| Hard News
Nigeria: At least 87 people killed in Benisheik raid:
At
least 87 people have been killed in an attack by Boko Haram militants
in Nigeria's north-eastern Borno state, according to local officials.
Disguised in military uniforms, the militants set up checkpoints
outside the town of Benisheik and shot dead those trying to flee,
witnesses said.
Who are Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists?:
Boko
Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it "haram", or
forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity
associated with Western society. This includes voting in elections,
wearing shirts and trousers or receiving a secular education.
56 killed in Yemen army camp attack:
Suspected
al-Qaeda militants killed at least 56 soldiers and policemen in three
simultaneous attacks in southern Yemen on Friday, military sources and
civilian officials said.
16 killed, 15 hurt in Iraq mosque attack:
The
two bombs exploded in the Musab bin Omair Mosque near the city of
Samarra, 120 km north of the capital Baghdad, a police source told
Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Syria: 14 Alawites killed in Homs blast:
A
roadside bomb killed at least 14 members of President Bashar Al
Assad's minority Alawite on Thursday in the central Syrian province of
Homs, an opposition monitoring group said.
Robert Fisk in Damascus: Assad's troops may be winning this war in Syria's capital - untouched by Obama's threats :
The killing fields remain, and truth is as rare as hope
Syria 'al-Qaeda fighters' agree to truce with Free Syrian Army:
Al-Qaeda affiliated fighters who have been battling Syrian rebels for control of border town have agreed to ceasefire.
Hundreds of Syria rebels pledge loyalty to Qaeda groups:
Not
only individual fighters, but entire units have joined the small but
powerful al Qaeda-linked groups - the Nusra Front and the Islamic State
of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) - in recent days, according to sources
inside Syria.
U.S.-backed Syrian rebels being shoved aside by radical Islamists:
On
Wednesday, extremists captured the north Syrian town of Azaz, killing
eight Free Syrian Army troops and support personnel and effectively
blocking a primary supply route from the nearby Turkish border to Free
Syrian Army forces in Aleppo. Turkey closed the border crossing
Thursday, while Free Syrian Army forces battled to regain control.
France suggests it is ready to give weapons to Syria rebels: -
French
President Francois Hollande suggested for the first time on Thursday
that Paris could arm Syrian rebels in a "controlled framework," given
that they were now caught between the Syrian government on one side and
radical Islamists on the other.
Syria's main arms suppliers among least generous aid donors, says Oxfam:
France,
the most vociferous supporter of the opposition in western Europe, has
given less than half its fair share, the Oxfam report found.
Fact or fiction?
Syria's government will call for a ceasefire: Exclusive:
Deputy PM says neither side is strong enough to win and government may call for ceasefire at Geneva talks
Syrian deputy prime minister suggests 'ceasefire' - audio:
Recording
of Qadri Jamil, Syria's deputy prime minister, suggesting in an
interview with the Guardian's Jonathan Steele that the Assad government
will call for a 'ceasefire' at the planned Geneva 2 peace conference
Jamil denies ceasefire comment:
Syria's
deputy prime minister Qadri Jamil has appeared on Russia Today's
Arabic channel to deny telling the Guardian that Syria would call for a
ceasefire at the planned Geneva 2 peace conference (thanks to Ramil
al-Lolah for spotting the interview).
Jamil's party clarifies ceasefire comments:
In
a letter to Guardian, a spokesman for the People-Want Party, claimed
Jamil was talking in his capacity as leader of the party, not as a
member of the Assad government when discussing the possible peace
negotiations.
Syria submits chemical weapons inventory:
Diplomatic
efforts to speed up the process are moving slowly. A meeting initially
scheduled for Sunday at which the organization's 41-nation executive
council was to have discussed a U.S.-Russian plan to swiftly rid Syria
of chemical weapons was postponed Friday and no new date was
immediately set.
Syria's main arms suppliers among least generous aid donors, says Oxfam:
Countries
in the forefront of arming either side in Syria's civil war have been
among the least generous when it comes to dealing with the resulting
humanitarian disaster, according to a new Oxfam report.
After U.S. failed to thwart vote : UN nuclear assembly rejects Arab resolution to single out Israel:
Fifty-one
countries voted against and 43 states for the resolution that calls on
Israel to join a global anti-nuclear weapons treaty.
White House hints Obama may meet with Iranian president over sanctions:
Obama administration praises 'welcome rhetoric' over nuclear weapons and says meeting is possible next week in New York
President Rouhani urges leaders to engage with Iran:
Iranian president publishes article in US newspaper in latest sign he wants to thaw relations with Western nations.
President Rouhani : Why Iran seeks constructive engagement: Op-Ed:
The
world has changed. International politics is no longer a zero-sum game
but a multi-dimensional arena where cooperation and competition often
occur simultaneously. Gone is the age of blood feuds. World leaders are
expected to lead in turning threats into opportunities.
Engineering Consent For Attack On Iran:
No time left for negotiations with Iran:
Israeli
minister: Iran is on course to develop a nuclear bomb within six
months and time has run out for further negotiations, a senior Israeli
minister said.
Rouhani's Jewish MP escort to UN has blasted 'inhuman' Israel:
The
Jewish parliament member set to accompany Iranian President Hasan
Rouhani to a UN summit in New York next week is a critic of Israel who
has dubbed its treatment of Palestinians "inhuman."
Israel: IDF seizes EU diplomats' West Bank aid supply:
Reuters
reporter sees soldiers throw sound grenades at group of EU diplomats,
aid workers, locals in West Bank. IDF reportedly seizes aid supply
Israeli soldiers manhandle European diplomats seeking to aid demolished Palestinian village:
"They
dragged me out of the truck and forced me to the ground with no regard
for my diplomatic immunity," French diplomat Marion Castaing said.
Taliban kill 18 Afghan police in northeast:
Taliban
militants in northeast Afghanistan killed 18 police in an ambush, the
government said Friday, as security forces struggle against the rebels
with decreasing assistance from international troops.
Philippine troops kill eight Muslim rebels in city battles:
Heavy
clashes broke out in parts of Zamboanga city on Thursday and eight
rebels were killed and 15 surrendered in one district, said an army
spokesman.
U.K. Spy Agency Hacked Belgian Phone Company in "Op Socialist" Spy Mission, Snowden Reveals:
Secret
files, disclosed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and published
by Der Spiegel Friday, show how the British spy agency GCHQ hatched a
plot to infiltrate Belgacom, a partly state-owned Belgian telecom
company. Belgacom's customers, according to Der Spiegel, include
institutions like the European Commission, the European Council, and
the European Parliament.
No place to hide:
Calls grow for City University of New York to drop David Petraeus following police attack on protest:
Video
- Six protesters were arrested Wednesday while peacefully protesting
the City University of New York's newest adjunct professor - ex-general
and C.I.A. chief David Petraeus
US nearly detonated atomic bomb over North Carolina - secret document:
Journalist uses Freedom of Information Act to disclose 1961 accident in which one switch averted catastrophe
US denies Maduro airspace access for China trip: Venezuela:
The
United States has refused permission for President Nicolas Maduro's
plane to fly through its airspace when the Venezuelan leader travels to
China this weekend, Caracas said Thursday.
Venezuela 'ends' bid to restore full US ties:
Venezuela
says it has "ended" steps towards restoring diplomatic ties with the
US, after comments by the woman nominated as the next envoy to the UN.
Samantha Power said this week she would seek to combat what she called
the "crackdown on civil society" in countries including Venezuela.
DOJ Still Can't Do Math: Terrorist Statistics Inflated, Double Counted And Badly Organized:
Of
all the unsurprising news of inflated numbers and double-counting
contained in the Office of Inspector General's (OIG) audit of the DOJ's
reported terrorism statistics, this sentence from the introduction of
the report is the least surprising -- and by extension, the most
damning.
Navy Yard: Swat team 'stood down' at mass shooting scene:
One
of the first teams of heavily armed police to respond to Monday's
shooting in Washington DC was ordered to stand down by superiors, the
BBC can reveal. A tactical response team of the Capitol Police, a force
that guards the US Capitol complex, was told to leave the scene by a
supervisor instead of aiding municipal officers.
JPMorgan receives wrist slap fine for hiding derivatives loss:
JPMorgan
Chase, the largest US bank, settled charges related to its
multi-billion dollar 2012 trading loss Thursday with four regulators,
paying a total of $920 million in fines. Separately, the bank paid $80
million to regulators in a settlement over fraudulent credit card fees.
5 Years After the Financial Crisis, The Big Banks Are Still Committing Massive Crimes:
Here
are just some of the improprieties by big banks over the last century
(you'll see that many shenanigans are continuing today):
Druckenmiller: Fed robbing poor to pay rich: Video -
The
Federal Reserve isn't just inflating markets but is shifting a massive
amount of wealth from the middle class and poor to the rich, according
to billionaire hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller.
Obama to nominate Goldman Sachs partner as new ambassador to Canada:
U.S.
President Barack Obama says he will nominate Bruce Heyman, a former
fundraiser for the Democrats and partner at Goldman Sachs, as the new
ambassador to Canada.
7 in 10 Americans Think Government Is For The Banks And Big Corps (Not The People):
72%
of the poor and 71% of the middle-class believe government policies
(fiscal and monetary) have done little or nothing to help them.
===
"Let us be peace and joy"
Tom Feeley
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