32 militants killed in Afghan operations: Report:
Thirty-two militants have
been killed in different Afghan provinces in the last 24 hours, said
the country's Interior Ministry on Friday.
3 Afghan Police Killed in Insurgent Assault :
Syed Sarwar Hussaini told
Pajhwok Afghan News three cops were killed and two others seriously
wounded. The insurgents fled the area before security forces reached
the scene.
Afghanistan's thanks for U.S. occupation:
Karzai's regime issues
harsh exit levies: Everything from exiting military equipment and food
for troops to new federal contract dollars are facing levies, customs
fees and fines - a wave of taxation estimated to slice $1 billion or
more off the top of aid that was supposed to go to the Afghan people.
Instead, it's going into the coffers of the Karzai government.
Pakistan: 6 "militants" killed in Khyber Agency operation: :
Six militants were killed
and five injured on Friday when gunship helicopters pounded their
hideouts near Akka Khel area of Bara Tehsil, in Khybar Agency, Radio
Pakistan reported.
Two Pakistani soldiers killed near Afghan border:
Gunmen ambushed a vehicle
carrying government paramilitary forces in a restive Pakistani tribal
region near the Afghan border yesterday, killing two soldiers,
officials said.
Twin bombs kill 32 Iraqis, injure 44 others:
At least 32 Iraqis were
killed and 44 others injured when twin blasts hit Abu Bakar Al-Sedeq
Mosque in Al-Meqdadiah neighborhood, northwest Baghdad.
War criminal:
Tony Blair criticised in Chilcott Iraq report:
It is understood that Sir
John is to write to Mr Blair to warn him that he will be criticised in
the report over his promises to former Presdent George Bush that the UK
would support the USA in a war while negotiations were still taking
place at the UN.
29 dead in Syria clashes between Kurds, jihadists:
At least 29 people have
been killed in fighting between Kurdish and jihadist fighters in
northern Syria in the past two days, the Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights said Thursday.
Syrian Kurds battle al-Qaeda-linked Islamists for control of oil fields:
Kurdish fighters have
seized control of a Syrian town on the border with Turkey and are
battling Islamist rebel groups linked to al-Qaeda for control of oil
fields in the northeast of the country.
Britain rules out arming Syrian rebels, expects Assad to survive: sources:
The reason for the shift
was the largely hostile public opinion and fears that any weapons
supplied could fall into the hands of Islamists.
UK ARMY CHIEF: Invading Syria Would Be The Only Way To Topple Assad:
"You have to be able, as we
did successfully in Libya, to hit ground targets," General David
Richards told The Telegraph. "If you want to have the material effect
that people seek [i.e. Assad's ouster] ... you would be going to war if
that is what you want to do."
Dempsey says US considering use of force in Syria:
Army Gen. Martin Dempsey
said during congressional testimony that he has provided President
Barack Obama with options for the use of force.
Administration's Syria problem: U.S. can't find non-Al Qaida rebels:
The United States has withheld at least $50 million worth of aid to Sunni rebels in Syria
Two dead, 20 hurt in Lebanon clashes - medics :
Two men were killed and at least 20 were wounded in clashes between Alawite supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad
Lebanon asks EU not to blacklist Hezbollah:
Presidency calls Shia group "an essential part of Lebanese society" and urges EU to keep its armed wing off terror list.
Scuffles in Cairo amid massive pro-Morsi rally:
Thousands of protesters
throughout Egypt are demonstrating in support of ousted president
Mohamed Morsi. Clashes between security forces and Morsi supporters and
opponents have broken out in Cairo, with two Brotherhood members
detained by police.
Egyptian general: Hamas 'terrorizing Egyptians':
In an unprecedented rebuke
of Hamas, a high-ranking Egyptian officer accused the organization of
smuggling 19 rockets into Egypt with the intent of "terrorizing"
Egyptian citizens.
Talks between Israel and Palestinian negotiators to start next week:
US secretary of state John Kerry calls agreement - announced after four months of diplomacy - 'a significant step forward'
EU officially publishes new settlement guidelines:
"We told the European
ambassadors to make it clear to their capitals that no Israeli
government would accept the conditions posed in the new guidelines or
sign such a clause," a senior ministry official said.
Threat of European boycotts on Israel is real:
This is the nightmare
scenario, this is the economic tsunami that has been talked about in
the past, the mother of all fears. And this even before the
Palestinians make good on their threat, which continues to hover above
the empty negotiating table: to request admission to some 15
international judiciary bodies, such as the International Criminal
Court
Full text of the European Union's settlement guidelines:
New directives prohibit Israeli companies located beyond the 1967 lines from receiving prizes, grants, or financing
Dubai sentences Norwegian woman who reported rape:
A young Norwegian woman has
spoken out about the 16-month prison sentence she received in Dubai
after reporting a rape incident to police.
Australia says no to more boatpeople:
All migrants arriving to Australia by boat to be sent to Papua New Guinea under new plan to curb influx of refugees.
CIA Criminal On The Run:
Panama releases ex-CIA officer held over cleric's 'extraordinary rendition':
Lady's reported release
Friday averted the question of whether he would be extradited to Italy.
The Post quoted a senior Obama administration official saying, "It's
our understanding that he's on a plane en route to the United States
right now."
European Parliament Wants Snowden, NSA Chief to Testify on Spying:
The European Parliament is
gearing up to launch an investigation into the recently revealed NSA
surveillance programs-and lawmakers are drawing up an interesting list
of witnesses who they want to invite to interview about the snooping.
Obama Surveillance Scandal: Video-
NSA reportedly planning to set up listening post in Germany
Is Edward Snowden Protected By International Law? :
Snowden would have to show
that the crime he is accused of committing was political in nature,
because refugee status is not available to those who have "committed a
serious non-political crime."
Germany backs away from claims NSA program thwarted five attacks:
German Interior Minister
Hans-Peter Friedrich is backing off his earlier assertion that the
Obama administration's NSA monitoring of Internet accounts had
prevented five terror attacks in Germany, raising questions about other
claims concerning the value of the massive monitoring programs revealed
by NSA leaker Edward Snowden.
The NSA Admits It Analyzes More People's Data Than Previously Revealed:
As an aside during
testimony on Capitol Hill today, a National Security Agency
representative rather casually indicated that the government looks at
data from a universe of far, far more people than previously indicated.
White House stays silent on renewal of NSA data collection order:
Officials decline to comment on whether they will seek to renew order that permits bulk collection of Americans' phone records
Bipartisan Backlash Grows Against Domestic Surveillance:
The Obama administration
faced a growing Congressional backlash against the National Security
Agency's domestic surveillance operations on Wednesday, as lawmakers
from both parties called for the vast collection of private data on
millions of Americans to be scaled back.
Huawei has spied for Chinese government, ex-CIA boss says:
The former head of the CIA
and the National Security Agency in the US has said he is aware of hard
evidence that Huawei Technologies has spied for the Chinese
government, the Australian Financial Review newspaper reports.
US reviews 27 death penalty convictions due to FBI errors:
The FBI has reviewed
thousands of criminal cases and suspects that 27 death penalty
convictions may have been secured by using faulty and exaggerated
testimonies that may have wrongfully linked defendants to crimes.
How the FBI Uses Rapists and Child Molesters to Entrap Gullible People in Terror Stings:
The FBI is under pressure
to capture terrorists, even where none exist. So they work with some of
the worst criminals to entrap losers that likely pose no real threat.
Greece on the Brink: Athens May Need 10 Billion More:
The Greek recovery may be
facing yet another hurdle. According to a report by German daily
Süddeutsche Zeitung, the beleaguered country needs another massive
influx of money if it is to avoid insolvency. The paper cites an
unnamed official at the European Commission as saying that the
"financial gap" could be as large as €10 billion.
'Out with the Mafia!' Anonymous-backed anti-govt protests grip Spain: Video -
In 30 cities across Spain
thousands of people protested government corruption and called for
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's resignation.
Detroit files largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history:
The filing, which had been
feared for months, put the city on an uncertain course that could mean
laying off municipal employees, selling off assets, raising fees and
scaling back basic services such as trash collection and snow plowing,
which have already been slashed.
McDonald's Accidentally Served Up a Minimum Wage "McManifesto":
A lot of people are angry
about McDonald's new financial advice website for employees, an
ill-conceived project which drips with "let them eat cake" insouciance.