Saudi Arabia's Message to Syria, Decoded

By Brian Whitaker

It is Iranian influence, not the killing of civilians, that Saudi Arabia is concerned about as it recalls its ambassador in Syria. Continue

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Coming Full-Circle in Tahrir Square

By Abdul Wahid

Two crucial factors suggest Islam is in a stronger position now than it was even sixty years ago, to emerge as the victor in this debate . Continue

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Cultivating Violence
Israel and its "right-wing Zionists"

By Prof Lawrence Davidson

Many of Israel’s "far-right Zionists" quickly recognized their alliance with Anders Behring Breivik in exact proportion to their feeling that Norway was an ally of the Palestinians. Continue

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They Died in Vain; Deal With It

By Ray McGovern

Many of those preaching at American church services Sunday extolled as “heroes” the 30 American and 8 Afghan troops killed Saturday west of Kabul. Continue

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What Can We Do About The Great American Lie?

By Michael Lewis

What do we do in the face of a government corrupt to the core, a government that professes to be Of the People, by the People and for the People. Continue

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It's Time to put the Euro out of its Misery

By Mike Whitney

The problem is that the monetary union, unlike the EU itself, is an unambiguously right-wing project. Continue

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The Jobs Crisis Demands Attention

By Shamus Cooke

The labor movement must demand a massive, federal public works program, at the expense of the wealthy and corporations. Continue

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50 more killed by Syrian military: A Ramadan military offensive to crush Syria's popular uprising escalated further yesterday when security forces backed by tanks killed more than 50 people in the desert city of Deir Ezzor and in villages close to Homs.

Gulf nations call for Syrian reforms: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain recall ambassadors from Damascus, as President Assad replaces his defence minister.
Syria, Saudi Arabia and the coming regional sectarian war: Inter­pret­ing the King’s words, it is now offi­cial that Saudi Ara­bia joined action with Turkey to take a posi­tion from Syria, that will pro­vide an Arab cover for any action decided by the Secu­rity Coun­cil in a later stage
Freed ex-Bahraini MPs tortured in prison: Jawad Fairouz and Matar Matar were among the prisoners that gained freedom on Sunday. They told British media that they were beaten up several times during more than two months in custody.
Gunman killed near Saudi prince's palace: Officers kill a man who opened fire at a checkpoint near interior minister's palace in Jeddah.
Fighting rages on several Libyan fronts: At least three Libyan opposition fighters have been killed in clashes near the northern town of Zlitan, just 160km from Tripoli, the capital, as government troops fought rebel forces for control of the town.
Libyan "rebel" leader sacks cabinet after general’s death: The NTC has come under heavy fire for its role in events leading up to Yunis's death, as well as its handling of the aftermath.
Shifting loyalties among Libya’s Islamists: The shifting battle lines of the anti-Gaddafi struggle have seen old Libyan Islamist fighters regroup and reconfigure their agendas to join the rebel ranks of the current uprising. But who controls yesterday’s foes

U.S. convinces Saleh not to return to Yemen: report: They told Asharq al-Awsat that Saleh had been greatly influenced by the spectacle of toppled Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, who faced charges from within a black cage in a Cairo court last week.

Afghanistan: Nato occupation forces kill 2 civilians, sparks protest against ISAF: ATO-led troops killed the village imam, who was also a schoolteacher, along with another local. Five other residents were taken away by the troops, Naeem added.

Karzai orders probe into NATO killing of 8 civilians: Local officials say eight civilians including women and children were killed in a NATO strike in the southern province of Helmand on Saturday.

Juan Cole: 50 US & NATO Occupation Force Troops Killed in Afghanistan in Past Week: Another US helicopter got into trouble on Sunday, and had to make a hard landing in the eastern Paktia province, though no one aboard was hurt. It may have been forced down by Taliban fire.

Taliban claim new weapon after US helicopter shot down: "That night the Americans wanted to attack our mujahideen, and we targeted the helicopter with a weapon that is similar to an RPG [rocket-propelled grenade]," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said. "And we are trying to get more of this weapon."

US helicopter shot down in Taliban trap: Afghan official: "The Taliban knew which route the helicopter would take," he added.

British occupation force soldier 'sliced off fingers of dead Taliban fighters as souvenirs': The Royal Military Police’s Special Investigation Branch (SIB) has started an inquiry into allegations that he kept them as “macabre souvenirs” during the regiment’s last tour of Helmand Province between September 2010 and April.

Gunmen torch 16 NATO tankers in Pakistan: Unknown gunmen in Pakistan's north-western region torched 16 tankers carrying fuel supplies for NATO occupation force troops in Afghanistan, local security officials said on Sunday, DPA reported.
U.S. military trainers could be targets: Iraq's Sadr: Iraq's fiercely anti-U.S. occupation cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has warned that U.S. military trainers will be targets if they stay in the country beyond a year-end deadline for American troops to leave.
UN calls rights situation in Iraq 'fragile': "Widespread poverty, economic stagnation, lack of opportunities, environmental degradation and an absence of basic services constitute 'silent' human rights violations that affect large sectors of the population," it said.
Israel Protests: Over 250,000 join biggest anti-govt rally in Tel Aviv : Video Report
Al-Shabab rebels withdraw from Somali capital: Ali Mohamed Rage, an al-Shabab spokesman, told a local radio station that the withdrawal was aimed to enable a counter-attack, saying there would be no pull out from other regions of southern Somalia.
US Government Informant Helped Sinaloa Narcos Stay Out of Jail: Mexican Lawyer Who Was Trusted Associate of "Chapo" Guzman Allegedly Paid Off Corrupt Mexican Officials, All Under the Watch of US Agencies
Police shooting sparks London riots : Clashes broke out between police and crowds angry at the shooting dead of a local resident by officers.
YouTube film of police clash with girl, 16, that 'sparked riot': In the video, demonstrators can be heard shouting at police to leave the girl alone and accusing them of attacking her.
Enfield riots; Police baton charge on video: Video shot of riots in Enfield on Sunday evening shows a line of riot police mounting a baton charge against a mob of rioters throwing rocks.
New violent attacks break out in Hackney, London: Fresh violence has broken out on the streets of London this afternoon between police and youths in Hackney.
Latest Videos of London Riots:
Spending cuts, police lay behind UK riot, locals say: Anger at high unemployment and cuts in public services, coupled with resentment of the police, contributed to an explosion of violence and looting in a deprived London neighborhood, residents said Sunday.
Dow Falls 635 Points, Every Single Stock in S&P 500 Falls: It was the kind of day when the only way to be happy was to sit in a dark room on top of a pile of gold. Virtually no other assets were safe
43,000 strike telecommunications giant Verizon in Northeast US: 43,000 telecommunication workers in the Northeast of the United States went on strike Sunday morning against massive concessions demanded by Verizon including cuts to pensions, wages and health care and the ending of all job security provisions.
A National Debt Of $14 Trillion? Try $211 Trillion: "If you add up all the promises that have been made for spending obligations, including defense expenditures, and you subtract all the taxes that we expect to collect, the difference is $211 trillion. That's the fiscal gap," he says. "That's our true indebtedness."
Moody's cautious about U.S. deficit cuts plan: Ratings agency Moody's Investors Service on Monday warned it might also downgrade the U.S. government's credit rating if its planned measures to reduce its budget deficit turned out to be not "credible" after all.
S&P's Rampage Continues: Berkshire Hathaway's Outlook Cut To Negative From Stable
S&P cuts Israeli bonds guaranteed by U.S. to 'AA+': Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Monday lowered the ratings on U.S.-guaranteed bonds issued by the Israeli government to AA+ from AAA.
Congresswomen urge federal funding for homecare of Shoah survivors in US: Holocaust survivors living in the United States would receive federal funds designed to help them age at home, rather than having to move to an institution, according to a new bill drafted by the Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and her Republican counterpart Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

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August 07, 2011

30 US Soldiers From Bin Laden Death Squad Unit Killed In Afghanistan: Insurgents shot down a U.S. military helicopter during fighting in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 30 Americans, most of them belonging to the same elite unit as the Navy SEALs who killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, U.S. officials said

None Of The Navy SEALS killed in Afghanistan were part of team that killed Osama bin Laden, but belonged to same elite unit: None of the 22 SEAL personnel killed in the crash were part of the team that killed bin Laden in a May raid in Pakistan, but they belonged to the same unit. Their deployment in the raid in which the helicopter crashed would suggest that the target was a high-ranking insurgent figure.

4 NATO occupation force soldiers killed in Afghan attacks: Four soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were killed on Sunday in two separate insurgent attacks in eastern and southern Afghanistan, NATO reported.

Iraqi Civilians Killed By US Occupation Force Raid: For the second time in a week, a joint Iraqi-American raid aiming at insurgents resulted in the killing of civilians.

Abu Ghraib abuse ringleader released: Charles Graner Jr set free after serving six and a half years of a 10-year sentence.
In this grave crisis, the world's leaders are terrifyingly out of their depth: Certain years have gone down in history as great global turning points, after which nothing was remotely the same: 1914, 1929, 1939, 1989. Now it looks horribly plausible that 2011 will join their number.
Debt crisis: Race to stop markets chaos – live blog
S&P AA+ rating on U.S. Sovereign Debt not Low Enough -- Peter Schiff : Video -
Asia Braces for Fallout From Downgrade: An adviser to the central bank of China, the largest U.S. creditor, said the downgrade would damage the U.S. dollar in currency markets
Saudi stock market first to plunge on S&P downgrade: Saudi Arabia's stock market dropped 5.46pc on Saturday as it became the first exchange to react to the historic US credit downgrade.
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange opens to 6% losses as global crisis felt in Israel: Losses come as international markets are left reeling by Standard & Poor’s downgrade of U.S. credit rating for first time in history.
A day after 300,000 march for social justice, Netanyahu government pledges change: Israel's finance minister says the government will take swift action to reduce the soaring cost of living, looking to ease tensions a day after 300,000 people demonstrated across the country.