| Hard News
Campus blasts kill 87 in Syria's Aleppo:
Twin blasts ripped through university buildings in Syria's second city Aleppo, killing at least 87people and wounding scores more, on the first day of exams for students. Regime forces and rebels blamed each other for the carnage, in a government-controlled area of the battleground northern city.
Triple car bombing in Syria kills at least 22:
Suicide bombers driving vehicles packed with explosives blew themselves up near security targets in northern Syria on Wednesday, killing at least 22 people, state-run media and activists said.
Fact or fiction:
Secret State Department cable: Chemical weapons used in Syria:
The cable, signed by the U.S. consul general in Istanbul, Scott Frederic Kilner, and sent to State Department headquarters in Washington last week, outlined the results of the consulate's investigation into reports from inside Syria that chemical weapons had been used in the city of Homs
US: No chemical weapons used in Syria:
The United States on Tuesday poured cold water on a media report that chemical weapons had been used in the Syrian conflict, but reiterated that if Syrian President Bashar al Assad's government did resort to these weapons, it would be held to account.
Syria allows U.N. to step up food aid:
Syria's government has authorised the World Food Programme (WFP) to extend its reach in the war-torn country where 2.5 million people are suffering from hunger, the United Nations agency's chief said on Wednesday.
New Push in U.S. for Tougher Sanctions, War Threats Against Iran:
The report, "U.S. Nonproliferation Strategy for the Changing Middle East," also said Washington should "increase Iranian isolation, including through regime change in Syria" and "undertake...overt preparations for the use of warplanes and/or missiles to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities with high explosives".
Wave of Iraq attacks leave 33 dead: -
Attacks in Baghdad and northern Iraq killed 33 people on Wednesday as hundreds attended the funeral of a Sunni MP who died in a suicide attack a day earlier, amid a political crisis engulfing Iraq.
Iraq anti-Maliki protests continue unabated:
Sunni Arab tribesmen have taken over centre of Samarra for weeks to protest against government's 'injustices'.
Turkish jets pound over 50 Kurd rebel targets in Iraq:
"Sixteen F-16 fighter jets took off from their base in Diyarbakir in the southeast at around 2000 GMT Tuesday and bombed the (rebel) targets in Qandil mountain in northern Iraq, 90 kilometres from the border," a military source said.
Obama: 'Israel Doesn't Know What Its Best Interests Are': Op-Ed:
Obama said privately and repeatedly, "Israel doesn't know what its own best interests are." With each new settlement announcement, in Obama's view, Netanyahu is moving his country down a path toward near-total isolation.
Gunmen kill security official south of Yemen's Sanaa:
Gunmen killed the deputy security chief of Dhamar province, south of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, an interior ministry official said, less than a month after an adviser to the minister of defence was shot dead in Sanaa.
Mali conflict: French 'fighting Islamists in Diabaly':
French troops have been fighting Mali's Islamist rebels in street battles in the town of Diabaly, Malian and French sources say.
Mali's Islamist groups united by war threat:
A powerful southern offensive by Islamists in Mali last week, halted only by French air strikes, showed that a loose alliance of rebels from al Qaeda's North African wing and local groups has been united by the threat of foreign intervention.
U.S. weighs military support for France's campaign against Mali militants:
The Obama administration is considering significant military backing for France's drive against al-Qaeda-linked militants in Mali, but its support for a major ally could test U.S. legal boundaries and stretch counterterrorism resources in a murky new conflict.
Mali: Italy to offer France logistical support:
Giampaolo Di Paola, the defence minister, told the Italian Senate that the logistical support would be confined to air operations, not ground operations.
Germany to send transport planes to Mali:
Germany has said it is sending two transport planes to Mali to help shore up an initial battle against Islamist insurgents. French ground troops already in Mali were set to engage directly with the rebels Wednesday.
Somalia: Al-Shabab sentence French agent to death:
Somali armed group says hostage held for three years will be executed in response to failed French rescue bid.
Algeria: French National Killed and Five Japanese BP Workers Abducted by Al-Qaida Islamists:
Islamists have stepped up retaliation against French military intervention in Mali by abducting six BP workers, five Japanese and one Irishman, and killing their French colleague at an oil facility in southern Algeria.
Briton reported killed in kidnap raid in Algeria:
David Cameron holds crisis Cobra meeting after claims that militant group is holding 41 hostages
Car bomb kills policeman in Benghazi as Libya violence escalates:
A car bomb killed a police officer in Benghazi early on Wednesday, a police source said, the second attack on the eastern city's security forces in two days.
Libya paid Mauritania $200 million to extradite ex-spy chief: lawyer:
Libya authorized payment of almost $200 million to Mauritania months after it extradited the Libyan ex-spy chief to face trial at home in defiance of an International Criminal Court warrant for his arrest, Libyan government documents show.
Arab Spring makes region $225 billion poorer:
Ousting dictators doesn't come cheap. Between 2011 and 2015 the total lost economic output in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia is expected to amount to $225 billion. That is at least 10 percent of the cumulative GDP estimated by the International Monetary Fund in 2010 for those five years.
Pakistanis protest killing of 18 in village raid:
Several thousand people rallied Wednesday in northwestern Pakistan, denouncing the killing of 18 local villagers in an overnight raid they blamed on security forces and displaying the victims' bodies in the provincial capital in a sign of protest.
Pakistan cleric propels protest into third day:
Pakistani protesters rallied for a third day on Wednesday in the largest political demonstration seen for years in the capital, calling on the government to quit after the Supreme Court ordered the arrest of the prime minister.
Pakistan soldier 'killed' in Kashmir shooting:
Pakistani FM accuses India of "warmongering" after Islamabad says one its soldiers was killed by Indian troops.
India, Pakistan reach "understanding" on Kashmir tensions:
It comes after a deadly flare-up along the border region last week, in which two soldiers from each country were killed.
Kabul suicide blast left 10 killed, as many wounded:
An allegedly suicide attack took place between Zambaq and Sadarat squares, close the NDS headquarter, killing and wounding ten people including the security troops in the capital, but spokesman for the ministry of interior said the situation was now under police control.
The US Will Give Afghanistan Its Very Own Fleet of Drones:
In his first media appearance since visiting President Obama in Washington, Hamid Karzai announced that the United States had agreed to give his country a fleet of drones.
Tony Benn hits out at unelected EU officials:
Veteran Labour politician Tony Benn has criticised unelected officials who run the European Union and accused them of "empire-building". He speaks to VoR about his view that the UK should remain within the EU but "not be part of the empire".
'Aaron was killed by the government' - Robert Swartz on his son's death:
"Aaron did not commit suicide but was killed by the government," Robert Swartz said during Tuesday's service at the Central Avenue Synagogue in Highland Park, Illinois. "Someone who made the world a better place was pushed to his death by the government."
Internet Activist's Prosecutor Linked To Another Hacker's Death:
Prosecutor Stephen Heymann has been blamed for contributing to Swartz's suicide. Back in 2008, young hacker Jonathan James killed himself in the midst of a federal investigation led by the same prosecutor.
Obama unveils gun control proposals: Video -
Mr Obama has said he favours bans on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, as well as broader background checks.
New York state enacts tougher gun control measures:
Obama to reveal federal gun control plan on Wednesday
Unmasking the NRA's Inner Circle:
The NRA's shadowy leaders include the CEO who sells Bushmaster assault rifles and a top director who lives in Newtown.
Germany to repatriate gold from US and France:
Bundesbank voiced plans to withdraw its entire 450-ton store of gold bullion from the Bank of France in Paris, and a portion of the 1,500 tons currently held by the New York Federal Reserve, Handelsblatt reported.
We must focus on the working poor:
New analysis of the most recent U.S. Census American Community Survey by the Working Poor Families Project shows that the number of low-income working families in the United States has increased to 10.4 million in 2011, up from 10.2 million a year earlier.
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"Let us be peace and joy"
Tom Feeley
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