| Hard News
Suspected Boko Haram attacks kill 24 in Nigeria:
Two attacks by suspected Boko Haram insurgents have killed 24 people in Nigeria's northeast in the latest violence believed to be in revenge against vigilantes, residents and officials said Tuesday.
At least two killed in southern Egypt clash:
At least two supporters of Egypt's deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi were killed in clashes with residents and security forces in the southern city of Beni Suef late on Tuesday, a security source said.
11 Killed, One Injured in New Wave of Attacks in Iraq:
A new wave of attacks in Iraq killed at least 11 people, including two prison guards, and injured another one, according to Iraqi security and hospital sources.
Syria rebels seize strategic town, kill dozens: Activists say:
Rebel forces took control of a strategic town in northern Syria on Monday, killing more than 50 pro-government fighters and cutting off government forces' only supply route out of the city of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Video shows Al Qaeda murdering truck drivers for not being Sunni -
Video - Warning
Syrian troops advance in rebel-held areas near Damascus:
The Syrian army continued advancing against the western-backed rebels in the countryside of the capital Damascus, mainly in the hotspots of Jobar and Muadaieh, the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV said.
Hezbollah fighters exposed to chemical agents in Syria: source:
Between four and five members came into contact with the chemical agents while searching a group of rebel tunnels in the Damascus suburb of Jobar over the weekend.
'Not too late to trace nerve gas in Syria', experts say;
TRACES of nerve agent would remain in victims for weeks, easily detectable if UN inspectors can examine people poisoned in last week's suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria, experts say.
Chemical experts can gather Syria evidence despite time lapse -UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters.
Britain said on Sunday that evidence of the attack, which is believed to have killed hundreds of people, could have already been destroyed ahead of a visit to the site by U.N. inspectors.
Russia: West has no proof Assad launched gas attack:
Russian FM Lavrov tells press conference any use of force in Syria without UN mandate would violate international law and be 'repetition of past mistakes.'
In Rush to Strike Syria, U.S. Tried to Derail U.N. Probe: -
After initially insisting that Syria give United Nations investigators unimpeded access to the site of an alleged nerve gas attack, the administration of President Barack Obama reversed its position on Sunday and tried unsuccessfully to get the U.N. to call off its investigation.
Russia 'regrets' US decision to shelve Syria talks:
"It is a pity that our western partners have decided to cancel the bilateral US-Russian meeting to discuss calls for an international conference on Syria,"
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's Press Conference
(Part 1)
- (Part 2)
Syrian Kurdish leader says Assad not to blame for attack:
He suggested last Wednesday's attack, which the opposition says was carried out by government forces and killed hundreds of people, was aimed at framing Assad and provoking an international reaction. Assad has denied his forces used chemical weapons.
Syria: Western Chemical Weapons Experts Cast Doubt on Obama Nerve Gas Claims:
Dan Kaszeta, a former officer in the US Army's Chemical Corps, said tell-tale signs of a chemical weapons attack were conspicuously absent from footage shot in the aftermath of the attack.
US/UK/France could ATTACK Syria in days, envoys tell rebels:
Some Western powers could attack Syria within days, envoys from the United States and its allies have told rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad, sources who attended the meeting told Reuters on Tuesday.
What A US Strike On Syria Would Look Like:
Four Arleigh Burke-class destroyers -- and probably a nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine -- are already within Tomahawk cruise missile range of Syrian targets. In addition, the United States can call upon strategic bombers based in the continental United States as well as B-1 bombers from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
Former NATO commander: Syria strike a bad move: Video -
U.S. retired Col. Douglas Macgregor led Kosovo mission
Russia says strike on Syria won't be made easy:
An unnamed Moscow official warned that the international community wouldn't be granted an "easy victory" in Syria, pointing to what the individual claimed was Damascus's sufficient air defense systems, including surface-to-air missile systems, capable of thwarting severe damage, the Russian Interfax news agency reported.
U.S. No Longer Seeking U.N., NATO Permission to Strike Syria:
Instead, the U.S. has focused on building a rapid coalition consisting of the United Kingdom, France and several Arab states, by sharing intelligence evidence that U.S. officials say proves Bashir al Assad's regime was responsible for last week's chemical weapons attack.
Iran warns against consequences of military action against Syria:
"Any miscalculation of the situation in Syria would throw the entire region into a a dangerous and complicated stage which will ...engulf all regional countries," he added. Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman
Syria: Saudi Prince at the heart of the push for war:
Months of applying pressure on the White House and Congress over Syria have slowly born fruit. The CIA is believed to have been working with Prince Bandar directly since last year in training rebels at base in Jordan close to the Syrian border.
Saudis offer Russia secret oil deal if it drops Syria:
Saudi Arabia has secretly offered Russia a sweeping deal to control the global oil market and safeguard Russia's gas contracts, if the Kremlin backs away from the Assad regime in Syria.
Iraq opposes use of airspace to strike Syria:
"We do not agree to any use of our airspace ... to attack any neighbouring country through our land," Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's spokesman told AFP, asked if Baghdad would authorise the use of its airspace in any action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Fact or fiction?
Assad wants brother dead:
In my best estimation, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad wants his brother Maher dead. Also, in my best estimation, it was Maher who unleashed the gas attack without any warnings or orders from anyone, which is why Russia has issued a statement saying a US military intervention will not cause it to start a war. The Russians are happy if this surgical US approach means Bashar can survive.
Palestinian negotiators say they canceled meet with Israelis after deadly clashes:
A senior Palestinian official told Haaretz that the Palestinian envoys to the peace talks canceled a meeting with their Israeli counterparts. According to the official, the measure was meant to protest the deaths of three Palestinians from Israeli gunfire during clashes at the Qalandiya refugee camp earlier in the day.
Afghanistan aid workers among 12 civilians killed in pair of insurgent attacks:
Afghan officials say insurgents have shot and killed 12 civilians, including six aid workers working on government projects, in two separate incidents.
Six Truck Drivers Killed By Insurgents in Paktia:
Taliban insurgents killed six abducted truck drivers in eastern Paktia province on Monday night after negotiations with relatives for their release failed. The relatives of the drivers said they were abducted 11 days ago while on the way to Khost province.
US Kills 7 People In Pakistan; :
Seven "militants", including a commander, have been killed in a drone strike in the Watapur district of eastern Kunar province, an official said on Tuesday
6 Killed in Militant Attack in Pakistan:
At least six people were killed in militants' recent attack on a camp of the security forces in the tribal region of South Waziristan.
10 Militants killed in police checkpoints attack in W. Afghanistan:
Ten militants were killed Tuesday morning as they launched attack on Afghan border police checkpoints in Bala Murghab district of the western province of Badghis, a provincial source said, adding the clash is still continuing there.
Venezuela says hitmen captured in plot to kill Maduro;
Venezuela said it derailed a plot to kill President Nicolas Maduro, arresting two hitmen it said wanted to assassinate the leftist leader on orders from a Colombian conservative ex-president.
Report shows how recession hit families:
The number of U.S. households with an unemployed parent and a child under 18 living at home soared from 2005 to 2011, a Census Bureau report says.
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"Let us be peace and joy"
Tom Feeley
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