Hard News
Pakistan: Suicide attack kills 15 at Shiite mosque:
A suicide attack killed 15 people and wounded more than 25 others at a Shiite Muslim mosque and religious seminary on the edge of Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar, officials said.
Syrian troops ambush rebel fighters, killing 11: activists:
Syria's government troops on Thursday ambushed rebel fighters in the country's northern city of Aleppo, killing 11 of them, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Rebels hang on near Damascus, hope for deal on arms from Jordan:
Syrian rebels besieged in the outskirts of Damascus say they are facing a slow but steady advance by President Bashar al-Assad's forces, and are pinning their hopes on an anticipated influx of weapons from the Jordanian border.
Syrian rebels received arms that could 'change the course of the battle':
The rebel Free Syrian Army received a Russian-made air defense missile system, a source tells Al Arabiya. "We have received the first shipment of weapons two days ago, following pledges by several countries, especially the United States," FSA political and media coordinator Louay Muqdad said.
Rebels receive the first batch of sophiscated weapons: Video -
Lavrov: US actions may derail Syria peace conference:
Russia's foreign minister calls arms shipments to rebels a 'very big mistake,' says it's unrealistic that Assad will step down
U.N. expert: More arms for Syria mean more war crimes:
Increasing the flow of weapons to Syria's government and rebel forces will most likely cause an increase in war crimes in a two-year-old civil war that has killed more than 90,000 people, a U.N. human rights investigator warned on Friday.
Germany will not supply weapons to the Syrian opposition - Merkel:
This statement came from German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the press-conference after meeting with US president Barack Obama in Berlin.
Four U.S. senators seek to bar military aid to Syrian rebels:
Four senators introduced legislation on Thursday that would bar President Barack Obama from providing military aid to Syria's rebels, saying the administration has provided too little information about what they see as a risky intervention.
Friends of Syria (rebels) meeting in Qatar to discuss arming rebels:
Foreign ministers of the 11 countries that make up the "Friends of Syria" group are preparing to meet in Doha on Saturday to discuss arming the Syrian rebels, a senior French foreign ministry source told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Nick Clegg warns over Syria intervention:
Deputy prime minister tells LBC radio Britain must not become embroiled in a conflict it would struggle to influence
Russia says it will fulfil S-300 missile system contract with Syria:
"We respect all our contracts and are honouring all our contractual obligations," Lavrov said in an interview with state-run Rossiya 24 TV. "As yet, the contracts are not finished, they have not been delivered in full," he added.
Yak-130 Jets For Syria Awaiting 'Political Decision' - Source:
"They are standing outside the factory waiting for a political decision," a source with the Russian delegation at the Paris Air Show told RIA Novosti on Thursday, without revealing the number of planes.
Putin says he is concerned if Assad leaves power 'now':
"Assad goes today, a political vacuum emerges - who will fill it? Maybe ...terrorist organizations," Putin added.
David Cameron's Syrian 'coup' is little more than fantasy:
The Prime Minister has appealed to regime forces to rise up against their President. But this is not Libya
Special Report: How Syria's Islamists govern with guile and guns:
The United States and other Western powers support the Syrian National Coalition, a group of opposition figures based in Cairo. But the coalition has very little influence on the ground in Syria, so locals are increasingly turning to the Islamists as their best alternative to chaos.
Russia: West 'not sure' it can bring Syria rebels to peace meet:
Russia said on Thursday the West did not want to commit to a concrete timeframe for a proposed peace conference on Syria because it was not sure the opposition would agree to attend.
7 killed in suicide bomber attack after Iraqi vote:
A suicide bomber killed seven people at an Iraqi vote counting center on Thursday, June 20 evening, police said, hours after polls closed in two Sunni Muslim-dominated provinces, according to Reuters.
Half of eligible voters abstained from Iraq vote:
Many Iraqis stayed home for delayed elections in two restive Sunni-dominated provinces, with half of the eligible voters participating in one and even fewer casting ballots in the other, election officials said on Friday.
Lebanon: Man killed in Tripoli, three wounded in Bekaa clashesn:
Violence linked to the war in Syria claimed the life of a man in the Bekaa Valley Thursday, as sniping and clashes returned to the northern city of Tripoli.
Lebanese army seals parliament after protests, Syria-linked tension:
The Lebanese army sealed off Beirut's parliamentary district with razor wire and threatened stern action against violence on Friday after a night of unrest stoked by the war in Syria and political paralysis at home.
US Soldiers Deploying To Egypt: Video report -
They're planning ahead for violent protests or riots and the possibility of protecting the country's border with Israel.
Israeli Security Guard Kills Jewish Man Reportedly Shouting 'Allahu Akbar' at Jerusalem's Western Wall:
Police Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld tells the Jerusalem Post that the guard opened fire after suspecting him to be a Palestinian terrorist, but that the victim was in fact a 46-year-old Jewish man.
Netanyahu won't ask U.S. to exempt aid to Israel in defense cuts:
Under the sequester, the across-the-board cuts mandated by 2011 legislation, Washington is set to cut more than $150 million from the annual $3.1 billion package to Israel.
Israeli doctors harvesting organs for international trafficking ring:
Costa Rica says ring allegedly sold kidneys to patients in Israel, East Europe; Health Ministry: No knowledge of reported cases.
UN denounces Libya arrests, torture:
The UN Security Council on Friday condemned what it said were arbitrary arrests and torture in Libya. The council said thousands of people are being detained outside the authority of the state and without access to due process.
Benghazi: violence continues:
Libya is being propelled towards chaos and the government is too weak to stop it, reports
Chaos, Islamist threat plague Libya's lawless desert south:
The south has seen rising violence, weapons and drug trafficking and an influx of illegal immigrants, leading the national assembly to declare the region a military zone, a decree the weak government has little power to enforce.
Turkey protesters put signs down, start talking strategy:
Aware that the effectiveness of their protests is waning, Turkey's antigovernment protesters are now focusing on giving their movement staying power beyond Istanbul.
Democratic Left withdraws from Greek coalition government:
The moderate leftist party's departure is a blow to the conservative Samaras, who now has a three-seat majority in parliament. In a televised address after midnight, he said he was ready to press ahead without the leftists if necessary.
Brazil unrest: 'Million' join protests in 100 cities:
Violence erupted in many places and an 18-year-old man died when a car drove through a barricade in Sao Paulo state.
Brazil in 90 seconds: From price rises to protests: Video -
The BBC's Alastair Leithead explains how the protests took on a life of their own - in just 90 seconds.
Gilad Atzmon : Gaza in Brazil :
In case you are perplexed by Brazil's police violence, The Lab, a new Israeli film by Yotam Feldaman, provides the answers.
Social Awakening in Brazil: Op-Ed:
For all of Brazil's achievements over the past few decades - a stronger economy, democratic elections, more money and attention directed toward the needs of the poor - there is still a huge gap between the promises of Brazil's ruling leftist politicians and the harsh realities of day-to-day life outside the political and business elite.
US Gulag:
Force-Feeding Is Ugly: An Illustrated Guide:
At Guantanamo Bay, 44 hunger strikers are kept alive with an incredibly painful, ethically questionable, and politically sensitive procedure. Here, in excruciating detail, is how it works.
The Writhing, Miserable Reality of Force Feeding at Guantánamo Bay:
Hunger strikers at Guantánamo Bay will have tubes shoved up their noses, down their throats, and into their stomachs. It's grisly, excruciating, and ethically dubious. By Kent Sepkowitz.
GCHQ taps fibre-optic cables for secret access to world's communications:
British spy agency collects and stores vast quantities of global email messages, Facebook posts, internet histories and calls, and shares them with NSA, latest documents from Edward Snowden reveal
Mastering the internet: how GCHQ set out to spy on the world wide web?:
Project Tempora - the evolution of a secret programme to capture vast amounts of web and phone data
AP CEO Says Government Sources Won't Talk After Justice Department Probe:
The CEO of the Associated Press told an audience Wednesday that the Department of Justice has succeeded in muzzling government employees from talking to AP reporters in the weeks since the seizure of AP phone records was revealed.
FBI Admits It Surveils U.S. With Drones:
The FBI uses drones for surveillance of stationary subjects, and the privacy implications of such operations are "worthy of debate," FBI Director Robert Mueller said Wednesday.
FBI's Robert Mueller: Feds need broader surveillance powers:
FBI Director Robert Mueller told lawmakers - some already skeptical of government surveillance - that the feds may need additional powers to track down criminals who hide their activities online.
Skype's secret Project Chess reportedly helped NSA access customers' data:
Scheme - set up before firm was purchased by Microsoft - allegedly eased access for US law enforcement agencies
Death Toll in Indian Monsoon Flooding Nears 600:
Rescuers found bodies in the River Ganges and in the muddy, broken earth left by landslides, raising the death toll from monsoon flooding in mountainous northern India to nearly 600 Friday, officials said.
Megadrought in U.S. Southwest:A Bad Omen for Forests Globally:
Scientists studying a prolonged and severe drought in the southwestern U.S. say that extensive damage done to trees in that region portends what lies in store as other forests worldwide face rising temperatures, diminished rainfall, and devastating fires.
Half of Canada indigenous children live in poverty: Study:
"Half of aboriginal children in Canada are living in poverty, it's three times the national average and officials say fixing it would cost more than 500 million dollars," said the study conducted by the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives.
6 Unbelievable Ways the Big Banks Are Scamming You:
his week, ProPublica released a report detailing the shocking ways that Bank of America has been pushing homeowners into foreclosure. Employees lied about documentation and falsified paperwork to force families out of their homes
Gallup Poll Shows Only One in Four Americans Trusts Newspapers, TV News:
Confidence in newspapers declined from 28 percent in 2011 and 25 percent in 2012. This year's results show that only 15 percent of conservatives have confidence in newspapers, down from 21 percent in the previous two years.
===
"Let us be peace and joy"
Tom Feeley
| 
