesses told Ma'an.
Palestinian Christians urge pope to oppose wall:
Palestinian Christians near Bethlehem on Monday urged Pope Francis to speak up against an Israeli decision to build its controversial separation barrier on a route they say would cut off their community.
Gaza militants fire mortar at southern Israel:
"A mortar shell struck an uninhabited area in the Eshkol region near the security fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip," an army spokeswoman said on Monday.
UK cuddles up to Gulf states - hidden dangers ahead:
plans to increase military presence where bad human rights record * idea to deter Iran or promote arms sales?
Nigerian Official: At least 17 killed in fighting between security forces, insurgents :
The fighting happened in Bama, a town in northeastern Borno state where insurgents have been fighting the government since 2010.
French soldier killed in northern Mali:
A statement said the soldier, a commando from a parachute regiment, died in the far north of the country. Six French soldiers have been killed since France launched an operation in Mali in January to drive Islamist rebels from the northern desert region.
Conspiracy charges for US film maker held in Venezuela:
The American film maker Timothy Tracy, accused of fomenting post-election violence in Venezuela, has been formally charged by a court in Caracas. Mr Tracy was accused of conspiracy, association for criminal purposes and use of a false document.
In the Wake of Last Year's 'Soft Coup' Against Paraguay's President, Will a New Narco-Dictatorship Emerge?:
Paraguay's April 21 election of Horacio Cartes, a dodgy "tobacco magnate," rancher and banker, whose Banco Amambay has been accused of laundering drug money, tax evasion and other crimes, raises the specter of "state capture" by powerful drug cartels linked to US intelligence agencies.
Boston terror suspects uncle was married to CIA officer's daughter and even shared a home with the agent:
Ruslan Tsarni, who publicly denounced his two terrorist nephews' actions and called them 'Losers', even lived with his father-in-law agent Graham Fuller in his Maryland home for a year.
Exclusive: Boston bomb suspects' parents retreat to village, cancel U.S. trip:
Speaking in the garden of a large house, Anzor Tsarnaev said he believed he would not be allowed to see his surviving son Dzhokhar?, who was captured and has been charged in connection with the April 15 bomb blasts that killed three people and wounded 264.
After the Boston Bombings: A Police Chief for Peace:
Veteran police chief David Couper reflected on the dangers of loose explosives, why we should resist militarizing the police, and how cops who serve as "social workers in blue" can do more to keep us safe than SWAT teams and "police officers who look and act more like robots than peacekeepers."
'US domestic security turned massive failure':
Since 9/11 the United States spent over $700 billion on national security but as the Boston tragedy showed the money went to nothing, American lawyer Jesselyn Radack told RT.
Mississippi man in ricin case denies sending poison letters to politicians:
A Mississippi man who describes himself as a patriot with no grudges against anyone was expected to appear in court Monday on charges of making and possessing ricin, part of the investigation into poison-laced letters sent to President Barack Obama and others.
Spy, or pay up: FBI-backed bill would fine US firms for refusing wiretaps:
In the new legislation being drafted by US law enforcement officials, refusal to cooperate with the FBI could cost a tech company tens of thousands of dollars in fines, the Washington Post quoted anonymous sources as saying.
A Hard Day's Labor for $4.76: The Offshore Assembly Industry in Haiti -:
A 2011 study done by the Solidarity Center of the AFL-CIO put the living wage (what would be required for workers to cover basic expenses) at US$29 a day, at least
Bank of Cyprus executes depositor bail-in:
Savers in the Bank of Cyprus took a hit on Sunday as 37.5pc of their uninsured deposits were converted to equity as part of the island's €10bn (£8.4bn) rescue deal.
Austerity is hurting our health, say researchers:
Austerity is having a devastating effect on health in Europe and North America, driving suicide, depression and infectious diseases and reducing access to medicines and care, researchers said on Monday.
Wealthiest Americans Only Winners in Recovery, Pew Says:
The U.S. economy has recovered for households with net worth of $500,000 or more, a new study shows. The recession continues for almost everyone else.
84 million US adults lack adequate health care coverage:
Nearly half of US adults ages 19 to 64-an estimated 84 million people-did not have health insurance for all of 2012, or had coverage that did not adequately protect them from high health care costs.
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"Let us be peace and joy"
Tom Feeley
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