Bush- Blair Legacy Continues As -
Violence in Iraq kills at least 73 people, PM seeks world's support:
At least eight car bombs exploded in the capital Baghdad, mostly in Shiite areas, killing at least 40 people and wounding dozens more.
Eight soldiers killed in Iraq attacks: -
Eight soldiers were killed and two civilians wounded in separate attacks in Ninevah Province and Mosul in north Iraq on Wednesday.
Iraq forces 'lose more ground' in Anbar:
Iraqi forces lost more ground in crisis-hit Anbar province on Wednesday as Sunni gunmen, including those linked to Al-Qaeda, overran two key areas when police abandoned their posts, officials said.
The U.S. is to blame for violence now spiking in Iraq: deputy prime minister:
"I think you have a legal and moral responsibility to Iraq," Deputy Iraqi Prime Minister Saleh Mutlaq told an audience in Washington at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
The American Legacy in Iraq: Op-Ed: :
America bears a large part of the blame for turning Iraq into the basket case it's become. The great majority of Americans don't realize that fact.
Horrifying images of US Marines burning Iraqis prompt military investigation:
The Pentagon confirmed early Wednesday that a formal investigation has been launched after photographs began to surface purportedly showing US troops burning the remains of dead Iraqis.
Senior Ministers In Blair's Government Face Crime Probe Over Iraq 'War Crimes':
Two senior ministers in Tony Blair's government are facing a possible criminal probe over the alleged torture and unlawful killing of hundreds of Iraqis by British soldiers
Jihadists seize Syria town, execute 60:
The jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has seized a town in Syria's Aleppo province, and executed 60 people in other areas
Car bomb kills 26 in north Syrian town:
A car bomb blamed on a radical group linked to al Qaeda killed at least 26 people in a rebel-held city of northern Syria on Wednesday, an opposition monitoring group said.
Syria : Dozens die of starvation in besieged Damascus refugee camp:
Dozens of children, elderly people and others displaced by the Syrian conflict have starved to death in a besieged camp in Damascus, according to reports.
Palestinian minister says Syria rebels blocking Yarmuk aid:
An aid convoy heading to Yarmuk was targeted on Monday "some 100 metres (yards) away from the agreed meeting point," on the edges of the camp, Majdalani said at a press conference in Damascus. He said "the source of fire was known... to be controlled by Al-Nusra Front.
Syria conflict: Half population urgently needs aid - UN:
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says that half of Syria's population, some 9.3 million people, now "urgently need humanitarian aid".
Syrian refugees forced to let Lebanese landlord marry their 14-year-old daughter :
A 14-year-old girl who escaped the bloody fighting in Syria is being forced to marry a 44-year-old stranger in exchange for her family's safe refuge across the border.
Syrian rebels kill Belgian commander linked to al Qaeda: activists: -
A Belgian commander of al Qaeda-linked forces in Syria was killed in fierce clashes between rival rebel groups for the northern town of Saraqeb on Wednesday, activists said.
Regime advances near Aleppo, ISIS tightens grip on Raqqa:
The Syrian government has retaken territory around the northern city of Aleppo, the military said Tuesday, after two weeks of clashes between rebels and jihadists that have weakened the insurgency against President Bashar Assad.
Turkey: Policemen relieved of duties following discovery of ammunition on buses:
Six police officers who conducted an operation on two passenger buses on which weapons and ammunition were found in the southern province of Adana on Friday have been removed from their posts days after the incident, the media reported on Tuesday.
Voice recording suggests Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) ordered killings of PKK members in Paris:
Cansiz, a top financier for the PKK in Europe, along with two other PKK militants in Paris, were gunned down in an office owned by a PKK-affiliated group on Jan. 9, 2013.
US Murders Farmer In Yemen:
A Yemeni farmer was killed in a U.S. drone strike on Wednesday in what witnesses said was an attack apparently intended for suspected Islamist militants in southeastern Yemen.
The United States' bloody messes in Yemen:
U.S. killed innocent civilians in Yemen: Minister for human rights says:
US demands Netanyahu disavow Ya'alon statements:
White House, State Department issue rare rebuke of defense minister over report he called John Kerry 'messianic, obsessive' on peace talks
Israel, 'big winners' in US spending bill:
The spending bill authorizes $173 million in added funding for Israel's missile systems, including nearly $34 million to improve the Arrow weapon system and $117.2 million for development of the David's Sling short-range ballistic missile system and $22 million for an upper-tier interceptor.
Chutzpah: Jerusalem Councilman Urges Muslims: 'Leave Israel':
"You have many large countries that you can live in. Understand that we returned to Israel to fulfill what is written in the Torah," reads the flier.
Australians honour Sharon's legacy:
Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss described Sharon as "a man of great courage "
Afghanistan: US murders 7 children and one woman in airstrike:
President says: As a result of bombardment by American forces last night, which was conducted... in Siahgird district of Parwan province, one woman and seven children were martyred and one civilian injured," a statement from his office said.
Source: Missing U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl seen in video: -
The U.S. military has obtained new video apparently made by those holding the lone American prisoner of war, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. A U.S. military official told CNN the clip shows the Wood Valley, Idaho, native in diminished health from the effects of close to five years in captivity.
Seven killed as Russian security forces corner suspected militants in Dagestan:
Shootout leaves three security officers and four gunmen dead during sweep for Islamists ahead of Sochi Olympics
Egypt's Prisons Are Full to the Brim with Activists and Journalists:
Over the past three Fridays, Egyptian police have arrested over 700 protesters and killed another 27, according to official figures. There was a time when these numbers would have led the news bulletins; now, they're buried in half-hearted weekend round-ups.
Egypt hired a PR firm to make them look good. Then they arrested the film crew
US student is seeking proof the CIA helped in Mandela's arrest:
Ryan Shapiro has filed a lawsuit against the CIA in an attempt to secure documents which he says could prove the agency played a role in the anti-apartheid campaigner's detention.
N.S.A. Devises Radio Pathway Into Computers:
The National Security Agency has implanted software in nearly 100,000 computers around the world that allows the United States to conduct surveillance on those machines and can also create a digital highway for launching cyberattacks.
US physically hacks 100,000 foreign computers:
NSA spies have inserted circuitry into computers in China, Russia, EU, India, Saudi and Pakistan to gain intelligence.
The NSA Can't Tell Bernie Sanders If It's Spying On Him, Because That Would Violate His Privacy :
Sanders had written Alexander in early January to ask if the NSA has or is currently spying "on members of Congress or other American elected officials.
Obama Plans No Significant Changes to NSA Surveillance:
Obama will recommend a few cosmetic changes; mandate better security to prevent any future Snowdens; and punt the rest to Congress, knowing perfectly well they'll do nothing.
Blackphone: A smartphone designed to stop spying eyes:
A new smartphone is soon to hit the shelves. Developed by security experts including those from Silent Circle, they say that privacy will be placed in the hand of the user -- and surveillance will be made far more difficult.
Today's ruling against net neutrality: victory for telecoms, blow for rest of us:
The US appeals court ruling will make it more difficult for normal people and start ups to get the internet access they want
North Dakota Man Sentenced to Jail In Controversial Drone-Arrest Case:
He is first American to be sentenced to jail following an arrest made possible by a domestic drone
Border-patrol drones being borrowed by other agencies more often than previously known:
Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are increasingly borrowing border-patrol drones for domestic surveillance operations, newly released records show, a harbinger of what is expected to become the commonplace use of unmanned aircraft by police.
The US Border Patrol 'Misplaced' the Records for 200 Predator Drone Flights:
Late last year, we reported that the U.S. Border Patrol had lent out its Predator drones 500 times over the past three years. Scratch that, because "newly discovered" data shows that it's actually been 700 times.
New Memo: Kissinger Gave the "Green Light" for Argentina's Dirty War:
"If there are things that have to be done, you should do them quickly. But you must get back quickly to normal procedures." In other words, go ahead with your killing crusade against the leftists.
Mexican army kills at least 3 people in Michoacan state::
"There is no law here. The decisions are taken here in the mountains, in the hideouts of the Knights Templar leaders," Apatzingan Catholic priest Gregorio Lopez told the BBC. "They are the ones who decide. Here the public institutions are mere puppets," said Father Lopez.
NAFTA at 20: A Model for Corporate Rule:
NAFTA gave multinational corporations the right to sue governments to block regulations they don't like, undermining democracy and local sovereignty.
Reform EU or Britain quits -
George Osborne lays down ultimatum: Membership withdrawal threat after Tory MPs sign letter calling for dismantling of Europe's core principles via veto powers
NASA's plan to build homes on the Moon:
Space agency backs 3D print technology which could build base
Pentagon 'big winner' in $1T omnibus bill:
"The big winner is the Defense Department. They should be breaking out champagne in the Pentagon," said Gordon Adams, a defense budget expert and former Clinton official.
North Carolina Just Gave Millionaires A Tax Cut, Raised Taxes On The Poorest 900,000 Working Families:
The 900,000 poorest working families in North Carolina just got another tax hike from the conservatives who swept state legislature elections in 2010.
Governor: We Cut Unemployment Benefits To Stop People From Moving To North Carolina:
Gov. Pat McCrory (R-NC) claimed this weekend that gutting the state's unemployment benefits has sent people back to where "they came from," presumably because they moved to the state only to collect "very generous benefits" for unemployment.
Is America becoming a plutocracy? :
More than half of all members of Congress are millionaires. While the US is faced with unprecedented issues surrounding unemployment, food stamps, social assistance and minimum wage rates, it begs the question: has the US turned into a plutocracy?
Tennessee sheriff's deputy fired and arrested for raping woman during traffic stop:
A former sheriff's deputy in Tennessee has been arrested for allegedly forcing a woman to perform oral sex on him during a traffic stop.
When can police search your car?:
While police generally need a warrant to search you or your property - during a traffic stop, police only need probable cause to legally search your vehicle. Probable cause means police must have some facts or evidence to believe you're involved in criminal activity.