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Digital Archives: Tiananmen Square Massacre, 1989 1989 - The footage is unforgettable at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, as the People's Liberation Army puts on "a vicious show of brute force

Waterboarding Brings Doubts About Daniel Pearl's Killer Debate is raging over whether an al Qaeda big shot who admitted to killing Daniel Pearl did the deed.

Number of roadside bombs surge in Afghanistan Insurgent use of roadside bombs in Afghanistan has surged 80 percent this year, remaining the No. 1 killer of foreign troops, a NATO official said Thursday.

Crude leads rally with charge towards $70 Crude oil prices charged towards $70 a barrel on Thursday, recouping the previous session's losses and leading a broad commodities rally

Obama Intel Nominee Drops Out Over Ties To CIA Torture

(Former State Dept official Richard) Haass: Cheney Bugged My Calls Because I Wasn't a Hawk What was it about former State Department official Richard Haass that bugged former Vice President Dick Cheney? Haass, out with a new book, War of Necessity, War of Choice, says he was shocked to read in Angler, a book about Cheney, that the former veep ordered his phone calls tapped

Fed to hire ex-Enron lobbyist in PR move Seeks to counter doubts about Fed's growing power over US financial system.

Most Personal Bankruptcies Caused By Medical Bills, Illness

Sotomayor's Media Rulings: Freelancers Need Not Be Compensated For Online Use Of Their Work

Top-secret clearances given despite risky pasts As many as one in four applicants who had "significant derogatory information" in their backgrounds may have received top-secret security clearance last year, The Washington Times reported.

Walmart workers, community and labor supporters demand right to union representation

GAO finds U.S. military hardware easy to buy, ship U.S. military hardware that can be used in nuclear devices and ground fighting can be easily purchased at home and shipped overseas, an undercover government investigation revealed Thursday.

Abortion Clinic Manager Reveals He Warned FBI of Suspect in Murder of Dr. George Tiller, Says Killing Could Have Been Avoided

Fight against foreign nuke waste in Utah continues An eight-state radioactive-waste-management entity plans to appeal a federal court ruling that said a company can dispose of foreign nuclear waste at its facility in the western Utah desert.

"THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD CAN LIVE TOGETHER IN PEACE"  WATCH: Obama Quotes Quran... Uses The Term "Palestine"... Condemns "Crude Stereotypes" Of US, Israel... Admits US Role In 1953 Iran Coup...

Cairo Speech: Video, Transcript... Middle East Buzzing: "Transformational," People "Simply Had Their Mouths Open"

Obama: first president to admit role in 1953 Iran coup President Obama Thursday became the first president to acknowledge responsibility for the 1953 CIA-led coup that overthrew the elected prime minister of Iran, Mohammed Mossadegh.

Judge Tosses Telecom Spy Suits A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed lawsuits targeting the nation’s telecommunication companies for their participation in President George W. Bush’s once-secret electronic eavesdropping program.

Judge Revisits Warrantless Eavesdropping Instead, the judge directed attorneys for the administration and for a now-defunct Oregon charity to prepare court filings this summer about the legality of the government's warrantless eavesdropping program and the scope of the executive branch's authority.

GOP Ignites Firestorm By Revealing Classified Info From Closed-Door Intel Briefings GOP members on the Intelligence Committee on Thursday told The Hill in on-the-record interviews that they were informed that the controversial methods have led to information that prevented terrorist attacks.

Ruling allowing Taser use to get DNA may be nation’s first It is legally permissible for police to zap a suspect with a Taser to obtain a DNA

New Hampshire Becomes Sixth State To Legalize Gay Marriage

Bush FBI sent 18 armored agents to wiretap whistleblower's home

Wake Up America, the Media Treat Far-Right Views as Mainstream This dynamic produces "a deep and largely unconscious conservative bias in the media's discussion of policy."

Al Qaeda eyes bio attack from Mexico Seeks white militias as allies U.S. counterterrorism officials have authenticated a video by an al Qaeda recruiter threatening to smuggle a biological weapon into the United States via tunnels

 Trial Of Former Boeing Engineer Begins Allegedly Sold Space Program Secrets To China The government says he stole secrets on the U.S. space shuttle and the Delta IV rocket. U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney dismissed charges last week relating to the C-17 military transport at the government's request.

Connecticut

 
Don’t Eat the Bluefish or Striped Bass If you planned on having bluefish or striped bass for dinner, think again. State health officials are warning women who are pregnant and children under 6 not to feast on the sea creatures because of chemicals in the fish. Everyone else should avoid eating the fish more than once per month.  This only applies to bluefish that are longer than 25 inches

Lyme Disease-Treatment Bill Heads To Rell Wading into the controversy over the treatment of Lyme disease, state legislators have endorsed a bill that would prohibit state health officials from disciplining doctors for prescribing long-term antibiotic treatment to patients with the disease.

Swine Flu Closes Hamden Elementary School Three confirmed cases of swine flu and other suspected cases are behind the closing of the Helen Street Elementary School in Hamden Friday and Monday.

Rell Issues First Veto Connecticut Gov. M Jodi Rell has issued her first veto from this year's legislative session, nixing a bill that Democrats say is needed to ultimately help reach an agreement on a new budget.

Connecticut apologizes for legacy of slavery Connecticut became the second northern state to apologize for slavery, segregation and other racist policies its lawmakers once condoned after an unanimous vote late Wednesday by the state Senate.

Conn. sees first death from swine flu
 
Connecticut Lawmakers OK Bill To Ease The Path To Become A Teacher

Radio Host Hal Turner Charged With Inciting Injury To Two Connecticut Lawmakers Radio host Hal Turner, shown during his broadcast over the Internet from his New Jersey home, was arrested in that state Wednesday on a warrant obtained by Capitol police in Hartford.

Feds: Mob Gambling Ring Broken Up in B'Port The mafia is alive and well in Bridgeport - breaking legs and running a gambling operation, according to the indictment of two men.

Senate Fails To Pass Teacher Certification Reform

Conn. gets $4.6M in I-84 dispute Connecticut officials settled a lawsuit for $4.6 million against three companies they say botched the widening of a 3.5-mile stretch of Interstate 84 between Cheshire and Waterbury, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Thursday.

Connecticut approves ban on owning large primates

United States  
U.S. Gov't Scraps Plan To Seize Flight 93 Memorial Land

Security Issues

ECONOMIC ESPIONAGE: Trial Of Former Boeing Engineer Begins Allegedly Sold Space Program Secrets To China The government says he stole secrets on the U.S. space shuttle and the Delta IV rocket. U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney dismissed charges last week relating to the C-17 military transport at the government's request.

Abortion Clinic Manager Reveals He Warned FBI of Suspect in Murder of Dr. George Tiller, Says Killing Could Have Been Avoided We speak to the manager of a Kansas City abortion clinic who says he twice told the FBI last week about the suspect in the murder of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, including the day before the killing. The suspect, Scott Roeder, vandalized the Aid for Women clinic by locking its doors shut. Using the pseudonym “Jeff Pederson” to protect his identity, the clinic manager says Tiller’s death could have been avoided had the FBI acted on his warnings.

GAO finds U.S. military hardware easy to buy, ship U.S. military hardware that can be used in nuclear devices and ground fighting can be easily purchased at home and shipped overseas, an undercover government investigation revealed Thursday.

Al Qaeda eyes bio attack from Mexico Seeks white militias as allies U.S. counterterrorism officials have authenticated a video by an al Qaeda recruiter threatening to smuggle a biological weapon into the United States via tunnels

Marine recruiter charged with pimping teen A U.S. Marine Corps recruiter in Riverside County, Calif., has been accused of pimping a 14-year-old girl. Police were also looking into whether he used the girl to entice possible Marine recruits.

Tiller Murder Suspect Repeatedly Attacked Clinic And FBI Ignored Rachel Maddow reported on MSNBC Wednesday night that Roeder targeted a clinic in Kansas City, gluing the doors shut at least four times. One such act occurred the day before Dr. Tiller's murder.  This kind of vandalism is a federal crime under the Freedom of Access to Clinics Entrances (FACE) Act, Maddow said, but when the FBI was notified, they did nothing.

Feds Probe Alleged Shooter's Ties to Ohio Mosque

Top-secret clearances given despite risky pasts As many as one in four applicants who had "significant derogatory information" in their backgrounds may have received top-secret security clearance last year, The Washington Times reported.

Bush FBI sent 18 armored agents to wiretap whistleblower's home

FBI ARRESTS STATE DEPT. OFFICIAL AND WIFE,  ACCUSED OF SPYING ON U.S. FOR 30 YEARS

Submarines Now Account For A Third Of The Cocaine Smuggled Into U.S.

Police

Texas cop tasers 72-year old great-grandmother

Student's pot speech ends with jail  The 17-year-old boy made his case for the legalization of marijuana and then went for a big finish. “At the end of his speech, he pulled out a marijuana joint, lit it and began to smoke it,” Bouck said.

Rail Cop Admits Oakland Man Posed No Threat Before He was Shot Commanding officer at BART platform where Oscar Grant III was shot admits Grant posed no threat before being shot by Officer Johannes Mehserle...

Ruling allowing Taser use to get DNA may be nation’s first It is legally permissible for police to zap a suspect with a Taser to obtain a DNA
Corporate Greed

Countrywide CEO accused of fraud
Civil fraud charges filed for allegedly misleading investors on risks.

Environment

Fight against foreign nuke waste in Utah continues An eight-state radioactive-waste-management entity plans to appeal a federal court ruling that said a company can dispose of foreign nuclear waste at its facility in the western Utah desert.

Official: Mattel fined $2.3 million for toy hazard Toy maker Mattel Inc. and its Fisher-Price subsidiary have agreed to pay a $2.3 million civil penalty for importing and selling toys with excessive levels of lead.

Millions of tons of TVA coal ash coming to Ala. The nation's largest public utility plans to dispose of millions of tons of coal ash from a massive spill in Tennessee into a giant landfill in one of Alabama's poorest counties, state environmental officials said Friday.

Media

Print-your-own news experiment underway

Why is Scarborough ignoring Tiller murder?
1994 flashback: Scarborough associated with different abortion doc killer

US shuts down 'criminal' internet provider The US Federal Trade Commission for the first time has sued and immediately shut down an internet service provider it accused of being a haven for a wide range of criminal activity, including child pornography...

Hannity Edits Clip To Suggest Obama Honored 9/11 Sympathizers

Wake Up America, the Media Treat Far-Right Views as Mainstream This dynamic produces "a deep and largely unconscious conservative bias in the media's discussion of policy."

Unions (or lack there of)

Walmart workers, community and labor supporters demand right to union representation

US Starbucks wins right to make junior staff share their tips with supervisors Starbucks is told it does not need to repay millions of dollars to junior staff who had to share their tips with supervisors.

Gay Marriage

Alberta passes law allowing parents to pull kids out of class Alberta legislators passed legislation early Tuesday that will give parents the option of pulling their children out of class when lessons on sex, religion or sexual orientation are being taught

Sacramento Radio Hosts Encourage Violence Against Transgender Children

New Hampshire Becomes Sixth State To Legalize Gay Marriage

On Gay Issues, Obama Says "Don't Ask" Four-and-a-half months into his presidency, President Obama has not acted on his campaign promises on gay issues, writes Brian Montopoli, likely out of fear that doing so could hamper his ambitious agenda.

Abortion

Black Silence and the Abortion Debate The brutal murder of Dr. George Tiller is a tragic reminder that the abortion wars are back. But where are the NAACP and other civil rights organizations in the fight to save a woman’s right to choose?

FEMA

FEMA May Put Storm Victims In Foreclosed Homes

FEMA trailers to sell for one dollar
HUD to offer housing vouchers, sell trailers for $1 to hurricane victims.

Science  
Revealed: Mitsubishi's Bid To Corner World's Bluefin Tuna Market As Extinction Nears Japan's sprawling Mitsubishi conglomerate has cornered a 40 per cent share of the world market in bluefin tuna, one of the world's most endangered fish. A corporation within the £170bn Mitsubishi empire is importing thousands of tonnes of the fish from Europe into Tokyo's premium fish markets, despite stocks plummeting towards extinction in the Mediterranean. Bluefin tuna frozen at -60C now could be sold in several years' time for astronomical sums if Atlantic bluefin becomes commercially extinct as forecast, a result of the near free-for-all enjoyed by the tuna fleet. Zoo: Two Gay Penguins Raising Chick

As swine flu wanes, U.S. preparing for second wave The outbreak of the new H1N1 flu virus has begun to wane with the start of summer in North America, and U.S. health officials said on Thursday they are looking to lessons learned as they prepare for its return in the autumn

Politics  
Senate

2 former drug dealers tied to Murtha-backed firm Rep. John Murtha steered millions of dollars in defense work to a campaign donor and the Pentagon went along with it, even though two convicted drug dealers had been deeply involved with the company

House

House GOP Sides With Stoners: Cut Down Drug War

Rep. Harman Introduces Bill To Restrain Domestic Deployment Of Spy Satellites (Representative Jane Harman (D-CA) introduced two bills last night to stop the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) use of satellite imagery from intelligence agencies for homeland security and law enforcement purposes. The legislation, H.R. 2703 and 2704, will prohibit funding for and close the DHS’ National Application Office (NAO). This troubled office is responsible for a domestic surveillance program that the American Civil Liberties Union had long opposed in testimony and letters to Congress over the past two years.

Issues

GAO: U.S. aid programs overpay for food, delivery The government's food aid programs are spending more and delivering less to hungry people than they could, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Thursday.

Banks paid millions lobbying to gut fair-value rule, WSJ Says A coalition of 31 U.S. banks and financial industry trade groups spent $27.6 million in the first quarter lobbying Congress to pressure Robert Herz, chairman of the Norwalk-based Financial Accounting

Federal Reserve/Bailouts/Treasury

 
Bernanke: Curb record-high budget deficits Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday urged Congress and the administration to start plotting a strategy to curb record-high U.S. budget deficits.

Fed to hire ex-Enron lobbyist in PR move Seeks to counter doubts about Fed's growing power over US financial system.

Taxes

Falwell university’s tax-exempt status questioned after banning Democratic club

Kerry says $819,848 tax lien is clerical error The Internal Revenue Service has filed a $819,848 tax lien against Sen. John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign, but Kerry on Wednesday blamed IRS clerical error for the claim

IRS considers regulating tax preparers IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman announced Thursday that he is considering requiring income-tax preparers to be licensed in order to increase compliance with the law and to ensure high ethical standards of conduct.

Abramoff's $500,000 tax refund disputed

GM

Hummer's Chinese buyer a newcomer to auto industry Hummer owners are an unusual breed, but a little-known Chinese company's surprise purchase of the American maker of gas-guzzling, military-style SUVs is audacious even by their standards.

Tennessee's Sen. Alexander wants to give taxpayers GM, Chrysler stock

Crooks

Abramoff, gov't disputing $500,000 tax refund Former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the Justice Department are disputing a tax refund he recently received worth more than $500,000 and whether it should be used to pay court-ordered restitution or his family's massive debts....

Jailed Commissioner ran GOP campaign against FL supreme court According to her testimony before the Federal Election Commission, on Nov. 8, 2000 McCarty was recruited by Roger Stone, Jr., a GOP operative perhaps best known for leading a mob of Republicans into a Miami-Dade County ballot recount, forcing it to stop.

Justice Department Admits New Prosecution Mistakes, Seeks Release Of 2 Alaska Officials The move is the second embarrassing retreat for Justice Department prosecutors since the conviction of former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was tossed out of court in April.

Justice Department

U.S. probes Google, Apple on hiring The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the hiring practices of some major players in the tech industry in the latest sign that the Obama administration is getting serious about its antitrust crackdown promises.

Supreme Court

Sotomayor's Media Rulings: Freelancers Need Not Be Compensated For Online Use Of Their Work

Man Charged With Threatening To 'Blow Up' Sotomayor

Gingrich Retracts Sotomayor "Racism" Comment

Sotomayor's Defense Of White Racist Speech Looms Large In Confirmation Battle Sotomayor's opinion in the 2002 case of Pappas v. Giuliani does not seem like a judicial cause célèbre for progressives. But in the days since she was named Obama Supreme Court nominee, it has emerged as an effective counterweight to charges that she is a judicial activist bent on helping minorities like herself.

Wyden: Sotomayor says Roe v. Wade established law Sen. Ron Wyden says he is "pleased" that Sotomayor has "great respect" for precedent.

Health Insurance

Most Personal Bankruptcies Caused By Medical Bills, Illness

Kennedy bill would make employers provide care

GITMO/Abu Ghraib /Bahgram

Powell aide: CIA used bottled water on suspects A leading Bush administration official, retired Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, says that the numbers associated with CIA water boarding sessions—such as 183 times for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and 83 times for al Qaeda training camp commander Abu Zubaydah—may even reflect the number of water bottles expended." Water bottle...they were counting the water bottles,” Wilkerson told me. “Four or five bottles were used each time. That’s the agency. They had to keep a record." Wilkerson says he learned of the use of water bottles from agency officials and from the report on detainee abuse by the International Red Cross Committee.

Chomsky: Torture routine in USA history

Former detainee says torture still going on at Gitmo: Rather

Guantanamo Breakthrough: Europe Expects To Take 'Several Dozen' Detainees

Gitmo closure blocked in House, again.

GOP Ignites Firestorm By Revealing Classified Info From Closed-Door Intel Briefings GOP members on the Intelligence Committee on Thursday told The Hill in on-the-record interviews that they were informed that the controversial methods have led to information that prevented terrorist attacks.

Gitmo detainee escape video game scrapped

Obama Admin May Permit 9/11 Suspects To Plead Guilty

Dick

Cheney Blames 9/11 On Richard Clarke: "He Obviously Missed It"

Cheney Led Briefings Of Members Of Congress To Defend Interrogation Techniques

Cheney: Bush Copped Out On GM Bankruptcy

(Former State Dept official Richard) Haass: Cheney Bugged My Calls Because I Wasn't a Hawk What was it about former State Department official Richard Haass that bugged former Vice President Dick Cheney? Haass, out with a new book, War of Necessity, War of Choice, says he was shocked to read in Angler, a book about Cheney, that the former veep ordered his phone calls tapped

Stimulus

Sanford Loses  Court Forces South Carolina Gov. To Takes Stimulus Money

Courts

Judge Tosses Telecom Spy Suits A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed lawsuits targeting the nation’s telecommunication companies for their participation in President George W. Bush’s once-secret electronic eavesdropping program.

Judge Revisits Warrantless Eavesdropping Instead, the judge directed attorneys for the administration and for a now-defunct Oregon charity to prepare court filings this summer about the legality of the government's warrantless eavesdropping program and the scope of the executive branch's authority.

Obama

 
"THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD CAN LIVE TOGETHER IN PEACE"  WATCH: Obama Quotes Quran... Uses The Term "Palestine"... Condemns "Crude Stereotypes" Of US, Israel... Admits US Role In 1953 Iran Coup...

Cairo Speech: Video, Transcript... Middle East Buzzing: "Transformational," People "Simply Had Their Mouths Open"

Obama: first president to admit role in 1953 Iran coup President Obama Thursday became the first president to acknowledge responsibility for the 1953 CIA-led coup that overthrew the elected prime minister of Iran, Mohammed Mossadegh.

Looking back at 1953:

Mohammad Mosaddeq and the 1953 Coup in Iran On the morning of August 19, 1953, a crowd of demonstrators operating at the direction of pro-Shah organizers with ties to the CIA made its way from the bazaars of southern Tehran to the center of the city. Joined by military and police forces equipped with tanks, they sacked offices and newspapers aligned with Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq and his advisers, as well as the communist Tudeh Party and others opposed to the monarch. By early afternoon, clashes with Mosaddeq supporters were taking place, the fiercest occurring in front of the prime minister's home. Reportedly 200 people were killed in that battle before Mosaddeq escaped over his own roof, only to surrender the following day. At 5:25 p.m., retired General Fazlollah Zahedi, arriving at the radio station on a tank, declared to the nation that with the Shah's blessing he was now the legal prime minister and that his forces were largely in control of the city.

The CIA history of operation TPAJAX excerpted below was first disclosed  in  April 16 and June 18, 2000  The CIA history of operation TPAJAX excerpted below was first disclosed by James Risen of The New York Times in its editions of April 16 and June 18, 2000

AP report: Source claims Obama intel pick tied to CIA torture program An AP article claims that a congressional aide “who spoke on condition of anonymity,” and wasn’t “authorized to discuss the matter publicly,” has “confirmed that [Philip] Mudd, who was deputy director of the Office of Terrorism Analysis at the CIA during the Bush administration, had direct knowledge of the agency’s harsh interrogation program.” Update: In 2006, FBI agents feared Mudd wanted them to engage in ‘ethnic targeting’ and mocked him as ‘Rasputin’; Once allegedly ordered FBI agents to search falafel sales records to find Iranian terrorists

Obama IAEA nuclear sites declaration for the United States, draft, 267 pages, 5 May 2009 States that are signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty are required to confidentially provide the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with a description of the location and purpose of each of their nuclear sites. The document presents a sensitive 5 May, 2009 draft of all US nuclear sites for Congressional review together with a covering note from President Barack Obama giving more detail on the restrictions. It seems that by mistake, the entire document, including the sensitive portions, labled as such on every page, was printed by the US Government Printing Office. The document is likely to be of substantial interest to environmental activists.

Obama said to be open to taxing health benefits

Millions Of Homeowners Find They Don't Qualify For Obama's Mortgage Assistance Program

Pat Tillman's Mother: Obama Nominee Lied At Hearing

Debunking the Carter Ruck defence of British-Iraqi billionaire Nadhmi Auchi“A British-Iraqi billionaire lent millions of dollars to Barack Obama's fundraiser (dual US-Syrian citizen Tony Rezko) just weeks before an imprudent land deal that has returned to haunt the presidential contender, an investigation by The Times discloses. The money transfer raises the question of whether funds from Nadhmi Auchi, one of Britain’s wealthiest men, helped Mr. Obama buy his mock Georgian mansion in Chicago.” -- The Times of London February 26, 2008

Liddy: From Nixon conspirator to Obama conspiracy theorist

Obama Intel Nominee Drops Out Over Ties To CIA Torture

Chomsky: What Obama Didn't Say in His Cairo Address Speaks Volumes About His Mideast Policy The U.S. has played a decisive role in sustaining the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Obama gave no indication that its role should change.

Conservatives Falsely Claim Obama Avoided Terror In Speech

EXCLUSIVE: OBAMA'S EGYPT VISIT CATERS TO RULERS, NOT PEOPLE

 Economy NEW  Click for Economic Statistics
Recession May Be Increasing Suicide Rates, But We Won't Know For Years

U.S. Private Sector Axes 532,000 Jobs In May

One in nine Americans on food stamps, USDA says

Firms store oil anticipating price increases The giant US bank JPMorgan Chase has reportedly hired a newly-built supertanker to store heating oil off the Mediterranean island of Malta. Other companies, including BP and a unit of Citigroup, have also hired ships to store either crude oil or oil products.

Regulator to Detail Plan for Derivatives The plan by the top futures trading official will impose new restrictions, and higher costs, on those trading in the instruments.

Crude leads rally with charge towards $70 Crude oil prices charged towards $70 a barrel on Thursday, recouping the previous session's losses and leading a broad commodities rally

25 Million People Can't Find Enough Work, Gov't Data Leaves Out Part-Timers

Iraq  Map of Iraq
Regional Countries Spy on Iraq by Mobile Phones

U.S. wants to keep base in Baghdad slum The U.S. and Iraqi militaries have tentatively agreed to keep a joint base on the edge of Baghdad's Sadr City, maintaining an American presence after the June 30 deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw.

Roadside Bomb Kills US Soldier in Iraq

Iraq refuses entry to flights from Tehran Iraq refused entry to two flights from Tehran carrying Iranian pilgrims to visit Iraqi holy sites, an official in Iraq's Civil Aviation authority said. "There was an agreement between Iraq and Iran to do an equal exchange of flights, but the Iranian side breached this agreement

Middle East  
Israel/Palestine

Israel Won't Bomb Iran, Top Diplomat Says

Israel: Bush Officials Agreed To Settlement Building

Clinton: No proof Bush administration approved settlement growth  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dismissed on Friday reports that administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush had an understanding under whic

Hawks Push ‘Three-State Solution’ for Palestine As U.S. President Barack Obama prepares to deliver a major foreign policy speech in Cairo and his administration pushes aggressively for a two-state solution in Israel-Palestine, neoconservatives and other foreign policy hawks back home are calling on him to scrap the two-state solution altogether and consider alternatives to Palestinianh Israel could keep expanding settlements on the West Bank

Hamas says prisoner swap talks have resumed

IDF stops settlement building project Army says structures planned in secular community would have threatened route of security barrier.

Iran

Ahmadinejad calls Holocaust a "great deception" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the Holocaust a great deception on Wednesday, reiterating a view that has been denounced by moderate rivals in this month's election.

Iran not interested in Bolivian uranium: Teheran envoy Iran is not interested in mining Bolivia's uranium, and Israel talks about this only because it wants to thwart closer ties between Iran and Latin America, Teheran's envoy to La Paz said Wednesday.

Report Ties Dubious Iran Nuclear Docs to Israe

Iranian Media Picks Up Fake Fox News Story

IAEA: New uranium traces found in Syria Says Iran expanding enrichment; Teheran up to 5,000 centrifuges, another 2,000 ready for operation.

Lebanon

Hizbullah No. 2: We won't turn Lebanon into Iran Sheik Naim Kassem rejects accusations that gov't of Hizbullah and its allies will try to implement an Iranian-style Islamic state.

Egypt

Muslim Brotherhood among invitees to Obama speech Among those to receive invites are 10 of the 88 lawmakers associated with the Muslim Brotherhood and Ayman Nour, the Egyptian politician who spent more than three years in prison after challenging Hosni Mubarak for president in 2005.

Cairo Under Siege Ahead Of Obama's Speech The capital is under occupation. Security troops are deployed in the main public squares and metro stations. Citizens were detained en masse and shops were told to close down in Bein el-Sarayat area, neighboring Cairo University, where Obama will be speaking. In Al-Azhar University, the co-host of the "historical speech," State Security police raided and detained at least 200 foreign students, held them without charges in unknown locations. Exams were postponed in the major universities fearing demonstrations, and students were told to stay at home. And in several areas in Cairo and Giza, there will be in effect a curfew, where shops won't be allowed to open, citizens instructed not to open their windows. Almost everyone I know will be staying home tomorrow watching Obama's speech, not necessarily because they are keen on knowing what the freshly-elected US leader has to say to the Muslim world, but because they know it will be virtually impossible to move anywhere in the city on Thursday thanks to Obama's force-for-stability host.

Turkey

PKK established subgroup to divert blame for terror attacks The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) established a subgroup whose members claimed to be acting alone when carrying out terrorist attacks in order to divert blame from the terrorist group, an indictment against dozens of individuals detained in a massive operation in April has suggested

Ergenekon lawyer threatens prosecutors, judges The lawyer of a former rector who is standing trial in the case of Ergenekon, a clandestine group which allegedly attempted to overthrow the government, has threatened the prosecutors on the case as well as the individuals on the panel of judges hearing the trial.

Afghanistan Map of Afghanistan
Report finds airstrike errors in Afghan deaths U.S. personnel made major errors in carrying out airstrikes that killed dozens of Afghan civilians, a military investigation has concluded.

3 US soldiers killed in Afghanistan bomb attack

Number of roadside bombs surge in Afghanistan Insurgent use of roadside bombs in Afghanistan has surged 80 percent this year, remaining the No. 1 killer of foreign troops, a NATO official said Thursday.

Afghan Bombs Kills 10 Security Contractors A police official says 10 private security guards traveling in a convoy have been killed in two roadside bomb blasts in eastern Afghanistan.

Suicide bomber blasts himself on a border passage between Afghanistan and Pakistan A suicide bomber blasted himself south of Afghanistan near guards affiliated to a private Afghan Security company who were accompanying the International Security Forces killing 6 guards in the region that is considered an important border passage with Pakistan thru which Foreign Forces supplies

Pakistan Map of Pakistan
Tape attributed to Bin Laden blasts Obama The purported message from the Al Qaeda leader says that, in pressing for the campaign against militants in Swat Valley, Obama has 'planted new seeds of hatred and vengeance towards America.'

Waterboarding Brings Doubts About Daniel Pearl's Killer Debate is raging over whether an al Qaeda big shot who admitted to killing Daniel Pearl did the deed.

Pakistan UN Ambassador Calls Terrorist Leader Hafiz Saeed A 'Humanitarian'

Pakistan arrests senior Islamists  Pakistan mosque bomb kills dozens

World Bank approves $900 mln in loans for Pakistan

Bomb kills six Pakistan security officials

Taliban Stir Rising Anger of Pakistanis months of televised cruelties, broken promises and attacks, there is a growing sense that many Pakistanis are turning against the Taliban

Kashmir

Thousands protest in Indian Kashmir At least 40 people injured when protesters clash with police in Srinagar.

Asia  
China

With the help of U.S. defense contractors, China is building the prototype for a high-tech police state. It is ready for export. The closed-circuit TV cameras will soon be connected to a single, nationwide network, an all-seeing system that will be capable of tracking and identifying anyone who comes within its range — a project driven in part by U.S. technology and investment. Over the next three years, Chinese security executives predict they will install as many as 2 million CCTVs in Shenzhen, which would make it the most watched city in the world. (Security-crazy London boasts only half a million surveillance cameras.) The security cameras are just one part of a much broader high-tech surveillance and censorship program known in China as "Golden Shield." The end goal is to use the latest people-tracking technology — thoughtfully supplied by American giants like IBM, Honeywell and General Electric

REMEMBERING TIANANMEN Twenty years after the Chinese army killed untold numbers of unarmed civilians in Beijing and other cities on and around June 3-4, 1989, the Chinese government continues to victimize survivors, victims' families, and others who challenge the official version of events. And inside China, the concerns raised by the protesters in 1989 -- corruption, workers' rights, press freedom and the need for democratic reform -- are still the great unresolved challenges in the country today.

1989 Tiananmen Square Protests A Chinese man stands alone to block a line of tanks heading east on Beijing's Cangan Blvd. in Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989.

China Blocks Twitter Ahead Of Tiananmen Anniversary

Chinese economists skeptical of US strength

Chinese Officials Use Umbrellas To Block CNN Reporter At Tiananmen Square

SLIDESHOW: 100,000 Hold Tiananmen Vigil In Hong Kong

Police Swarm Tiananmen Square to Bar Protests China blanketed Tiananmen Square with police officers on Thursday, determined to prevent any commemoration of the 20th anniversary of a military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters that left hundreds dead.

Digital Archives: Tiananmen Square Massacre, 1989 1989 - The footage is unforgettable at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, as the People's Liberation Army puts on "a vicious show of brute force

India

Indian parliament elects first female speaker

Southwest Asia

Philippine army kills 13 rebels in heavy fighting

North Korea

Trial Begins For U.S. Journalists In North Korea

Europe

 
Britan

Al Qaeda Executes British Hostage

Britain's atomic test veterans win right to sue for compensation Britain's atomic test veterans, involved in nuclear tests in the 1950s, have won their High Court bid for the right to sue the Government for compensation.

Africa  
Somalia

Somali Pirate Operations Dissected

Ethiopia admits Somalia presence Ethiopia says it has "reconnaissance missions" in Somalia but denies it is re-deploying its troops there.

Algeria

2 Teachers, 8 police killed in Algerian ambush Al-Qaida-linked militants killed two teachers and eight police escorts as they brought copies of tests back from an examination center near the Algerian capital, a local official and Algerian media said Wednesday.

Guinea-Bissau poll candidate killed

The Americas

 
Canada

Canada Denies US Request to Take Guantanamo Inmates

Brazil

Brazil's air force: Debris not from Air France crash The Brazilian air force said Thursday night that debris picked up near where officials believe Air France Flight 447 crashed Monday into the Atlantic Ocean was not from the plane. The announcement came after helicopters had spent the day hoisting pieces of debris from the water and dropping them into three naval vessels. It was not clear what the recovered materials were or where they were from. developing story

French Minister: Air France Debris NOT Found Yet, "Cannot Disregard" Terrorism Theory

Bodies from Air France crash found, Brazil says  Two bodies have been found from the crash of an Air France plane that disappeared Monday, the Brazilian air force says. Also, one seat and a suitcase were recovered at sea by a vessel participating in the search, the air force said at a press conference in Recife, Brazil. full story
Latin America

Cuba Readmitted To Organization Of American States "Without Conditions"

U.S. tries to reduce flood risk in Haiti Hoping to reduce the vulnerability of Haitians living in some of the country's most high-risk areas for flash floods, the U.S. Agency for International Development plans to spend $155 million over the next five years on stabilizing some of Haiti's most denuded hillsides.

The Amazon vs. Big Oil: Chevron Faces Possible $27 Billion Dollar Damages Claim An Ecuadorean court alleges that Texaco, which was acquired by Chevron, knowingly unleashed toxins across an estimated 1,700 square miles.