Dozens of bodies recovered after violence in C.African Republic:
Red Cross workers have recovered 44 bodies from the streets of Central African Republic's capital Bangui, they said on Thursday after inter-religious fighting in the last two days.
At least 40 civilians killed in attack in east DR Congo:
At least 40 civilians have been killed in an attack on a village in the restive east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a non-governmental organisation said on Thursday.
CAR unrest kills six Chad peacekeepers in Bangui:
At least six peacekeepers from Chad have been killed in clashes in the Central African Republic, the African Union (AU) force there says. It said they were attacked by a Christian militia known as anti-balaka in the capital Bangui on Wednesday.
Libyan army officer killed in drive-by shooting in Benghazi:
Officials said Lieutenant Col. Ahmed Sweiry was instantly killed Thursday when unidentified assailants opened fire on him in al-Birkah district in Benghazi. Sweiry was working in the military's data department.
Libyan gunmen block entrance to central bank, Tripoli port:
Dozens of Libyan militiamen blocked the entrance to the central bank and port in the capital Tripoli on Thursday, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, a witness said.
Egypt : Five injured in Cairo bus bomb blast:
The bomb was planted on a pedestrian island and exploded as the public bus passed by in the northern district of Nasr City, a security source said.
Egypt widens crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood:
At least 23 supporters arrested on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist organisation, day after group was blacklisted.
UN in South Sudan denies report of mass grave:
The U.N. mission in South Sudan said the erroneous report was an inflation of a "skirmish" in which 15 people were killed. UNMISS said it is still deeply concerned about extrajudicial killings and is investigating those reports.
Bush- Blair Legacy Continues As - 44 killed in Iraq wave of bombings:
Attacks, including bombs that exploded in a market near a church in Baghdad, killed at least 44 people across Iraq on Thursday, officials said.
U.S. Sends Arms to Aid Iraq Fight:
The United States is quietly rushing dozens of Hellfire missiles and low-tech surveillance drones to Iraq to help government forces combat an explosion of violence by a Qaeda-backed insurgency that is gaining territory in both western Iraq and neighboring Syria.
25 Islamist rebel groups unite under Al Qaeda command in Al Qalamoun battles:
More than 25 Islamist fighting groups in Al Qalamoun, northeast Damascus, have founded a joint command room to lead the ongoing battles near the Lebanese border.
Galloway: President Putin is my man of the year:
Vladimir Putin, in the words of George Galloway, "played a blinder" and prevented a cataclysm for the entire world an accomplishment more than worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize.
Turkish PM replaces 10 ministers amid graft inquiry:
Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said he replaced ten cabinet ministers, half of his total roster, after three ministers resigned over a high-level graft inquiry on Wednesday.
400 more police officers in Istanbul removed from duty:
Four hundred police officers at the Istanbul Police Department have been removed from duty and are being transferred in the midst of an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption and bribery, sources say.
U.N. experts urge U.S., Yemen to explain erroneous drone strikes:
United Nations human rights experts told the United States and Yemen on Thursday to say whether they were complicit in drone attacks that mistakenly killed civilians in wedding processions this month.
Tribesmen seize oil ministry building in east Yemen:
Tribesmen seized an oil ministry building in Yemen's eastern Hadramout province on Thursday and exchanged gunfire with a pro-government tribe seeking to regain control of the premises, tribal sources and ministry employees said.
Saudi blogger sentenced to death for apostasy:
A Jeddah criminal court found Badawi, who has been in prison since June 2012, guilty of insulting Islam through his website and in television comments. His lawyer appealed the sentence, which also included 600 lashes.
Merry Christmas: US Murders 4 People In Pakistan:
Residents surrounded the house after the attack and pulled out the bodies, sources said, adding the bodies were charred beyond recognition.
America's 'client' state: Is it time for Pakistan to shift foreign policy?:
Here are few of the highlights of Pakistan's involvement in the US led war on terror that has dragged on for more than 12 years: Over 40,000 deaths, $80+ billion in losses, growing insecurity and mounting fear among its citizens.
Second rocket strikes southern Israel; IDF attacks Gaza targets:
Rocket alert sounds in Hof Ashkelon Regional Council; Quassam rocket lands in open territory, causing no injuries.
Netanyahu says Hamas responsible for any Gaza fire:
"We have recently been subject to attacks against us," he said at a pilots' graduation ceremony at the Hatzerim air force base in southern Israel. "Israel holds Hamas responsible for all the attacks launched on us. We will strike at those who attack us, and at those who support them," he said in remarks that were also broadcast on radio.
Brother of Gaza Man Killed by Israeli Sniper Speaks : Video -
Raddad Hamad was collecting scrap with his brother Odeh when Odeh was fatally shot by Israeli soldiers on December 20, 2013.
UN condemns Christmas Eve demolitions of Palestinian homes by Israel:
32 of those displaced were children, "including a five year old girl who is paralyzed from the waist down."
Former UN envoy Dore Gold to serve as Netanyahu's foreign policy adviser:
Gold, whose job will focus on Israeli-U.S. relations, has relatively hawkish views and has never expressed support for the two-state solution.
Yasser Arafat died of natural causes - Russian report:
Announcing its conclusions on Thursday, the head of Russia's Federal Medical-Biological Agency (FMBA), Vladimir Uiba, said "Yasser Arafat died not from the effects of radiation but of natural causes".
Greenwald "Snarks" at MSNBC: I Defend Snowden Like You Defend Obama '24 Hours a Day':
Things got heated when MSNBC anchor Kristen Welker accused Greenwald of "crossing a line" in his defense of Snowden. "What do you say to your critics who say you've become more of a spokesman for Edward Snowden?" she asked
US Military imposes blackout on Guant�namo hunger-strike figures:
The Guant�namo prison, whose motto is "safe, humane, legal, transparent detention," announced Tuesday that it will no longer disclose daily hunger-strike figures - abandoning a practice that allowed the public to see the rise and fall of the captives' nearly year-long protest.
47k migrants killed in Mexico in 6 years: Report:
Over 47,000 migrants have died while traveling through Mexico in the past six years with an estimated 8,800 unidentified bodies, a report shows.
Dramatic decline in industrial agriculture could herald 'peak food':
Industrial agriculture could be hitting fundamental limits in its capacity to produce sufficient crops to feed an expanding global population according to new research published in Nature Communications.
Pope's economic ideas rattle GOP:
Pope Francis has dramatically shifted the message and tone of the Vatican in the last nine months, and he's forcing Republicans in Washington to reassess their relationship with the Catholic church.
Swiss Banks Are Now Agents for the IRS :
Bloomberg's note on December 23 that Swiss banks were having a hard time complying with the terms of an agreement between the Swiss government and the U.S. Department of Justice hardly caused a ripple of media concern, not to mention outrage. The time for such expressions is long past.
New Revelation : AG Eric Holder Is Protecting JPMorgan Chase NYC From Criminal Investigation:
The information obtained might reveal that the bank chose to financially benefit from criminal activity:
McDonald's to employees: Avoid burgers and fries - it's risky for your health:
McDonald's employee resources website recommended workers to avoid burgers and fries whenever possible due to health risks.
