Saturday, 19 December 2009

Weekend Edition - Dec. 19, 2009

US Attack Kills 120 In Yemen

Obama Ordered U.S. Military Strike on Suspected "Terrorists"

By BRIAN ROSS, RICHARD ESPOSITO, MATTHEW COLE, LUIS MARTINEZ and KIRIT RADIA

As many as 120 people were killed in the three raids, according to reports from Yemen, and opposition leaders said many of the dead were innocent civilians. Continue


U.S Kill 63 Civilians, 28 Children in Yemen Air Strikes

By Press TV

Yemen's Houthi fighters say scores of civilians, including many children, have been killed in US air-raids in the southeast of the war-stricken Arab country. The Shia fighters on Friday reported the deaths of 63 people, including some 28 children, in the southeastern province of Abyan. Continue


Deadly Intentions:

The Truth Behind The Iran Rumors

By bSoraya Sepahpour-Ulrich

Saudi Arabia, in a change of tactic, spun a story about Iran invading an Iraqi oilfield which led to an immediate hike in oil prices. Could this have been intended as a punishment aimed at the Chinese for not cooperating while projecting Iran as an extreme threat? Continue


Foreclose on the Banks

How to Give America Its Best Christmas Ever

By Ted RalL

Citibank is suspending foreclosures and evictions for 30 days, until after the holidays. Mighty white of them. Continue


Obama ordered deadly blitz on Yemen: US media: US Nobel Peace Prize laureate President Barack Obama has signed the order for a recent military strike on Yemen in which scores of civilians, including children, have been killed, a report says.

'US aided' deadly Yemen raids: Residents of Abyan said that there was no al-Qaeda training camp in the area and that the raids had destroyed several homes. Abbas al-Assal, a local human rights activist who was at the scene, said 64 people were killed, including 23 children and 17 women.

Yemen Opposition Says Govt Attacks Killed Civilians: "In a dangerous precedent, ... the Sanaa regime committed a brutal massacre against our people," exiled southern leader Ali Salem al-Beidh said in a statement, calling for an investigation by the United Nations, and by Arab and Muslim countries.

11 militants killed in NW Pakistan tribal area: At least 11 militants were killed Saturday during military operations in northwest Pakistan's tribal area, local TV channel reported.

US attacks in Pakistan kill at least 20 people: US drones launched missiles into North Waziristan in Pakistan in a barrage of attacks Thursday and Friday. It was one of the largest such attacks in the controversial program the Obama administration has continued and intensified.

12 people killed, 30 injured in suicide attack in Pak's NWFP: Taliban militants on Friday hit Pakistan's lawless NWFP as a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden car outside a mosque after Friday prayers at Timergarah in Dir district, killing 12 people, mostly policemen.

Amnesty gone, Pak warrant for Malik, Defence Minister’s China trip stopped: Political turmoil deepened in Pakistan as the anti-corruption agency barred Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar from leaving for China and banned 250 officials from going abroad while a court issued an arrest warrant against Interior Minister Rehman Malik after the Supreme Court struck down a graft amnesty.

10 Taliban militants killed in S. Afghanistan: Afghan National Army(ANA) backed by NATO-led forces eliminated 10 Taliban militants during a cleanup operation in Taliban's former stronghold Helmand province, spokesman for local administration said on Saturday.

US occupation force soldier, six Taliban killed in Afghanistan: The US soldier waskilled by a roadside landmine in southern Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement. It did not give more details. Separately, the Afghan police and army killed six Taliban in the country's northern province of Kunduz.

'NATO air strike kills three Afghan civilians': A NATO air strike against suspected militants in occupied southern Afghanistan killed three civilians and wounded one other, local government and hospital officials said Friday.

British occupation force soldier killed in Afghanistan: Officials say the soldier was killed while on foot patrol in volatile Helmand province. He was from the 2nd Battalion of The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment

Up to 56,000 more contractors likely for Afghanistan, congressional agency says: The surge of 30,000 U.S. troops into Afghanistan could be accompanied by a surge of up to 56,000 contractors, vastly expanding the presence of personnel from the U.S. private sector in a war zone, according to a study by the Congressional Research Service.

3 killed by bomb near Baghdad restaurant: A car bomb exploded outside a popular restaurant in central Baghdad last evening, killing three people and wounding 16 as diners were out enjoying the start to their weekend, police and hospital officials said.

Manufacturing Consent For Attack On Iran: Iraq demands withdrawal of Iranian troops: Iraq's deputy interior minister said earlier that 11 Iranian soldiers had crossed the Iran-Iraq border on Friday afternoon, the latest in a series of recent incursions, and taken position at an oil well in the remote desert border area. Iran denied the incursion into Iraqi territory.

Manufacturing Consent For Attack On Iran: Iraq masses troops on Iran border amid oil well row: Iraqi troops massed Saturday near an oil well on the border in a standoff with Iranian forces that seized control of the site in a sudden flare up of tension between the two uneasy neighbors.

Iran rejects Iraqi incursion claim: Iran's Armed Forces Command issued a statement on Saturday making clear that, in Tehran's view, there had been no incursion into Iraq as the oil well is within Iranian borders. "Our forces are on our own soil and, based on the known international borders, this well belongs to Iran," the statement said.

Iran rejects reports of oil well seizure in Iraq: Iraq's Deputy Interior Minister Ahmed Ali al-Khafaji confirmed that there has been no actual takeover. "This news is not true. This field is disputed and now it is neglected by both sides. There was no storming of the field, it's empty, it's abandoned, it is exactly on the border between Iraq and Iran," he was quoted by Reuters as saying.

The Truth Behind The Iran Rumors: Saudi Arabia, in a change of tactic, spun a story about Iran invading an Iraqi oilfield which led to an immediate hike in oil prices. Could this have been intended as a punishment aimed at the Chinese for not cooperating while projecting Iran as an extreme threat?

US General: UAE's air force could take out Iran's: Speaking at a conference in Bahrain organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the American general said, "The Emirati Air Force itself could take out the entire Iranian Air Force, I believe, given that it's got ... somewhere around 70 Block 60 F-16 fighters, which are better than the US F-16 fighters."

Iran to West: Stop threats if you want nuclear deal: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday said Tehran is ready to reach a deal over its contentious nuclear program if the United States and other Western countries stop making threats, French news agency AFP reported.

Obama approves $30billion aid to Israel: Jewish state receives $2.775 billion as part of agreement granting it $30 billion in coming decade

Israeli pleads guilty to leaking classified U.S. documents: An Israeli lawyer and left-wing activist who worked as a linguist for the FBI has pleaded guilty to leaking classified documents to a blogger who posted the information online.

2 million troops have deployed since 9/11: The numbers, as of October 2009, show that more than 2 million men and women have shouldered those deployments, with 793,000 of them deploying more than once.

Not Just Drones: Militants Can Snoop on Most U.S. Warplanes: Militants have the ability to see through the eyes of all kinds of combat aircraft — from traditional fighters and bombers to unmanned spy planes. The problem is in the process of being addressed. But for now, an enormous security breach is even larger than previously thought.

US banks failures hit 140: Seven more US banks have been shut down by regulators, bringing to 140 the number of failed American banks this year.

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