Car bomb, clashes kill over 30 near Syrian capital:
Syrian rebels blow up an army checkpoint outside Damascus on Saturday and more than 30 combatants from both sides died in the blast and ensuing clashes, a monitoring group said.
Syria: At least 16 soldiers killed in blast in pro-Government Damascus suburb:
According to AFP, at least 16 Syrian soldiers were killed in the car explosion, perpetrated by a suicide bomber from the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra.
Syria: UN aid chief calls for urgent ceasefire in Moadamiyah:
The UN's humanitarian chief has called for an "immediate pause in hostilities" in Moadamiyah, a rebel-held suburb of the Syrian capital, Damascus. Valerie Amos said 3,000 people were evacuated last Sunday, but that the same number were trapped in the town amid continuing shelling and fighting.
Syria must allow aid convoys to starving civilians, says US:
Washington said the army's months-long siege left many people in desperate need of food, water and medicine.
Saudi U.N. draft condemns Syrian regime, Hezbollah:
As a stunned world watched Saudi Arabia spurn a seat on the U.N Security Council, the Gulf state has been quietly circulating a General Assembly draft resolution that condemns Hezbollah's intervention in Syria and the regime's use of chemical weapons and heavy aerial bombardment against the population.
Hamas, in forced bow to Iran, apologizes for backing Syrian rebels:
On Oct. 14, Hamas issued a reversal of its longtime support for the Sunni revolt in Syria. Executive Council deputy chief Mussa Abu Marzouk, in an unprecedented statement, said Hamas was wrong to oppose the Assad government when the Sunni revolt erupted in 2011.
Propaganda alert: Report:
Israel mulls destroying missiles transferred from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon:
Israel has information on the location of long-range missiles transferred from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon and is considering taking military action to destroy the weapons, Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida reported on Friday.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh reaffirms resistance in speech marking second anniversary of prisoners swap:
"We learnt from the experiences of other nations that it is important to take both pathways: resistance and negotiations," he affirmed. "The only beneficiary of these negotiations is the Israeli occupation, which improves its image before the international community."
Six people killed in Iraq's violence:
A total of six people were killed and 19 wounded in separate bombings and shootings in Iraq on Saturday, police said.
Interpreters wait for promise of life in USA:
The United States promised Iraqis and Afghans that they would be eligible to come to the USA when their work was done. But many have been waiting years for their visas and fear for their lives.
Suspected al-Qaida fighters kill Yemeni colonel:
A Yemeni security official says suspected al-Qaida militants have killed a security officer and his driver in a drive-by shooting in the country's southeast.
US and Iran Speak 'Same Language' in Nuclear Talks:
"The good news, we are getting to a place where one can imagine we could possibly have a process that could lead to an agreement," a senior US administration official, speaking not for attribution, told journalists Wednesday at the end of two days of nuclear negotiations here, the first since the June election of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
Senators pledgeto defy White House on Iran sanctions:
Senators propose to increase Iran sanctions, saying Iran's approach to talks this week are proof existing sanctions have worked and a threat of more would convince Iran to dismantle nuclear facilities.
The human costs of the Iran sanctions:
Iranian-Americans, who are allowed under U.S. law to send money to elderly parents in Iran, cannot find any bank in the United States or Europe that will wire the funds.
Somali suicide bombing kills 16 people:
At least 16 people have been killed and more than 30 injured after a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded restaurant in the central Somali town of Beledweyne. The Islamist militant group al-Shabab has said it carried out the attack.
Tunisia says nine 'terrorists' killed, bombs seized:
Tunisian security forces killed nine "terrorists" and seized two tonnes of explosives on Saturday in a military operation near where two policemen were killed two days earlier, the defence ministry said
Egypt unrest: Bomb hits Ismailiya intelligence HQ:
A car bomb has exploded outside a military intelligence building in the Egyptian city of Ismailiya, north-east of Cairo.
US increases military operations in Africa for 'strategic interests':
The US military is stepping up its military activity "in Africa to seize control of natural resources and strategic waterways and also to block the People's Republic of China from enhancing its relationship with various African states," Azikiwe said.
US kill 12 people in eastern Afghanistan:
Three separate US killer drone attacks have claimed the lives of a dozen people in eastern Afghanistan in less than 24 hours, Press TV reports.
Afghanistan: Two killed in Kabul suicide attack:
At least two people, including the attacker, were killed and four suffered injuries when a suicide car bomb went off near a complex housing foreign nationals in Kabul Friday evening, police said.
US buys right to kill Pakistani citizens:
Report: US to release $1.6 billion in aid to Pakistan:
The Obama administration is quietly releasing more than $1.6 billion in frozen military and financial assistance to Pakistan, ahead of the prime minister's visit to the White House this week.
US has killed far more civilians with drones than it admits: UN:
A new report from a special U.N. investigator says drone strikes have killed far more civilians than U.S. officials have publicly acknowledged - at least 400 in Pakistan and as many as 58 in Yemen - and chides the U.S. for failing to aid the investigation by disclosing its own figures.
What Were US Mercenaries Doing In Indian Waters?
India arrests crew of US ship on weapons charges:
Police in a southern Indian port city arrested the crew of a U.S.-owned ship Friday for entering Indian waters illegally with a large cache of weapons and ammunition on board.
8 Ways WikiLeaks Cables About a Tiny Country Like Iceland Expose the Dark Depths of American Empire:
A Chelsea Manning-leaked cable showed how Iceland asked the U.S. to stop European "bullying," just the first of a deluge of revelations detailing how America throws around its weight.
Snoop Flies Coop: NSA head to quit after lying, failing to explain spy overreach :
Army general Keith Alexander, who is the NSA's longest-serving chief, has come under intense pressure since whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the vast scale of government snooping.
The U.S.'s 64-Square-Foot "Torture Chambers":
He has not had human contact or a good night's sleep in nearly three decades. Every single day, he wakes to the sound of metal doors clanging open and a pair of disembodied hands pushing a tray of food through a slot into his 64-square-foot cell.
Somali girl trafficked into UK to have organs harvested, says Government report:
The girl's organs were intended to be sold to people seeking a transplant, and child protection charities warned the case was unlikely to be an isolated incident.
The Economist: Who Will Be Left Holding the Bag With Junk Bonds?:
The junk market is now bigger than big, about $1.7 trillion, and The Economist reported almost half of all corporate bonds are classified as "speculative," or junk.
JPMorgan to pay $11 billion bribe:
JPMorgan Chase has reached a tentative deal to pay about $4 billion to settle charges about mortgages it sold during the height of the housing boom, according to reports. The bank, which is the largest in the country, would pay $7 billion in cash and provide $4 billion of consumer relief.
Controversial Calif Plan to Reduce Foreclosures: Video report:
Officials in a struggling California city are pushing a plan to use the power of eminent domain to seize "underwater" mortgages and help homeowners at risk of foreclosure. But some say the plan is illegal and could hurt the local economy.
As holidays near, food stamp recipients face cut:
Millions of food stamp recipients can expect to see their benefits reduced beginning in November-and that could end up being just the beginning of deeper cuts to the food stamp program.
