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Reuters - More than 200 people were killed in shelling by Syrian forces in the city of Homs, activists said on Saturday, as the U.N. Security Council prepared to vote on a draft resolution backing an Arab call for President Bashar al-Assad to give up power. |
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Reuters - Iran's supreme leader threatened on Friday to retaliate against the West for sanctions, a day after a U.S. newspaper said defense secretary Leon Panetta believed Israel was likely to bomb Iran within months to stop it building a nuclear bomb. |
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Reuters - The White House received a letter last year purported to come directly from Mullah Omar, the reclusive leader of the Taliban, asking the United States to deliver militant prisoners whose transfer is now at the heart of the Obama administration's bid to broker peace in Afghanistan. |
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Reuters - Afghanistan could end up fighting Taliban insurgents with a national army and police force two-thirds the size envisaged, if plans discussed on Friday by NATO defense ministers, trying to balance security needs with budget cuts, gain traction. |
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Reuters - Nine Romanian children were taken into care after a baby died in an unheated house, joining at least 189 others killed by a Siberian front which strengthened its hold over Eastern Europe on Friday and spread further west. |
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Time.com - Four more die in a day of violent clashes, as anger over alleged police complicity in a stadium tragedy unleashes pent-up frustrations |
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Reuters - European Union competition ministers supported plans on Friday to remove barriers to electronic trade in a bid to spur economic growth and jobs by expanding the single market to the digital world, officials said. |
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AP - In a barrage of mortar shells, Syrian forces killed 200 people and wounded hundreds in Homs in an offensive that appears to be the bloodiest episode in the nearly 11-month-old uprising, activists said Saturday. |
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Reuters - A leading senator warned Egypt's military-led government on Friday that "the days of blank checks are over" as an Egyptian army team huddled with State Department officials to discuss the future of $1.3 billion in annual U.S. military aid. |
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Reuters - Three Japanese towns would be willing to restart their nuclear reactors if they pass government stress tests, two were against the idea but most were undecided, a newspaper survey suggested Saturday. |
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Head of Shin Bet says three attempted attacks by Iran have been thwarted in the past yearIranian agents are attempting to attack Israeli targets around the world in retaliation for covert operations, including the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists, the head of Shin Bet, the Israeli security agency, has warned."It doesn't matter if it's true or not that Israel took out the nuclear scientists. A major, serious country like Iran cannot let this go on. They want to deter Israel and extract a price so that decision-makers in Israel think twice before they order an attack on an Iranian scientist," Yoram Cohen said in a lecture reported in Haaretz.Three attempted attacks were thwarted at the last minute in the past year, in Turkey, Azerbaijan and Thailand, he said.Four Iranian nuclear scientists have been assassinated in the past two years in what Iran – and many others in the international community – believe are operations by the Israeli secret services, or its proxy agents, as part of a covert war.Israel usually maintains a code of silence on activities by |
its security agencies, Shin Bet and the Mossad. But the president, Shimon Peres, said "to the best of my knowledge" the country was not involved in the most recent assassination, less than a month ago.Cohen's warning of retaliatory attacks came amid mounting speculation Israel is moving closer to launching a unilateral military strike against Iran.The US defence secretary, Leon Panetta, declined to deny claims in a column in the Washington Post that said he believed Israel would launch an attack in April, May or June this year. And Israel's defence secretary, Ehud Barak, told a security conference that the window for action would close when Iran reached an "immunity zone" with its enrichment activities moved deep underground beyond the reach of air bombardment. "Those who say 'later' may find that later is too late," he said.Britain's deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, this week voiced fears Israel could take unilateral military action against Iran. "Of course I worry that there will be a military conflict and that certain countries might seek to take matters into their own |
hands," he told the House magazine.The Shin Bet chief also said Iran was building closer ties with Islamic Jihad in Gaza following its rift with Hamas over the Syrian uprising.However, relations between Hamas and Tehran may be repaired when Ismail Haniyeh, the de facto prime minister of Gaza, visits the Iranian capital in the coming days.During his invitation-only lecture in Tel Aviv on Thursday, Cohen said the security agency was concerned about extremist religious settlers in the West Bank who "have decided to take the road of terror … [lashing] out at Arabs and [their] sacred symbols".This week, several rightwing activists from West Bank settlements were elected to the central committee of the Likud party, which is led by the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu. One, Meir Bartler, 27, considered a leader of the "hilltop youth", is under house arrest, according to the Israeli daily Ma'ariv.IsraelIranMiddle East and North AfricaHarriet Sherwoodguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds |
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Two women were among party travelling from central Sinai to Sharm el-Sheikh when it was reportedly intercepted by BedouinBedouin gunmen have intercepted a tourist minivan and kidnapped two female American tourists and their Egyptian guide at gunpoint near St Catherine's monastery in the Sinai peninsula, the region's security chief said.The daylight abduction along a busy highway was a fresh blow to Egypt's tourism industry, which has been heavily affected by the unrest following last year's uprising that ousted former president Hosni Mubarak.Four masked gunmen also stopped the vehicle of two Italians working for a local food factory in the nearby city of Suez, taking their car, more than €10,000 (£8,300) and their laptops, according to the director of the company, Mohammed Antar. The attackers let the Italians go.Major General Mohammed Naguib, the head of security for southern Sinai, said the abductors of the American tourists were driving a sedan and a pickup truck and sped away into the mountains after seizing the two |
women, who were returning from the monastery to the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.They were demanding the release of a number of fellow tribesmen arrested this week on drug trafficking and robbery charges. Tribal leaders were mediating efforts to free the tourists, ages 60 and 65, and their guide, Naguib said. A helicopter also was leading a search and rescue mission.The bus was carrying three other people of unknown nationality who were left behind, Naguib added.Naguib said the attackers were Bedouin tribesmen who resist government control and have been blamed for several attacks in recent months as tensions grow with the authorities they accuse of discrimination and of ignoring their plight.Bedouins have long complained of discrimination and random arrests by the government, but tensions have intensified in recent months along with a general deterioration of security in the region. There been reported attacks both on police stations and pipelines carrying gas to Jordan and Israel, as well as armed militias roving |
the streets.Earlier this week, armed Islamic militants seized 25 Chinese factory workers after forcing them off a bus elsewhere in the peninsula, but they were freed the next day. The kidnappers were also demanding the release of members of their group arrested years before on charges of terrorism.In general, Egypt has faced a surge in crime since last year's uprising, which overthrew Mubarak's police state, which kept tight control over its population of 85 million. Protesters accuse the military council that has assumed power and the police force of negligence.The tourism minister, Mounir Abdel-Nour, said last month the number of tourists who came to Egypt in 2011 dropped to 9.8 million from 14.7 million the previous year. Revenues for the year were $8.8bn (£5.6bn) compared with $12.5bn in 2010.EgyptMiddle East and North AfricaAfricaUnited StatesItalyguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds |
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