Hard News
14 Iraq border police killed at fake checkpoint: police:
Militants
set up a fake checkpoint in west Iraq and ambushed a convoy of border
policemen on Wednesday, killing 14 and setting fire to the bodies of
two of their victims, officials said.
Report of chemical weapon production by terrorists in Iraq worries Russia:
"The
reports coming from Baghdad confirm the ever-rising urgency to execute
maximum vigilance over the terrorists' attempts in Syria and Iraq to
stage provocations using chemical materials with no reservations on
possible civilian casualties," the ministry's Press and Information
Department said in a statement.
10 people killed as Yemen launches assault on al Qaeda:
A
Yemeni military source said three soldiers, including the force
commander, and at least seven militants were killed in the fighting at
Ghail Bawazeer, north of the Hadramout provincial capital of
al-Mukalla.
Syrian army retakes key town of Qusair from rebels:
Syrian
state TV said a large number of rebels had died and many had
surrendered. The rebels said they withdrew overnight in the face of a
massive assault.
Analysts: Qusayr fall gives Syria regime upper hand:
The
regime has "the advantage right now" while the rebels are "losing
morale", said Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Doha Center. "What Qusayr
confirms is that the regime's fall is not inevitable and in fact, the
rebels might actually lose," analyst Hamid told AFP.
Syrian army retakes Golan crossing point from rebels:
Hours
after opposition victory over Assad regime forces at Quneitra, media
reports indicate that Syrian soldiers have taken back border crossing;
IDF tells Golan farmers to keep away from border after mortar shell
lands nearby.
Syria: President Assad's forces plan to re-take Aleppo:
The
opposition holds about half of the northern city, and a battle to
retake it is likely to be bloody with the opposition aware that failure
to hang on to their positions would be a setback.
Idriss: Syria rebels ready to move battles into Lebanon:
Salim
Idriss, the commander of the Syrian rebel forces, warned Wednesday
that fighters seeking to oust President Bashar Assad could target
Hezbollah in Lebanon if authorities failed to put a stop to the
resistance group's activities in Syria.
Beheadings by Syrian Rebels Add to Atrocities, UN Says:
Syrian
opposition forces recruited a 14-year-old boy from Homs as a fighter
and had a child take part in beheading two government soldiers,
according to a United Nations report citing human-rights abuses by both
sides in Syria's civil war.
Russia: Syria rights report biased, silent on 'terrorist acts':
The
report by U.N. investigators noted torture, abductions and other
abuses by insurgents, but "preferred not to qualify bombings carried
out by rebels in Syrian cities as terrorist acts", the Russian
statement said.
Syrian war widens Sunni-Shia schism as foreign jihadis join fight for shrines:
Syrian rebels say they respect all holy sites but damage to Sayyida Zeinab shrine has spurred 10,000 Shias to volunteer
'Tests prove Syria sarin use': France : Video report: -
France says it has carried out tests which prove Syrian government forces have used nerve gas.
Russia says reports of chemical arms in Syria must not bring intervention:
Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that reports chemical
weapons have being used in Syria should not be used to justify foreign
military intervention in the more than two-year-old conflict, reported
Reuters.
Bashar al-Assad is not the one really in control of Syria, claims cousin:
"Bashar
Assad is not his father, he did not build the regime he inherited it.
"He people around his father are the ones sustaining, the Baath party
the generals in the secret service and military, they are the ones who
are really in control.
U.S. missile defense system to remain in Jordan after training exercise there:
Patriot
batteries, which were deployed along the Turkish border this year,
could be used to establish a no-fly zone in Syria. The Obama
administration has been reluctant to intervene militarily in the civil
war, but several U.S. lawmakers are pressing for Washington to play a
more assertive role.
US to deploy missiles, F-16s in Jordan for protection against Syria, official says:
Washington
is deploying one or two Patriot missile launchers on the northern
border with Syria and a squadron of 12 to 24 F-16 warplanes as part of
the international military maneuver "Eager Lion."
Syrian MP: Assad's army gets green light to strike back at Israel:
The
Syrian regime army has the green light to respond to any future
Israeli attack without referring back to its "leadership," a Syrian
lawmaker has told a Lebanese television station, warning that Syria is
ready for an "open war."
US Calls Iran's Nuclear Reactor Plans 'Deeply Troubling':
Iran
hit back, saying the IAEA had had continuous access to Arak and that
the United States, which accuses Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons
capability, could not be trusted after going to war in Iraq over
reports of weapons of mass destruction that were never found.
Turkish soldier wounded by gunfire from Syria:
A
Turkish soldier was wounded in a clash with gunmen in a group of about
500 people trying to cross into Turkey from Syria, the Turkish
military said on Thursday.
Bulgaria now says Hezbollah's role in bus bombing unproven:
Bulgaria
said on Wednesday it only had an "indication" that Lebanon's Hezbollah
might have been behind a deadly bus bombing in July and that this
alone did not justify any European Union move to list it as a terrorist
group.
Striking workers join Turkey protest:
Thousands
of striking workers took to the streets of Turkey's cities, loudly
joining calls for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to step down as
mass protests against his rule intensified.
Dozens arrested in Turkey for tweeting about protest:
Turkish
police have detained at least 25 Twitter users for allegedly spreading
false reports, as anti-government demonstrations in Turkey continue
for a sixth day.
On the Front Lines in Turkey:
10 Photos From the Anti-Government Protests
Turkey Protests: List Of Demands Presented As Unrest Intensifies:
The
activist group denounced Erdogan's "vexing'' style and urged the
government to halt Taksim Square redevelopment plans, ban the use of
tear gas by police, the immediate release of all detained protesters
and the lifting of restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly.
Turkey angry at US comments on protests:
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu tells US Secretary of State John Kerry that Turkey is 'not a second-class democracy'.
Two blasts kill six civilians in southern Afghan province:
At
least six civilians died in two explosions in Afghanistan's volatile
Helmand province, a spokesman for the provincial governor said.
Afghans Say New Bodies Have Been Found Near a Former U.S. Base:
Soon
after family members found what they believe are the bodies of the
last three people still missing out of 17 Afghan men detained by an
American Special Forces team in Wardak Province, another tragedy found
them: they said one person was killed and another was critically
wounded on Tuesday when Afghan Army troops opened fire on the family
members
Afghan arrest puts spotlight on US special forces:
AN
AFGHAN army colonel has been arrested for illegally handing prisoners
to a man working with a US special forces team that was accused of
torture and killings in the country's Wardak province.
US soldier expected to plead guilty to killing 16 Afghan civillians during raids:
The
American soldier charged with killing 16 Afghan civilians during
nighttime raids on two slumbering villages last year is expected to
recount the horrific slaughter in a military courtroom Wednesday when
he pleads guilty to avoid the death penalty.
Afghans angry at 'lenient' Robert Bales massacre sentence:
Residents
of Afghan villages where a US soldier went on a rampage last year have
reacted with anger that he has escaped the death penalty. Most of the
victims were women or children, and many of them were shot in the head.
Some of the bodies were piled up and burnt.
Pakistan: New PM wants US drone strikes to end:
"We
respect the sovereignty of others and they should also respect our
sovereignty and independence. This campaign should come to an end," he
said, calling for a comprehensive strategy to root out extremism.
US drone attacks are further radicalising Pakistan: Op-Ed:
President Obama might believe he is rooting out terrorists, but the drone attacks in Pakistan are also creating more radicals
'America is our worst enemy': Pakistani victim of US drone strike speaks out:
A
review of classified US intelligence records has revealed that the CIA
could not confirm the identity of about one-quarter of those killed by
drone strikes in Pakistan during a period spanning 2010 and 2011.
2 Tunisian soldiers killed in blast near Algerian border:
The incident is the latest in a series of attacks on soldiers pursuing militant Islamists along the border.
Mali army 'clashes with separatist MNLA rebels':
It
is the first time the Malian army has fought against the Tuareg
separatists since France intervened militarily in January. The
separatists have said they will not allow the Malian authorities into
Kidal ahead of the poll.
Al Qaeda weapons expert: U.S. ambassador to Libya killed by lethal injection:
An
FBI spokeswoman indicated that the bureau is aware of the claim but
declined to comment because of the ongoing investigation into the
Benghazi attacks.
WikiLeaks' Assange says leaker Manning is 'political prisoner' in show trial:
Julian
Assange, founder of the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, says that
Bradley Manning, the Army private accused of aiding the enemy by
leaking military secrets, is "the most prominent political prisoner in
modern U.S. history" whose alleged crime is "telling the truth."
Adrian Lamo tells Manning trial about six days of chats with accused leaker:
Hacker comes face-to-face with the US soldier he turned in as trial focuses on Manning's state of mind and motivations
Transcripts from Bradley Manning's Trial: Here:
Freedom
of the Press Foundation has crowd-sourced funding to place a
professional stenographer in the media room covering the trial. We will
post full transcripts shortly after each day's proceedings end.
Honduras: When will the US stop funding death squads?: Op-Ed:
It is time for the US to stop aid to Honduras as there is credible evidence of human rights abuses
Amnesty: Mexico 'failing to tackle disappearances':
"Disappearances
in Mexico have become commonplace because federal and state
authorities have tolerated and refused to clamp down on them," Amnesty
says in a new report. Official figures say 26,000 people have gone
missing since December 2006
UK: Muswell Hill Mosque Set On Fire In Suspected EDL Attack:
Police
said they were treating the blaze as suspicious amid reports that EDL
graffiti was found daubed on the charred building in what could be
another revenge attack for the killing of Lee Rigby in Woolwich.
Texas: Cops Fired After Video Captures Them Beating Black Woman:. Video:
Cunningham
violently grabbed Diggles by the hair and slams her head into a
counter. The officers then slam Diggles to the ground. One of the
officers tried to drag her to the jail cell
Proof the IRS Didn't Target Just Conservatives:
Almost
one third of the tax-exemption applications selected for additional
scrutiny by the IRS were from groups that were not conservative.
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"Let us be peace and joy"
Tom Feeley
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