| Hard News
100 soldiers, scores of civilians killed by al-Qaida fighters attack in northern Syria:
Intense clashes between the Syrian army and the al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front, using booby- trapped cars in the fights, have left at least 100 army personnel and scores of civilians killed, activists said Thursday.
Syrian rebels shoot down military warplanes:
The United Nations says nearly 70,000 people have been killed in 23 months of fighting in Syria [Reuters]
45 people, mostly women and children, kidnapped in Syria - reports:
A group of armed men have attacked a bus in Syria and kidnapped 45 people, mostly women and children, who were traveling from Idlib province to Damascus, RIA Novosti reported citing Al Mayadeen TV
Kidnappings, rapes, and trafficking of Syrian refugees:
Christian minorities have become an easy target for criminals and terrorists who use kidnappings, rapes, and organize the trafficking of refugees.
Iran Confirms Assassination of Official by Terrorists in Syria:
The Iranian mission in Beirut on Thursday confirmed the assassination of Hassan Shateri, the head of the Iranian delegation in charge of developmental projects in Lebanon, by the terrorist groups in Syria.
U.N. nuclear talks with Iran fail, no new meeting set;
U.N. inspectors returned on Thursday from talks in Tehran with no deal on reviving a nuclear investigation and no date for a new meeting, failing to produce even a small signal of hope for big power diplomacy aimed at averting a war.
Seven killed in spate of Iraq attacks:
Attacks mostly targeting Iraqi security forces north of Baghdad killed seven people on Thursday, security and medical officials said, the latest in an uptick in nationwide violence.
Anger is growing among Iraq's Sunnis:
The minority population is increasingly frustrated by what it sees as Shiite Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's sectarian politics. It seeks a fundamental change in the culture of Iraq's government.
The hawks were wrong: Iraq is worse off now: Op-Ed:
Saddam is gone - but at what cost?
Thai marines kill 16 militants after attack on military base:
At least 16 Muslim rebels have been killed after they launched a pre-dawn assault on a military base in the south of Thailand in the deadliest incident in an insurgency that has raged for almost a decade.
Attacks in Pakistan's north-west 'kill at least 19':
At least 19 people have been killed in a series of attacks in north-west Pakistan, officials say. Seven were reported dead in a blast at a police checkpoint in the Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
US ex-envoy Cameron Munter blasts US 'callousness' on Pakistan:
The former US ambassador to Islamabad on Wednesday criticized Washington's 'callousness' over the killing of Pakistani troops as he called for both nations to rethink how they see each other.
10 civilians killed in Nato air raid: Afghan officials:
"Five children, four women and a man were killed in the raid," Governor Kunar Province, Sayed Fazlullah Wahidi told AFP.
Whitewashing murder:
Karzai summon NATO commander over civilian deaths: ,
"Pointing to a commitment Gen. Allen had previously made not to conduct any air strike or bombing in residential areas, President Karzai reminded that such incidents must strictly be avoided in future and any recurrence is not acceptable."
Karzai Welcomes US Troop Withdrawal:
"Afghanistan welcomes the announcement by President Obama, who in his State of the Union address said that the US would be pulling out another 34,000 troops over the next year from Afghanistan," Karzai's office said in a statement on Wednesday.
Taliban rejects US' Afghan troop "withdrawal" plan:
Mullah Omer-led Afghan Taliban have asked the United States and its allies to withdraw all their troops from Afghanistan instead of "troop reductions and gradual withdrawals" that will help the "foreign forces to avoid further humiliation".
US plans to keep 8,000 occupation troops in Afghanistan after 2014:
According to senior military authorities cited in the report, elite Special Operations commandos would not be based in Afghanistan after 2016. Instead, they would be flown into the country from US warships in the area or bases in nearby countries "to conduct counterterrorism missions."
Iranian border security kills 7 Afghans: -
According to local authorities in western Farah province of Afghanistan, at least seven Afghan civilians were killed by Iranian border protection security forces.
Gunmen attack Iranian consulate staff in Mazar-e-Sharif city:
The incident took place around 8 pm local time after gunmen riding motorcycles opened fire on Mohammad Ewaz Khalili in Khurasan area in Mazar-e-Sharif city while he was on his way from University to his home.
Kerry: Response to N. Korea will send Iran a message:
Kerry wants 'swift, clear, strong' response to North Korea nuclear test, cites desire to show Iran nuclear aspiration 'impermissible'
'Teenager killed' in Bahrain protest:
Witnesses say 16-year-old boy shot during protests to mark second anniversary of pro-democracy uprising, activists say.
UN concerned about Palestinian detainees:
UN human rights chief voices concern about health of hunger strikers who protest their detention without trial.
Prisoner X planed to disclose intelligence info on Israel:
Brisbane Times reports Australian-Israeli who died in Israeli jail planned to reveal information on fraudulent use of Australian of passports for espionage purposes. Israeli intel officials informed Australian counterparts of Zygier's arrest eight days after Dubai revealed that suspected Israeli agents used passports in Mabhouh hit, report says
Australian authorities were investigating Ben Zygier for espionage months before his arrest in Israel:
Ben Zygier, the alleged Mossad agent who committed suicide in Ayalon Prison in December 2010, was under investigation by Australian intelligence months before he was arrested in Israel, media outlets in Australia and the U.K. reported on Wednesday.
Israel's Prisoner X driven to suicide by interrogation, lawyer suggests:
Zygier's lawyer, Avigdor Feldman, told Israel's Channel 10 on Thursday that he had seen him the day before his death in 2010 and that he had appeared rational
Zygier said to spill beans on Mossad recruitment:
Reports claimed Zygier was involved in Israel's alleged killing of a Hamas operative in Dubai and said Zygier had been jailed after nearly sharing state secrets with either Australian officials, the media, or officials in Dubai, according to differing foreign reports.
Argentina slams Israel over interference:
"Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told me that we cannot sign an agreement with Iran. So maybe he wants us to kidnap the suspects or put a bomb below the car of one of them."
NASA alert: Middle East loses freshwater reserves size of Dead Sea in 7 years:
The Middle East is headed towards a water shortage crisis, as NASA satellites show that reserves the size of the Dead Sea have been depleted in just seven years, largely due to well-drilling.
Working for the yankee dollar:
Egypt floods Gaza tunnels, cuts Palestinian lifeline:
Up to 200 smuggling tunnels shut since Egyptian President Morsi took office; some 30% of all goods reach Gaza through tunnels.
Fears of 'catastrophic' violence in Mali:
Mali risks descending into "catastrophic" violence, the UN rights chief warned on Tuesday, as tensions swept the country after a string of attacks by Islamist rebels on French-led forces
Obama extends sanctions against Libya:
Declaring that the situation in Libya still poses a threat to the U.S., President Obama on Wednesday extended for another year emergency sanctions against that nation in the wake of the fall of the regime of Muammar Gadhafi.
Hagel Becomes First Filibustered Defense Nominee:
"This is the first time in the history of our country that a presidential nominee for secretary of defense has been filibustered," Reid said Wednesday on the Senate floor. "What a shame. But that's the way it is."
Arab-American Group Won't Release Hagel Tape:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) filed for cloture on the nomination of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense late Wednesday afternoon as Republican senators continued to call for additional disclosure of material from Hagel.
The Hagel flail: Op-Ed:
I admit it, I'm enjoying watching the shitshow that is the Chuck Hagel nomination to secretary of defense.
Rand Paul To Place 'Hold' On Brennan's CIA Nomination:
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said on Wednesday that he intends to block President Barack Obama's nomination of John Brennan as director of the Central Intelligence Agency over concerns about the administration's expanded use of drones.
Farc rebels kill seven Colombian soldiers:
Several rebels also die in clash in southern Caqueta province, following several weeks of intensifying violence.
UK seeks human rights 'partners' to counter terror - and torture:
The foreign secretary, William Hague delivered a most interesting and important speech on Thursday, entitled "Countering terrorism overseas". It was studded with references to "torture". The terms "justice" and "human rights" appeared on almost every page.
Dresden bombing, Britain's forgotten war crime of WWII:
More than 500,000 German civilians and refugees, mostly women and children, were slaughtered by Britain's saturation bombing in 1945, one of the worst massacres of all time.
At Least 20 CIA Prisoners Still Missing:
The CIA says it is "out of the detention business," as John Brennan, Obama's pick to head the agency, recently put it. But the CIA's prisons left some unfinished business.
Alleged 9/11 plotter disrupts testimony of Pentagon official at Guant�namo:
Bin Attash's lawyer, Cheryl Bormann, announced in court Wednesday evening that guard had ransacked Bin Attash's cell and removed properly stamped legal documents.
Drone aircraft use spreads to Northeast Ohio, privacy advocates express concern:
The use of unmanned drone aircraft is spreading from the battlefields of the Middle East to the exurbs of Ohio, prompting concerns from privacy advocates about potential overhead surveillance by police, universities and even the Ohio Department of Transportation.
Dorner manhunt: Incendiary tear gas reportedly used on cabin:
Officers confronting suspected killer Christopher Dorner lobbed incendiary tear gas into the cabin where Dorner allegedly was holed up, said law enforcement officials with knowledge of the situation. The cabin caught on fire and authorities believe Dorner was burned inside
Christopher Dorner Shootout - Cops say "Burn It Down"
Big Corporations Put Up Seed Funding for Republican Dark Money Group:
Some of the nation's biggest corporations donated more than a million dollars to launch a Republican nonprofit that went on to play a key role in recent political fights.
Revolving Door at SEC is in a Whirl as Hundreds Hired by Industry they Regulated:
Charged with regulating Wall Street, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has become a launching pad for former agency employees-by the hundreds-to become part of the industry they once oversaw.
Texas DMV Sells Personal Information To Hundreds Of Companies; Drivers Not Allowed To Opt-Out:
The Dept. of Motor Vehicles has made a tidy sum selling the information it collects (including names, addresses and makes/models owned) to a variety of private companies.
Japan economy contracts for third straight quarter
Looking to kickstart the economy and end two decades of deflation, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to combine the country's biggest stimulus spending since the financial crisis with aggressive monetary policy easing.
Eurozone recession deepened at end of 2012:
The eurozone slipped deeper into recession in the last three months of 2012 after its largest economies, Germany and France, shrank markedly at the end of the year.
Greece's poverty deepens as unemployment rate hits record 27 percent:
Worst affected are the young, with 61.7 percent of those in the 15-24 age group without a job.
UK workers earning no more than 10 years ago:
Median real wages peaked at �12.25 per hour in 2009, but by last year they had slumped 3% to �11.21 per hour, roughly the level of a decade ago.
Horsemeat scandal: France blames processor Spanghero:
French meat processing company Spanghero knowingly sold horsemeat labelled as beef, the French government has said.
Three held in horsemeat mislabelling investigation;
A 63-year-old was arrested at the Peter Boddy Licensed Slaughterhouse, in Todmorden, West Yorkshire.
Danger drug in UK horsemeat:
Tests reveal health hazard AFTER meat was exported to Europe
US: The Meat Industry Now Consumes Four-Fifths of All Antibiotics:
The meat industry has been merrily gorging away on antibiotics-and churning out meat rife with antibiotic-resistant pathogens-if the latest data from the FDA itself is any indication.
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"Let us be peace and joy"
Tom Feeley
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