| Hard News
Suspected Boko Haram attacks kill 24 in Nigeria:
Two
attacks by suspected Boko Haram insurgents have killed 24 people in
Nigeria's northeast in the latest violence believed to be in revenge
against vigilantes, residents and officials said Tuesday.
At least two killed in southern Egypt clash:
At
least two supporters of Egypt's deposed Islamist President Mohamed
Mursi were killed in clashes with residents and security forces in the
southern city of Beni Suef late on Tuesday, a security source said.
11 Killed, One Injured in New Wave of Attacks in Iraq:
A
new wave of attacks in Iraq killed at least 11 people, including two
prison guards, and injured another one, according to Iraqi security and
hospital sources.
Syria rebels seize strategic town, kill dozens: Activists say:
Rebel
forces took control of a strategic town in northern Syria on Monday,
killing more than 50 pro-government fighters and cutting off government
forces' only supply route out of the city of Aleppo, the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said.
Video shows Al Qaeda murdering truck drivers for not being Sunni -
Video - Warning
Syrian troops advance in rebel-held areas near Damascus:
The
Syrian army continued advancing against the western-backed rebels in
the countryside of the capital Damascus, mainly in the hotspots of
Jobar and Muadaieh, the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV said.
Hezbollah fighters exposed to chemical agents in Syria: source:
Between
four and five members came into contact with the chemical agents while
searching a group of rebel tunnels in the Damascus suburb of Jobar
over the weekend.
'Not too late to trace nerve gas in Syria', experts say;
TRACES
of nerve agent would remain in victims for weeks, easily detectable if
UN inspectors can examine people poisoned in last week's suspected
chemical weapons attack in Syria, experts say.
Chemical experts can gather Syria evidence despite time lapse -UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters.
Britain
said on Sunday that evidence of the attack, which is believed to have
killed hundreds of people, could have already been destroyed ahead of a
visit to the site by U.N. inspectors.
Russia: West has no proof Assad launched gas attack:
Russian
FM Lavrov tells press conference any use of force in Syria without UN
mandate would violate international law and be 'repetition of past
mistakes.'
In Rush to Strike Syria, U.S. Tried to Derail U.N. Probe: -
After
initially insisting that Syria give United Nations investigators
unimpeded access to the site of an alleged nerve gas attack, the
administration of President Barack Obama reversed its position on
Sunday and tried unsuccessfully to get the U.N. to call off its
investigation.
Russia 'regrets' US decision to shelve Syria talks:
"It
is a pity that our western partners have decided to cancel the
bilateral US-Russian meeting to discuss calls for an international
conference on Syria,"
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's Press Conference
(Part 1)
- (Part 2)
Syrian Kurdish leader says Assad not to blame for attack:
He
suggested last Wednesday's attack, which the opposition says was
carried out by government forces and killed hundreds of people, was
aimed at framing Assad and provoking an international reaction. Assad
has denied his forces used chemical weapons.
Syria: Western Chemical Weapons Experts Cast Doubt on Obama Nerve Gas Claims:
Dan
Kaszeta, a former officer in the US Army's Chemical Corps, said
tell-tale signs of a chemical weapons attack were conspicuously absent
from footage shot in the aftermath of the attack.
US/UK/France could ATTACK Syria in days, envoys tell rebels:
Some
Western powers could attack Syria within days, envoys from the United
States and its allies have told rebels fighting President Bashar
al-Assad, sources who attended the meeting told Reuters on Tuesday.
What A US Strike On Syria Would Look Like:
Four
Arleigh Burke-class destroyers -- and probably a nuclear-powered
cruise missile submarine -- are already within Tomahawk cruise missile
range of Syrian targets. In addition, the United States can call upon
strategic bombers based in the continental United States as well as B-1
bombers from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
Former NATO commander: Syria strike a bad move: Video -
U.S. retired Col. Douglas Macgregor led Kosovo mission
Russia says strike on Syria won't be made easy:
An
unnamed Moscow official warned that the international community
wouldn't be granted an "easy victory" in Syria, pointing to what the
individual claimed was Damascus's sufficient air defense systems,
including surface-to-air missile systems, capable of thwarting severe
damage, the Russian Interfax news agency reported.
U.S. No Longer Seeking U.N., NATO Permission to Strike Syria:
Instead,
the U.S. has focused on building a rapid coalition consisting of the
United Kingdom, France and several Arab states, by sharing intelligence
evidence that U.S. officials say proves Bashir al Assad's regime was
responsible for last week's chemical weapons attack.
Iran warns against consequences of military action against Syria:
"Any
miscalculation of the situation in Syria would throw the entire region
into a a dangerous and complicated stage which will ...engulf all
regional countries," he added. Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman
Syria: Saudi Prince at the heart of the push for war:
Months
of applying pressure on the White House and Congress over Syria have
slowly born fruit. The CIA is believed to have been working with Prince
Bandar directly since last year in training rebels at base in Jordan
close to the Syrian border.
Saudis offer Russia secret oil deal if it drops Syria:
Saudi
Arabia has secretly offered Russia a sweeping deal to control the
global oil market and safeguard Russia's gas contracts, if the Kremlin
backs away from the Assad regime in Syria.
Iraq opposes use of airspace to strike Syria:
"We
do not agree to any use of our airspace ... to attack any neighbouring
country through our land," Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's spokesman
told AFP, asked if Baghdad would authorise the use of its airspace in
any action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Fact or fiction?
Assad wants brother dead:
In
my best estimation, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad wants his brother
Maher dead. Also, in my best estimation, it was Maher who unleashed
the gas attack without any warnings or orders from anyone, which is why
Russia has issued a statement saying a US military intervention will
not cause it to start a war. The Russians are happy if this surgical US
approach means Bashar can survive.
Palestinian negotiators say they canceled meet with Israelis after deadly clashes:
A
senior Palestinian official told Haaretz that the Palestinian envoys
to the peace talks canceled a meeting with their Israeli counterparts.
According to the official, the measure was meant to protest the deaths
of three Palestinians from Israeli gunfire during clashes at the
Qalandiya refugee camp earlier in the day.
Afghanistan aid workers among 12 civilians killed in pair of insurgent attacks:
Afghan
officials say insurgents have shot and killed 12 civilians, including
six aid workers working on government projects, in two separate
incidents.
Six Truck Drivers Killed By Insurgents in Paktia:
Taliban
insurgents killed six abducted truck drivers in eastern Paktia
province on Monday night after negotiations with relatives for their
release failed. The relatives of the drivers said they were abducted 11
days ago while on the way to Khost province.
US Kills 7 People In Pakistan; :
Seven
"militants", including a commander, have been killed in a drone strike
in the Watapur district of eastern Kunar province, an official said on
Tuesday
6 Killed in Militant Attack in Pakistan:
At
least six people were killed in militants' recent attack on a camp of
the security forces in the tribal region of South Waziristan.
10 Militants killed in police checkpoints attack in W. Afghanistan:
Ten
militants were killed Tuesday morning as they launched attack on
Afghan border police checkpoints in Bala Murghab district of the
western province of Badghis, a provincial source said, adding the clash
is still continuing there.
Venezuela says hitmen captured in plot to kill Maduro;
Venezuela
said it derailed a plot to kill President Nicolas Maduro, arresting
two hitmen it said wanted to assassinate the leftist leader on orders
from a Colombian conservative ex-president.
Report shows how recession hit families:
The
number of U.S. households with an unemployed parent and a child under
18 living at home soared from 2005 to 2011, a Census Bureau report
says.
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"Let us be peace and joy"
Tom Feeley
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