Why did Israel attack Syria now, and why did the Syrians admit it?

 The alleged Israeli attack came one day after an Iranian announcement that Tehran will view any attack on Syrian territory as an attack against Iran itself.
Why did Israel attack Syria now, and why did the Syrians admit it? Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

The Promise of the Arab Spring

The Promise of the Arab Spring: pIt’s easy to be pessimistic about the Arab Spring, given the post-revolutionary turmoil the Middle East is now experiencing. But critics forget that it takes time for new democracies to transcend their authoritarian pasts. As the history of political development elsewhere shows, things get better./p

 Critics treat new democracies as blank slates, ignoring how much of their dynamics and fate are inherited rather than chosen.

The Mirage of the Arab Spring

The Mirage of the Arab Spring: pThe Arab uprisings of 2011, once a great source of hope for democracy enthusiasts, have given way to sectarian clashes and political instability. The Middle East has not yet shed its authoritarian yoke, and the United States needs a policy that reflects that reality./p

Democratize or Die

Democratize or Die: pLi is far too confident in the benefits of Chinese authoritarianism. So far, what has held China back is not any lack of demand for democracy, but a lack of supply. That gap should start to close over the next ten years./p

The Life of the Party

The Life of the Party: pIn the next decade, China will continue to rise, not fade. Its leaders will consolidate the one-party model and, in the process, challenge the West’s smug certainty about political development and the inevitable march toward electoral democracy./p

Suicide bomber kills 11 Yemeni soldiers

A suicide bomber killed 11 Yemeni soldiers on Monday after troops backed by tanks attacked an al Qaeda stronghold following the collapse of talks to free three Western hostages, local officials and residents said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/28/us-yemen-violence-idUSBRE90R0EQ20130128

U.S. warns Antigua against "government-authorized piracy"

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/28/us-usa-antigua-piracy-idUSBRE90R0T320130128

Guantanamo inmate seeks European court ruling against Poland

Lawyers for a man who says the CIA held him in a secret prison in a Polish forest asked the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Monday to rule on his case because they say a criminal investigation run by Poland is going nowhere.
http://www.reuters.com/news/archive/worldNews?view=page&page=11&pageSize=10

U.S. to criticize Sri Lanka at U.N. rights council

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/28/us-srilanka-rights-usa-idUSBRE90R10A20130128

Israel, Jewish groups slam Argentina-Iran "truth commission"

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/28/us-argentina-iran-idUSBRE90R0TK20130128

Azerbaijan, Armenia hold talks over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/28/us-azerbaijan-armenia-conflict-idUSBRE90R0YQ20130128

France tells nationals to leave northern Nigeria

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/28/us-nigeria-france-warning-idUSBRE90R11S20130128

Iran launches monkey into space, showing missile progress

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/28/us-iran-nuclear-eu-idUSBRE90R0F220130128

Guatemala court orders trial of former dictator, rejects appeals

A Guatemalan court ordered 86-year-old former dictator Efrain Rios Montt on Monday to face charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, throwing out 13 appeals presented by his defense.
A judge found sufficient proof linking Rios Montt, who ruled during a particularly bloody period of the country's 36-year civil war, to the killing of more than 1,700 indigenous people in a counterinsurgency operation in 1982 and 1983.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/28/us-guatemala-riosmontt-idUSBRE90R15I20130128

Governments fall short in fighting defense corruption: survey

 More than two-thirds of countries, including many of the world's largest arms traders, have inadequate safeguards to prevent corruption in their defense sectors, a survey by an anti-corruption watchdog said on Tuesday.

China, Russia and Israel, all leading arms exporters, were considered to be at high risk of corruption in their defense sectors. Among top arms importers, India, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Thailand and Turkey were in the high-risk category.
Nine countries - Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Syria and Yemen - are at "critical risk" of corruption in their defense sector, lacking basic accountability measures, the survey said.
Countries classed as being at "very high risk" of corruption include Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iran, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka. The United States, Britain, Sweden and South Korea were among countries judged to be at low risk, while France, Spain, Italy and Poland were in the moderate-risk group.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/29/us-defence-corruption-idUSBRE90S03B20130129

Egypt's army chief issues warning over collapse of state

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/29/us-egypt-protests-army-idUSBRE90S0A120130129

Niger gives green light to U.S. drone deployment: source

Niger has given permission for U.S. surveillance drones to be stationed on its territory to improve intelligence on al Qaeda-linked Islamist fighters in northern Mali and the wider Sahara, a senior government source said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/29/us-mali-rebels-niger-idUSBRE90S0DX20130129

Could Scottish, Catalan independence votes reshape Europe?

The separatist flag of Catalonia - with its yellow and red stripes, blue triangle and white star - was a rare sight on the streets of Barcelona a decade ago. Now, it is almost ubiquitous.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/29/us-europe-politics-independence-idUSBRE90S0J220130129

Hundreds of Qaeda-linked militants reinforce south Yemen bastion

Militants linked to AQAP, which U.S. officials believe is one of the most dangerous and active branches of the global network, were emboldened by widespread chaos in Yemen after an uprising in 2011 against former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/29/us-yemen-violence-idUSBRE90S0PU20130129

EU could deploy peace force in post-conflict Syria: adviser

European Union planners are looking at ways to help stabilize Syria when the civil war is over, and sending an EU military force to keep the peace could be an option, the bloc's top military officer said on Tuesday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/29/us-syria-crisis-eu-battlegroup-idUSBRE90S0VZ20130129

As Suez cities burn, canal shipping sails on, for now

Egypt's army stepped forward on Tuesday from its new place in the shadows of the fledgling democracy and pledged to defend the state after a week of bloody street violence in cities along the Suez Canal.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/29/us-egypt-protests-suez-idUSBRE90S0UD20130129

Mali crisis could exacerbate security challenges in Libya: U.N.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/29/us-mali-libya-un-idUSBRE90S0TC20130129

For Mali Islamist rebels, death came from the sky

The attack was just one of hundreds of French strikes that have characterized the 18-day offensive; sudden, devastating fire-power rained down from the skies that left surviving rebels little option but to flee into the desert.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/29/us-mali-rebels-douentza-idUSBRE90S0XL20130129 

Iraqi Kurds woo more oil majors in contest with Baghdad

 Iraqi Kurdistan said it is negotiating with two or three major international companies to operate oilfields and expects to announce the outcome in about a month, in a move likely to further heighten tensions with Baghdad.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/29/us-kurdistan-oil-idUSBRE90S0XG20130129

Israel summons Argentina envoy over 'truth commission' with Iran

Israel summons Argentina envoy over 'truth commission' with Iran - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

Russia says Assad's chances fading

 Prime Minister Medvedev says Syrian president's chances of keeping power are getting "smaller and smaller" as war rages.
Russia says Assad's chances fading - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

In pictures: Brazil nightclub blaze

 a mass killing disguised as a tragedy, the greed for money and the lack of good faith is to blame for all those killings, people just got locked inside because the security guards wanted them to pay the drinks before leaving the place. nonsense of brazilian society that put money first.

In pictures: Brazil nightclub blaze - In Pictures - Al Jazeera English

Mali forces capture Timbuktu airport

Mali forces capture Timbuktu airport - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Egypt's Morsi declares 'state of emergency'

Egypt's Morsi declares 'state of emergency' - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

Argentina and Iran create 'truth commission' - Americas - Al Jazeera English

 Argentina and Iran have reached a breakthrough in the investigation of a Jewish centre bombing that killed 85 people in Buenos Aires 19 years ago, agreeing to establish an independent international "truth commission" led by a jurist "with high moral standing and legal prestige" to examine Argentina's worst terrorist attack.
The commissioners will examine the evidence and recommend how to proceed "based on the laws and regulations of both countries".
Then, commissioners and Argentine investigators will travel to Tehran to question the suspects.
Argentina and Iran create 'truth commission' - Americas - Al Jazeera English

Chinese media expands Africa presence - Features - Al Jazeera English

 

Chinese media expands Africa presence - Features - Al Jazeera English

Mumbai-attack plotter sentenced to 35 years - Americas - Al Jazeera English

 American David Headley sentenced in Chicago for reconnaissance work on sites chosen in 2008 attack which left 166 dead.

David Coleman Headley, 52, pleaded guilty in the case and co-operated to avoid the death penalty and extradition to India.
Prosecutors in Chicago had pressed for leniency as credit for Headley's co-operation with investigators, such as sharing intelligence about networks, including the Pakistani-based group that mounted the attack.
Mumbai-attack plotter sentenced to 35 years - Americas - Al Jazeera English

The aerial antics of Israel's starlingsIsrael News - Haaretz Israeli News source

 
The aerial antics of Israel's starlingsIsrael News - Haaretz Israeli News source

United Nations to investigate drone killings

The inquiry, announced in London, will investigate 25 drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/24/us-un-drones-idUSBRE90N0VK20130124

Arabian al Qaeda's number two is dead: Yemeni official

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/24/us-yemen-qaeda-idUSBRE90N0Z720130124

U.S. drone kills six suspected al Qaeda members in Yemen: sources

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/23/us-yemen-qaeda-idUSBRE90M1H520130123

What a Brazilian clown reveals about the crisis in legislatures

 How, then, to explain the disdain felt toward legislatures in countries that are booming?
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/20/us-reutersmagazine-davos-legislator-clow-idUSBRE90J07I20130120

U.S. drone strike kills four Qaeda militants in Yemen -sources

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/21/us-yemen-violence-usa-idUSBRE90K0AB20130121

Analysis: Israeli vote is least of neighbors' worries

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/21/us-israel-election-mideast-idUSBRE90K0FK20130121

Gunmen seize Panama-flagged tanker in Ivory Coast

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/21/us-ivorycoast-pirates-idUSBRE90K0GW20130121

Factbox: Deadly sieges in past 30 years

 http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/21/us-sahara-crisis-siege-factbox-idUSBRE90K0H920130121

African force in Mali now numbers 1,000: French army

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/21/us-mali-rebels-afisma-idUSBRE90K0NX20130121

Britain says to act on North Africa terror threat

 Britain said on Monday it would increase counter-terrorism and intelligence aid to Algeria and consider giving more help to France to fight Islamists in Mali, but ruled out any prospect of direct British military intervention in Africa.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/21/us-sahara-crisis-cameron-idUSBRE90K0LO20130121

Egypt says Mali intervention will inflame conflict

 Speaking at the opening of an Arab development conference in Saudi Arabia, Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi said development was needed to solve the conflict in the impoverished country.
"I would like to confirm that we do not agree, ever, to military intervention in Mali because this would inflame the conflict in this region," Mursi said.
"The intervention must be peaceful and developmental and funds must be spent on development," he said. "What we don't ever want is to ... separate the Arab north from the core of Africa."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/21/us-sahara-crisis-egypt-idUSBRE90K0SB20130121

Russia sending aircraft to evacuate citizens from Syria

  Russia is sending two planes to Lebanon on Tuesday to evacuate more than 100 of its citizens from Syria, the Emergencies Ministry said, in the clearest sign yet that Moscow may be preparing for President Bashar al-Assad's possible defeat.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/21/us-syria-crisis-russia-evacuation-idUSBRE90K0OW20130121

What happened to Palestinian books when Israel was created in 1948?

 Israel's founding in a 1948 war is seen by Palestinians as "the Nakba" or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands of their brethren fled or were forced to leave their homes.
What happened to Palestinian books when Israel was created in 1948? Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

Algeria PM says 48 killed in gas-plant attack

Algeria PM says 48 killed in gas-plant attack - Africa - Al Jazeera English

New law paves way for change in Philippines

 Where there is no divorce is no surprise that even contraceptive methods are tabu...

A new reproductive health law is paving the way for reform, providing sex education in schools and easy access to birth control.
But, although many people welcome the legislation, the roman Catholic Church remains staunchly opposed.
New law paves way for change in Philippines - Asia-pacific - Al Jazeera English

Reports: Eritrea troops lay siege to ministry

"The soldiers have forced him to speak on state TV, to say the Eritrean government should release all political prisoners," the source said on condition of anonymity.
 The UN last year estimated that 5-10,000 political prisoners were being held in the secretive Horn of Africa country, which is accused by human rights groups of carrying out torture and summary executions.
Reports: Eritrea troops lay siege to ministry - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Non-lethal chemical weapons used in Syria, Le Monde reports - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

Non-lethal chemical weapons used in Syria, Le Monde reports - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

Making Sense of Mali

Making Sense of Mali: pRecent reports have oversimplified the conflict in Mali, hinting that the country hosts one major Tuareg separatist bloc and a popular radical Islamist movement. In fact, mainstream Malians love neither. Most of them just want a return to democracy with broader participation and more freedoms -- the precise opposite of what they fear the separatists and Islamists would bring. As long as French assistance helps hold those groups off, it will be welcome./p

Egypt busts mass explosives haul heading for Gaza, largest single shipment yet

Egypt busts mass explosives haul heading for Gaza, largest single shipment yet - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

Top U.S. commander denied visa in rights row: Russia

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/18/us-russia-usa-visa-idUSBRE90H15T20130118

Mali army retakes town, Islamists flee French air raids

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/19/us-mali-rebels-idUSBRE90D0FX20130119

French troops on ground in Mali may top 2,500: minister

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/19/us-mali-france-troops-idUSBRE90I08W20130119

U.S., China in deal on U.N. North Korea rebuke; Russia to back it

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/19/us-korea-north-un-idUSBRE90H16W20130119

Algeria's Sonatrach estimates $11 million of losses a day

 Algeria's national oil and gas company Sonatrach has estimated $11 million of losses a day from the shutdown of the In Amenas plant taken over by al Qaeda-linked fighters three days ago, a source inside the company said on Saturday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/19/us-sahara-crisis-sonatrach-idUSBRE90I0EE20130119

Malian forces abusing, killing civilians: Human Rights Watch

 "We urge the Malian authorities, as well as the French and (West African) soldiers/authorities to do their utmost to ensure the protection of all civilians," the New York-based group said in a statement.
HRW said that Tuaregs and Arabs, ethnic groups most associated with rebels who have controlled Mali's north, were being especially targeted.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/19/us-mali-crisis-abuses-idUSBRE90I0FH20130119

Egypt drops hundreds of charges over post-Mubarak violence

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/19/us-egypt-court-idUSBRE90I08320130119

Residents in northern Malian town lynch Islamist: sources

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/19/us-mali-crisis-lynching-idUSBRE90I0IM20130119

W African leaders urge global support on Mali - Africa - Al Jazeera English

 Speaking at the summit, Laurent Fabius, French foreign minister, said: "France was obliged to intervene very, very rapidly, otherwise there would have been no more Mali ... but it is well understood that it is the Africans that must pick up the baton."
W African leaders urge global support on Mali - Africa - Al Jazeera English

US drone kills 'al-Qaeda fighters' in Yemen - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

Obama's "kill list" - is it better than Guantanamo? 

targeted killings against nameless people solves the problem by killing and (selective) reporting with virtually no counter-account ... Obama's peaceful rhetoric do not correspond to any sort of soft power, and there is no american human rights ngo that stay in those places following and reporting violations of HR and IHL (probably only Israel - despite all criticism - have access and enjoy the support of leading intellectuals)
US drone kills 'al-Qaeda fighters' in Yemen - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

Algeria hostage crisis comes to deadly end - Africa - Al Jazeera English

 "When there is a hostage-taking with so many people involved and such coldly determined terrorists, ready to kill their hostages - which they did - a country such as Algeria has had ...  the most appropriate responses because there could be no negotiations," Hollande said in Tulle, southcentral France.
Algeria hostage crisis comes to deadly end - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Tensions simmer over disputed areas in Iraq

Tensions simmer over disputed areas in Iraq - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

Saif al-Islam in Libyan court for first time

Libya has hired human rights lawyers to argue before ICC judges that it has the ability to give the pair a fair trial and
should be allowed to do so.
It is up to the ICC to decide if this is the case, and Libya has pledged to abide by the ICC's decision, most recently
stressing in a Tuesday filing that it had no immediate plans to proceed with a trial of the two men.
Saif al-Islam in Libyan court for first time - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Vaclav Klaus's controversial amnesty

http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2013/01/czech-politics

Jihad in the Sahara

No sooner had France set about stopping jihadists from taking over Mali, than their sympathisers in Algeria perpetrated another outrage to display their regional reach

http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21569772-no-sooner-had-france-set-about-stopping-jihadists-taking-over-mali

Report: 34 hostages and 15 kidnappers killed by Algerian army air strike - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

 Thirty-four hostages and 15 of their al Qaida-linked kidnappers were killed on Thursday in an air strike by the Algerian armed forces, according to various media reports.
 

Report: 34 hostages and 15 kidnappers killed by Algerian army air strike - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

Polícia Militar desocupa área onde vivem cerca de 80 famílias em Campinas

 A PM (Polícia Militar) começou a realizar, por volta das 6h40 desta quinta-feira (17), a remoção de aproximadamente 80 famílias que ocupam irregularmente uma área particular da Chácara Buriti, em Campinas (93 km de São Paulo). O local fica às margens do Anel Viário José Roberto Magalhães Teixeira (SP-083).Estima-se que pelo menos 300 pessoas ocupem o local.
http://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2013/01/17/policia-militar-desocupa-area-onde-vivem-cerca-de-80-familias-em-campinas.htm

Germany offers support to French Mali mission

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/us-mali-rebels-germany-idUSBRE90D0XW20130115

Factbox: Mali's mosaic of armed groups

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/us-mali-rebels-groups-idUSBRE90D0PV20130115

Brazil wants Venezuela election if Chavez dies - sources

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/us-venezuela-chavez-brazil-idUSBRE90D12320130115

France seeks Gulf Arab help for Mali anti-rebel push

 "No, because it's the contrary. We - not just the French, but all nations - have to combat terrorism. It's not encouraging terrorism to combat terrorism," Fabius said.
Asked how confident he was about getting troops from Gulf countries for deployment, Fabius said: "Everybody has to commit to oneself in fighting against terrorism. We are pretty confident that the (United Arab) Emirates will go into that direction as well."
He said France and the Gulf states were discussing the latter's possible contribution.
"We shall have a discussion with the authorities in the Emirates. There are different ways of helping, it can be through materials, can be through financing," Fabius said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/us-mali-france-fabius-idUSBRE90E08820130115

Russia says against referring Syria crisis to war crimes court

 Permanent U.N. Security Council member Russia said in a Foreign Ministry statement on Tuesday that an effort by dozens of countries to refer the Syrian crisis to the International Criminal Court was "ill-timed and counterproductive".
More than 50 countries asked the Security Council on Monday to refer the crisis in Syria to the court, which prosecutes people for genocide and war crimes.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/us-syria-crisis-russia-idUSBRE90E0MS20130115

France says will leave Mali when it stable, safe

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/us-mali-rebels-hollande-idUSBRE90E0OW20130115

Ethiopia jails 10 for plotting attacks with Somali Islamists

 An Ethiopian court on Tuesday convicted 10 men of plotting attacks with the help of Islamist militants from neighboring Somalia and sentenced them to between three and 20 years in jail.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/us-ethiopia-somalia-attacks-idUSBRE90E0OB20130115

Saudi clerics protest against appointing women to advisory body

 Dozens of Saudi clerics staged a rare protest in front of the Royal Court on Tuesday against King Abdullah's decision to appoint women to a body that advises the government on new laws, a sign of growing conservative unease at modest social reforms.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/us-saudi-clerics-women-idUSBRE90E0OO20130115

Colombia expects Venezuelan help for FARC talks even if Chavez dies

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/us-venezuela-chavez-santos-idUSBRE90E0SC20130115

Sri Lanka president picks ally as chief justice

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/us-srilanka-impeachment-idUSBRE90E0S420130115

U.S. considering logistical help for France in Mali conflict

 "We share the French goal of denying terrorists a safe haven in the region and we support the French operation," Carney told reporters at a briefing.
"We are supporting the French by sharing information and we are considering requests for logistical support," he added.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/us-mali-rebels-france-usa-idUSBRE90E0WZ20130115

Germany tries couple accused of spying for Russia

 A married couple went on trial in Germany on Tuesday accused of handing hundreds of sensitive NATO and European Union documents to Russia during a two-decade spying career that continued well beyond the end of the Cold War.
 "This is a case of treason that has been going on for more than 20 years, involving the entire range of intelligence activity, from trying to recruit new sources to instructing others, all the way to writing their own reports on political and military matters," federal prosecutor Rolf Hannich said.
 In Germany, spying can be punished by up to 10 years in jail.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/us-germany-espionage-idUSBRE90E0Y820130115

Gunman kills supreme court judge in Russia's Dagestan

 A gunman killed a senior judge in the center of the capital of Russia's violence-plagued Dagestan province on Tuesday, law enforcement officials said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/us-russia-causcasus-violence-idUSBRE90E0YB20130115

Libya paid Mauritania $200 million to extradite ex-spy chief

 Libya authorized payment of almost $200 million to Mauritania months after it extradited the Libyan ex-spy chief to face trial at home in defiance of an International Criminal Court warrant for his arrest, Libyan government documents show.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/us-libya-icc-senussi-idUSBRE90E10620130115

French armored column leaves Bamako for north Mali

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/us-mali-rebels-column-idUSBRE90E10C20130115

Analysis: Mali's Islamist groups united by war threat

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/us-mali-rebels-analysis-idUSBRE90E0WQ20130115

Pakistani politics General turmoil

http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2013/01/pakistani-politics-1

Can non-Europeans think?

The question is rather something else: What about other thinkers who operate outside this European philosophical pedigree, whether they practice their thinking in the European languages they have colonially inherited or else in their own mother tongues - in Asia, in Africa, in Latin America, thinkers that have actually earned the dignity of a name, and perhaps even the pedigree of a "public intellectual" not too dissimilar to Hannah Arendt, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Michel Foucault that in this piece on Al Jazeera are offered as predecessors of Zizek?
 What about thinkers outside the purview of these European philosophers; how are we to name and designate and honour and learn from them with the epithet of "public intellectual" in the age of globalised media?
Do the constellation of thinkers from South Asia, exemplified by leading figures like Ashis Nandy, Partha Chatterjee, Gayatri Spivak, Ranajit Guha, Sudipta Kaviraj, Dipesh Chakrabarty, Homi Bhabha, or Akeel Bilgrami, come together to form a nucleus of thinking that is conscious of itself? Would that constellation perhaps merit the word "thinking" in a manner that would qualify one of them - as a South Asian - to the term "philosopher" or "public intellectuals"?
Are they "South Asian thinkers" or "thinkers", the way these European thinkers are? Why is it that if Mozart sneezes it is "music" (and I am quite sure the great genius even sneezed melodiously) but the most sophisticated Indian music ragas are the subject of "ethnomusicology"?
Is that "ethnos" not also applicable to the philosophical thinking that Indian philosophers practice - so much so that their thinking is more the subject of Western European and North American anthropological fieldwork and investigation?
Can non-Europeans think? - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

Don't make the same anti-terrorism mistakes in Mali

 Moving forward
What Mali needs in order to move forward are at least three measures. First, the twin towns of Mopti-Severe in central Mopti are home to over a 100,000 people, including a large number of internally displaced refugees, who deserve protection from potential rebel reprisals (and the same would go for any other major cities, such as Gao, liberated in the coming days). Armed UN peacekeepers should be dispatched to the region immediately to perform this role. While this is perhaps a slight nuance, defending a region from insurgents is typically less problematic than advancing into an area to reclaim it.
Second, coup leader Captain Amadou Sanogo really must step aside. Not only did he topple a democratically elected leader (which was wrong irrespective of corruption concerns at the time), his presence as the real power behind the sham interim government necessarily limits broad international support for external assistance in this difficult time. Related to Sanogo’s departure must be a clear plan for creating a legitimate interim government in Bamako.
Third, an unambiguous plan for a peace process in the North must be developed which includes armed UN peace keepers across the major urban centres of the provinces of Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal and a referendum on the future status of this region. While the rebels would almost certainly lose such an election if it were well-monitored, the process itself would be important for moving forward on a path to peace and reconciliation.
This last step is likely to be unpopular with many stakeholders, including the Malian military which seeks revenge for previous defeats in the North, Islamist groups who are likely to do poorly in a free and fair referendum, outside terrorist organisations who care little about the future of Mali, and the international community who will likely balk at the price tag of doing it right. Let us hope against hope that all will see the wisdom of acting deliberately and thoughtfully in order to insure long term peace and stability of Mali.
Don't make the same anti-terrorism mistakes in Mali - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

France goes it alone

FRANCE’S decision on January 11^th to begin air strikes against Islamist rebel positions in northern Mali, designed to prevent “the establishment of a terrorist state” in the African Sahel, contained elements of both surprise and familiarity.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/charlemagne/2013/01/french-foreign-policy

Barak's Last Battle

Barak's Last Battle: If there's one indisputable fact about this most polarizing of figures, it's that he is hard to get rid of -- and every retreat, even his most recent withdrawal from political life, lays the groundwork for an eventual counterattack.

What is France risking in Mali?

What is France risking in Mali? - Inside Story - Al Jazeera English

Getting to Yes With Iran

Getting to Yes With Iran: pHalting Iran's progress toward a bomb will require the United States to make credible promises and credible threats simultaneously -- an exceedingly difficult trick to pull off. For coercive diplomacy to work, Washington may need to put more of its cards on the table./p

The United States' recent record of coercive diplomacy is not encouraging. A combination of sanctions, inspections, and threats led Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to freeze his weapons of mass destruction program after the Gulf War, but it did not coerce him into accepting a long-term agreement. The reasons, as researchers have learned since Saddam's ouster, had to do with his motives and perceptions. The Iraqi leader not only sought regional dominance and the destruction of Israel but also worried about appearing weak to Iran, saw his survival in the wake of the Gulf War as a victory, and was so suspicious of the United States that a real rapprochement was never within reach. All this rendered ineffective the threats issued by the George W. Bush administration during the run-up to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and would likely have made promises of a reasonable settlement ineffective as well.
The Iraq case, moreover, is less an exception than the norm. Coercive diplomacy has worked on a few occasions, such as in 2003, when the Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi chose to stop developing weapons of mass destruction partly as a result of pressure and reassurances from the United States. More often than not, however, in recent decades the United States has failed at coercive diplomacy even though it has had overwhelming power and has made it clear that it will use force if necessary. A succession of relatively weak adversaries, including Panama (1989), Iraq (1990 and 2003), Serbia (1998), and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan (2001), did not respond to American attempts at pressure, leading Washington to fall back repeatedly on direct military action. Coercive diplomacy did convince the military junta that ruled Haiti to step down in 1994, but only once it was clear that U.S. warplanes were already in the air. And today, Iran is hardly alone in its defiance: despite issuing many threats and promises, the United States has been unable to persuade North Korea to relinquish its nuclear arsenal or even refrain from sharing its nuclear expertise with other countries (as it apparently did with Syria).

France tells U.N. that Mali operation to last as long as necessary

 "This operation, which takes place within the framework of international law, will last as long as necessary," France's U.N. ambassador, Gerard Araud, wrote in a letter to the Security Council.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/12/us-mali-rebels-un-idUSBRE90B02A20130112

Turkey wants France to explain contacts with Kurd leader

 Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan demanded on Saturday that French President Francois Hollande explain why he had met one of three Kurdish militants shot dead in Paris this week.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/12/us-turkey-france-kurds-idUSBRE90B0FB20130112

Russia rejects Assad exit as precondition for Syria deal

 Russia has been Assad's most powerful international backer, joining with China to block three Western- and Arab-backed U.N. Security Council resolutions aimed to pressure him or push him from power. Assad can also rely on regional powerhouse Iran.
Russia called for "a political transition process" based on an agreement by foreign powers last June.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/12/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE90A0NH20130112

Azerbaijan police break up protest against violence in army

 Police in Azerbaijan detained several young opposition activists on Saturday who protested in Baku against violence in the military, the first such demonstration in the oil-rich country.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/12/us-azerbaijan-protest-idUSBRE90B0HA20130112

France bombs Mali rebels, African states ready troops

 The mission had not been expected to start until September.
"By Monday at the latest, the troops will be there or will have started to arrive," said Ali Coulibaly, Ivory Coast's African Integration Minister. "Things are accelerating ... The reconquest of the north has already begun."
The multinational force is expected to be led by Nigerian Major-General Shehu Abdulkadir and draw heavily on troops from West Africa's most populous state. Burkina Faso, Niger and Senegal each announced they would send 500 soldiers.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/12/us-mali-rebels-idUSBRE90912Q20130112

Serbia urges autonomy for Serbs in Kosovo

 How can you not recognize and demand autonomy???


After more than 12 hours of debate, parliament adopted a resolution calling for broad autonomy for ethnic Serbs within the legal framework of Kosovo - implicit recognition of the authority of the Kosovo government over its entire territory.
One analyst called the resolution a "milestone", but hardline Serbian nationalists accused the government of betrayal at the behest of the European Union, which has said membership talks for Serbia depend on improved relations with Kosovo.
"Belgrade never before accepted Pristina's jurisdiction over Serb-held northern Kosovo," said Marko Prelec of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group think-tank.
The resolution reiterates that Serbia will never recognize the country of 1.7 million people as independent, but Dacic warned on Saturday that Belgrade could no longer afford "to keep its head in the sand".
"Serbian sovereignty over Kosovo is practically non-existent," he told lawmakers, saying Serbs in Kosovo needed institutions of government that would be recognized by all sides, including Kosovo Albanians.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/13/us-serbia-kosovo-idUSBRE90C07H20130113

Israeli Shas party rabbi released from hospital

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who has largely set the terms under which his Shas party has agreed to join a succession of governments, was taken to Jerusalem's Hadassah hospital by ambulance on Saturday after feeling weak during sabbath prayers.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/13/us-israel-rabbi-idUSBRE90C06520130113

Analysis: Mali - one African war France could not avoid

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/13/us-mali-rebels-france-idUSBRE90C09020130113

French early strike shakes up Mali intervention plan

 The United States and United Nations have stressed the internationally backed Mali mission should be "African-led, African-owned", and accompanied by a political process to pacify the split Sahel state, once a beacon of democracy and stability.
But with French special forces and aircraft taking the fight to the Islamists, and French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian declaring France "at war against terrorism wherever it is found", the Mali operation is a French-led show for the moment.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/13/us-mali-intervention-risks-idUSBRE90C0F520130113

Chinese workers abducted in Sudan's Darfur

 Unknown armed men have kidnapped four Chinese workers in Sudan's troubled Darfur region, the state news agency SUNA said on Sunday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/13/us-sudan-china-idUSBRE90C0I020130113

U.S. envoy says Iran working to destabilize Yemen: report

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/13/us-yemen-iran-usa-idUSBRE90C0FV20130113

U.S. forces helped France during Somalia rescue attempt: Obama

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/13/us-usa-obama-somalia-idUSBRE90C0K420130113

China and India use Buddha for regional karma

China and India use Buddha for regional karma - Features - Al Jazeera English

Making sense of Mali's armed groups

Al-Qaeda gets the most attention, but local groups and ethnic fighters are part of a complicated mix of instability.

Over the last decade a few local Ifoghas, Tuaregs and Arabs joined AQIM in Mali, and their members also inter-married with the community. However now that AQIM are openly circulating in the main cities of northern Mali, and thanks to its association with local groups like Ansar al Din, the group has become more mainstream. Now youths from southern Mali, Senegal, Niger and other countries have come to join them under the rubric of the Islamic Police which AQIM has a direct hand in running.
AQIM's top leader is the Algerian Abdel Malek Droukdel aka Abu Musab abdel Wadoud, although it also has an Emir for the Sahara named Yahia Abou Hammam, and a number of brigades headed by famous Saharan characters such as the one-eyed Algerian trafficker Mokhtar Belmokhtar and Hamid Abou Zaid, another Algerian. The exact leadership structures in the Sahara are not clear.
Making sense of Mali's armed groups - Features - Al Jazeera English

The plight of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia

 EXECUTIONS IN SAUDI ARABIA:

• Seventy-six executions were carried out in Saudi Arabia last year
• That is the third highest number of executions worldwide
• Only three countries execute individuals for crimes committed involving minors: Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Iran

The plight of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia - Inside Story - Al Jazeera English

Mass rally against gay marriage held in Paris

Mass rally against gay marriage held in Paris - Europe - Al Jazeera English

French airforce strike Mali rebel strongholds

French airforce strike Mali rebel strongholds - Africa - Al Jazeera English

After a global tour, pinkwashing comes home

After a global tour, pinkwashing comes home - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

Turkey continues peace talks with the PKK

Turkey continues peace talks with the PKK - Features - Al Jazeera English

The 'genocide' of India's daughters

 The fate of female children in India:

• Female infanticide is the act of deliberately killing bay girls
• Determining the sex of unborn babies is illegal in India
• Financial reasons are often behind female foeticide
• An estimated 500,000 female fetuses are aborted every year, according to the Lancet journal
• ActionAid says the law to determine the sex of an unborn child is not being enforced, and that not enough was being done to change the culture favouring boys
• The UN estimates that 2,000 female foetuses are being aborted every day

The 'genocide' of India's daughters - Inside Story - Al Jazeera English

France launches air strikes on Mali rebels

France launches air strikes on Mali rebels - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Bosnian Serb ex-policeman jailed for 20 years over Srebrenica

 Bosnia's war crimes court jailed a former Serb police officer for 20 years on Friday for his role in the 1995 mass killing of Muslims in Srebrenica, the worst atrocity on European soil since World War Two.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/11/us-bosnia-warcrimes-idUSBRE90A0PR20130111

Mali says Nigeria, Senegal, France providing help

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/11/us-mali-rebels-partners-idUSBRE90A0UX20130111

Britain backs French military intervention in Mali

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/11/us-mali-rebels-britain-idUSBRE90A0Z520130111

Spain seizes valves bound for Iran's nuclear program: ministry

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/11/us-spain-iran-idUSBRE90A11A20130111

Mali, FranceONU

http://www.franceonu.org/france-at-the-united-nations/geographic-files/africa/mali-1202/article/mali

U.S. State Dept. on U.N. Security Council Resolution on Mali

http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/texttrans/2012/12/20121221140327.html#axzz2HhAD0MPr

Mali SC Report

http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/monthly-forecast/2012-12/mali_2.php?print=true

Mali Conflict Overview, NyTimes

U.N. Authorizes Mali Force
The next week, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved a resolution to send thousands of African troops into Mali to help oust Islamist extremists who have turned its northern half into a vast Qaeda enclave and training ground.
But the resolution also made clear that such a military intervention will not happen until Mali’s own dysfunctional army is adequately trained and a framework for political stability and elections is restored in the country, which has been in turmoil since a military coup in March.
Overview
Mali, a former French colony, is a West African nation that had often been cited as a democratic model. But in March 2012, mutinous soldiers in Bamako, the capital, rose up in a coup, overthrowing the elected government of President Amadou Toumani Touré.
The soldiers were angry over the government’s mishandling of a rebellion by nomadic Tuareg rebels in the country’s vast northern desert. Shortly after the coup, the Tuareg rebels seized much of the north, but they were soon pushed out by radical Islamists.
In April, under international pressure, the military junta — led by Capt. Amadou Sanogo — agreed to a civilian government led by an interim president, Dioncounda Traoré, the former leader of the national assembly; and an interim prime minister, Cheick Modibo Diarra, an unlikely Malian-American astrophysicist who once worked at NASA, a political neophyte known for emotional outbursts.
Mr. Traoré‘s future as president came into question in May, when a mob of angry protesters stormed the presidential palace and beat him into unconsciousness. He spent two months after the assault receiving medical treatment in Paris. In late July, Mr. Traoré returned to Mali.
The military coup left the Malian Army rudderless and unable to defend the vast northern region. While the south is still controlled by the military-led government in Bamako, the north has emerged as a haven for terrorists. It has been taken over by radical jihadi factions, including Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, who have imposed a brutal application of Shariah law that includes public whippings, beatings, amputations and stonings.

Background
The Tuareg are a nomadic people who live largely in the Sahara Desert, spanning Niger, Mali, Algeria and Libya. For centuries they plied caravan routes across the desert, but colonial borders turned them into citizens of several different nations. In the 1960s and 1990s, Tuareg rebellions erupted in the Sahara, seeking autonomy or independence. Violence flared again in 2007 in Niger, when Tuareg rebels seeking to wrest control of the country’s rich uranium deposits mounted a rebellion.
Libya’s former leader, Col. Muammar el Qaddafi, supported Tuareg rebellions in Mali and Niger over several decades, and analysts in the region say the most recent uprising in Mali is closely linked to the fall of Colonel Qaddafi, whose weapons are suspected of playing a major role in the Malian rebels’ success.
That success led to intense frustration in the 7,000-strong Malian Army, which blamed the government of Mr. Touré, a former general, for the military’s shaky position.
In the North, a Radical Islamist Takeover
In the days after the military coup, the Tuareg rebels seized much of the desert expanse in northern Mali, declaring it an independent state called Azawad. But the Tuareg rebels — called the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, known as the M.N.L.A. — were then pushed into the background by the fierce ascendancy of radical Islamists, who have imposed a strict form of Shariah law on the region and now control the principal towns of Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal.
The Islamists have also embarked on a campaign of destroying religious shrines that has drawn condemnation from the United Nations and the International Criminal Court. The group is trying to stamp out what it sees as examples of decadent Western influence, and has gone after the monuments that have symbolized Timbuktu’s eminence as a center of broad-minded Islamic teaching for centuries.
In the wake of the Islamist takeover, more than 90,000 Malian refugees have fled to camps in Mauritania’s remote eastern edge. Some of the Tuareg rebel leaders have taken refuge in Nouakchott, the Mauritanian capital. In interviews, several said that despite considerable military assets and deep knowledge of the tricky desert terrain, the Tuareg would not take up arms against the Islamists unless they received assistance, diplomatic recognition and unspecified guarantees from outside powers.
On July 18, the government of Mali formally asked the International Criminal Court to investigate atrocities attributed to groups of armed rebels, including Islamic extremists.
One of those atrocities occurred on July 29, when Islamists in control of a town in northern Mali stoned a couple to death after accusing them of having children outside of marriage, according to a local official who was one of several hundred witnesses to the killings.
The official said the bearded Islamists, armed with Kalashnikov rifles, brought the couple into the center of the town of Aguelhok from about 12 miles away in the countryside. The young man and woman were forced into holes about four feet deep, with their heads protruding, and then stoned to death.
In early August, Islamists publicly amputated the hand of a man they accused of robbery. The amputation took in the small town of Ansongo, just downriver from the provincial capital, Gao, which is under the rule of a group called the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, or Mujao, splintered off from Al Qaeda. It was confirmed by a Mujao spokesman in Gao in a telephone interview, and by the Malian government in a statement later from Bamako, the capital.
In the South, a Climate of Violent Repression
While much alarm has been expressed about the extremist ministate in northern Mali, the situation in Bamako, the capital, is dire in its own way, with a worsening climate of repression and intimidation.
Hooded gunmen have abducted and beaten journalists at night. Soldiers who opposed the military junta have been tortured or forcibly “disappeared.” Those who beat the country’s elderly interim president have escaped without charges.
Rather than taking on the Islamists who have seized northern Mali, the military in the south appears intent on striking back at rivals who carried out a failed countercoup in late April.
Human Rights Watch accused the army of engaging in a campaign of “horrific” abuse against opposing soldiers at the junta’s headquarters outside Bamako. One witness reported to the group that Captain Sanogo was seen kicking a detainee who has since disappeared.
“Torture, sexual abuse and inhumane and degrading conditions” are reported by Amnesty International, at the base where Captain Sanogo has his headquarters, in a report to be released soon.
The press, mostly critical of the junta and the country’s military, has been singled out for attack. In June and July, two of the country’s most prominent journalists were hauled at gunpoint into the backs of pickup trucks and beaten with clubs and rifle butts. The attackers were not in uniform, but some wore army boots and carried weapons common with the Malian army. The beatings followed summonses to state security issued to two other prominent journalists.
Much of the opposition, having given up on the Malian Army, wants an outside force to come in to clean up the mess in the north. The Economic Community of West African States, known as Ecowas, is willing, and said in late July that it had secured Mali’s consent to go ahead with plans for a 3,000-soldier intervention force to help take back the north.
Johnnie Carson, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said in an interview that military force would likely be needed to roll back the Islamists’ gains in the north, but he said the Malian troops would have to take the lead in any such effort, something he acknowledged they were incapable of at present.
U.N. Chief Expresses Support for Mlitary Action
In late November, Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, recommended that the Security Council endorse a plan by the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States to deploy a security force at the request of the Mali government to reclaim the north from the extremists. But the action did not offer financial support from the United Nations.
While a detailed military plan has yet to be drafted, the idea has been for about 3,300 troops from Nigeria and other African countries to help Mali’s military mount a campaign against the militants. France, the United States and other countries would help with training, intelligence and logistics.
General Ham acknowledged that Qaeda fighters would probably solidify their gains in northern Mali — an area the size of France — in the months that it would take to train and equip an African force to help Mali’s fractured military oust the militants from the north.
General Ham said that pursuing a diplomatic solution should be the first avenue for resolving the conflict. Malian diplomats had recently met with some ethnic Tuareg rebels in neighboring Burkina Faso in an attempt to resolve some long-standing complaints by the Tuareg people and isolate the Arab foreign fighters from the Qaeda franchise.
General Ham , a former Iraq war commander who oversaw the initial American-led air campaign against Libya last year, identified hurdles that an African force would face in evicting the extremists. Most of the African militaries likely to participate in such an operation have largely been trained and equipped for peacekeeping missions, not offensive operations, he said.
The region’s desert terrain, vast distances and the likelihood of an extended conflict would pose significant challenges to an African force, as well as to any Western militaries playing supporting roles, General Ham said. He also noted that most of the African militaries likely to participate in such an operation have largely been trained and equipped for peacekeeping missions, not offensive operations.
Al Qaeda Link
In early December, the top American military commander in Africa said that Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb was operating terrorist training camps in northern Mali and  providing arms, explosives and financing to Boko Haram, a militant Islamist organization in northern Nigeria.
The Al Qaeda affiliate has used the momentum gained since seizing control of the northern part of Mali in March to increase recruiting across sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Europe, said the commander, Gen. Carter F. Ham, in remarks at the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/mali/index.html

Resolution 2085(2012) on Mali

 Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,

2.  Demands that Malian rebel groups cut off all ties to terrorist organizations, notably Al-Qaida in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and associated groups, and take concrete and visible steps to this effect,  takes note of the listing of Movement of Unity and Jihad in Western Africa (MUJWA) on the Al-Qaida sanctions list established and maintained by the Committee pursuant to Resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) and further reiterates its readiness to continue to adopt further targeted sanctions, under the abovementioned regime, against those rebel groups and individuals who do not cut off all ties to al-Qaida and associated groups, including AQIM and MUJWA;

5.  Calls upon all Member States to implement their obligations pursuant to resolution 1989 (2011) and 2083 (2012) and strongly condemns incidents of kidnapping and hostage taking by Al-Qaida in Mali and across the Sahel region with the aim of raising funds or gaining political concessions;

15.  Calls upon the transitional authorities of Mali and all other parties in Mali to cooperate fully with the deployment and operations of AFISMA, in particular by ensuring its safety, security and freedom of movement with unhindered and immediate access throughout the territory of Mali to enable it to fully carry out its mandate and further calls upon neighbouring countries of Mali to take appropriate measures to support the implementation of AFISMA mandate;
http://www.new-york-un.diplo.de/Vertretung/newyorkvn/en/__pr/press-releases/2012/20121220-sc-mali-resolution.html

France begins Mali military intervention

 France has hundreds of troops across western Africa, with bases or sites in places such as Senegal, Ivory Coast, Chad and Gabon.
The rebels "have even tried to deal a fatal blow to the very existence of Mali", Hollande said in an earlier speech on Friday to the French diplomatic corps.

"France, like its African partners and the entire international community, cannot accept that."
France will act under authority of three recent UN Security Council resolutions that call on member states to help Mali resolve its crisis in the face of a terrorist threat, both through political and military means, French diplomats have said.
France begins Mali military intervention - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Comissão da Verdade recebe primeiro relato de tortura fora do período da ditadura militar

http://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2013/01/11/comissao-da-verdade-recebe-primeiro-relato-de-tortura-fora-do-periodo-da-ditadura-militar.htm

FACTBOX-Paris murders show complexity of PKK peace drive

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/10/us-france-kurds-pkk-idUSBRE9090MC20130110

Syria overshadows Iran charm offensive in Egypt

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/10/us-egypt-iran-idUSBRE9090VZ20130110

U.S. intervention on EU opens rift in UK leadership

"The UK is a good and candid friend of the US, but having a historic special relationship should never mean being America's poodle," he said in a statement.

"Of all the bad arguments for remaining in the EU, the single worst is that we should do so in order to humor Barack Obama, the most anti-British president for nearly 200 years."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/10/us-britain-us-europe-idUSBRE9090WJ20130110

Sri Lanka recalls envoy from Saudi after maid beheaded

The infant's mother rejected a request to forgive the maid, which is the most important criteria in considering the release of a murderer in Saudi Arabia, said a top Sri Lankan government official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/10/us-srilanka-saudi-maid-idUSBRE9090XR20130110 

New Russian nuclear submarine goes into service

  Russia inaugurated on Thursday the first of a new class of submarine it will rely upon for decades as a bulwark of its strategic nuclear force and President Vladimir Putin pledged to strengthen the country's navy further.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/10/us-russia-submarine-idUSBRE9090YR20130110

Scores killed in multiple Pakistan bombings

 Three Kurdish women activists have been killed overnight inside the Kurdish Information Centre in Paris, including a co-founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Scores killed in multiple Pakistan bombings - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English

Czech ‘Joe Lieberman’ could be the EU’s first Jewish president

Czech ‘Joe Lieberman’ could be the EU’s first Jewish president - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

Palestine: What is in a name (change)? - Inside Story - Al Jazeera English

 THE 'STATE OF PALESTINE'

• Mahmoud Abbas wants passports and ID cards to say 'State of Palestine' 
• Until now official documents have said 'Palestinian Authority' 
• 'State of Palestine' is to be used on passports, documents and stamps 
• Palestinian ambassadors abroad have been told to act as envoys of state 
• The United Nations voted to change Palestinian status in November 
• The UN changed Palestinian status from non-member observer entity to state 
• Most members of the UN general assembly voted in favour of the upgrade 
• The assembly voted 138-9 in favour with 41 nations abstaining 
• Palestinians say the upgrade will strengthen their position to negotiate 
• Israel criticised the upgrade for bypassing peace negotiations

Palestine: What is in a name (change)? - Inside Story - Al Jazeera English

Drone strikes claim lives in Pakistan - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English

Two attacks leave at least eight people dead in North Waziristan as ex-US general cautions against tactic's overuse.

Drone strikes claim lives in Pakistan - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English

Obama picks Hagel for defense, Brennan for CIA

 President Barack Obama on Monday nominated former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel as his next defense secretary and counterterrorism adviser John Brennan to head the CIA, potentially setting up at least one Senate confirmation battle and establishing a tough tone to start his second term.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/07/us-obama-nominations-idUSBRE9060CP20130107

China to reform controversial forced labor camps

 China will reform its controversial system of forced labor camps this year, state media reported on Monday, which would mark a first step toward legal reform promised by new Communist Party chief Xi Jinping.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/07/us-china-camps-idUSBRE90609S20130107

US strikes 'Taliban compound' in Pakistan

 At least 16 suspected members of the Punjabi Taliban are believed killed in drone attack in South Waziristan.
US strikes 'Taliban compound' in Pakistan - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English

Ground the Drones in 2013

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/ending-america-s-drone-attacks-in-pakistan-by-imran-khan-8ff74f0346f86f5c047d6c70

Sri Lankan chief justice impeachment illegal: Supreme Court

 Sri Lanka's Supreme Court said on Thursday parliament does not have the legal authority to investigate accusations of misconduct against senior judges and an impeachment proceeding against the chief justice was against the law.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/03/us-srilanka-impeachment-idUSBRE90209D20130103

Drone kills three al Qaeda suspects in Yemen: sources

http://www.reuters.com/news/archive/worldNews?view=page&page=8&pageSize=10

Britain extradites al Qaeda suspect to U.S.

 A Pakistani man accused by British authorities of being an al Qaeda operative who took part in a plot to bomb U.S. and English targets was extradited from Britain to the United States on Thursday to face terrorism charges.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/03/us-britain-usa-extradition-idUSBRE9020G820130103

Cuban group says political detentions rose dramatically in 2012

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/04/us-cuba-rights-detentions-idUSBRE9020QN20130104

Turkish Kurd deputies meet jailed militant leader Ocalan: lawmaker

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/04/us-turkey-kurds-idUSBRE9020K720130104

Man charged with spying for Israel in Yemen

 The defense ministry's newspaper said the man was arrested three weeks ago in the city of Taiz after a period of surveillance. Citing a judicial source, it identified him as Ibrahim al-Dharahi, a 24-year-old computer engineer.
Dharani was charged with working for the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. His case will be referred to the criminal court in the port city of Aden the coming days, the source told the September 26 newspaper.
"The man carried two ID cards - one Yemeni, one Israeli," a security official in Aden told Reuters, declining to be named. The newspaper report said Dharahi had travelled to Israel and several Arab countries.
In Jerusalem, Yigal Palmor, spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry, said: "We have no knowledge at all of this matter."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/04/us-yemen-israel-spy-idUSBRE9030E220130104

Lebanon asks for $180 million to aid Syrian refugees

 Lebanon, now a haven for 170,000 Syrians fleeing civil war, has asked foreign donors for $180 million to help care for them and said it will register and recognize refugees after a year-long hiatus.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/04/us-syria-crisis-lebanon-refugees-idUSBRE9030GO20130104

Justiça brasileira embarga avião da TAP por dívida de embaixada portuguesa

A Justiça brasileira determinou a apreensão de um avião da TAP no Brasil para ajudar no pagamento de dívidas trabalhistas da Embaixada de Portugal, em Brasília, disse nesta sexta-feira (4) Borges Rezende, advogado dos trabalhadores que ganharam a causa.
O juiz Fausto Luiz de Medeiros, do TRT (Tribunal Regional do Trabalho), embargou a aeronave Airbus A330-200, de propriedade da TAP, em 19 de dezembro. A assessoria de imprensa do TRT disse que o documento não foi divulgado porque o tribunal, que está em recesso de fim de ano, ainda não o publicou oficialmente.
O avião foi embargado porque o governo português detém todas das ações da TAP.
A companhia aérea manifestou surpresa com a informação e disse que não foi notificada da decisão. "A TAP é uma sociedade anônima cujo patrimônio é privado e não pode responder por dívidas de seus acionistas, uma decisão que pré-configura uma situação de ilegalidade", diz nota da empresa.
A Justiça brasileira determinou a apreensão de um avião da TAP no Brasil para ajudar no pagamento de dívidas trabalhistas da Embaixada de Portugal, em Brasília, disse nesta sexta-feira (4) Borges Rezende, advogado dos trabalhadores que ganharam a causa.
O juiz Fausto Luiz de Medeiros, do TRT (Tribunal Regional do Trabalho), embargou a aeronave Airbus A330-200, de propriedade da TAP, em 19 de dezembro. A assessoria de imprensa do TRT disse que o documento não foi divulgado porque o tribunal, que está em recesso de fim de ano, ainda não o publicou oficialmente.
O avião foi embargado porque o governo português detém todas das ações da TAP.
A companhia aérea manifestou surpresa com a informação e disse que não foi notificada da decisão. "A TAP é uma sociedade anônima cujo patrimônio é privado e não pode responder por dívidas de seus acionistas, uma decisão que pré-configura uma situação de ilegalidade", diz nota da empresa.
http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/mercado/1210278-justica-brasileira-embarga-aviao-da-tap-por-divida-de-embaixada-portuguesa.shtml

UK charges Nepalese officer with 'torture'

 British police have charged a serving colonel in the Nepalese army with two counts of torture allegedly committed during the Himalayan nation's civil war in 2005.
Britain's Metropolitan Police said on Friday that Kumar Lama, 46, had been arrested at a residential address in the English town of St. Leonards-on-Sea, about 115km southeast of London, on Thursday.
The charges relate to two separate incidents that allegedly occurred between April 15 and May 1, 2005, at the Gorusinghe Army Barracks in Nepal.
Lama is charged with intentionally "inflicting severe pain or suffering" on two separate individuals as a public official - or person acting in official capacity.
He will appear at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday, police added.
UK charges Nepalese officer with 'torture' - Europe - Al Jazeera English

Bulgarian authorities identify suspect in Burgas bombing

Bulgarian authorities identify suspect in Burgas bombing - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

Terra indígena Marãiwatsédé em Posto da Mata, MT

 Posseiros do distrito de Posto da Mata (MT), principal foco de resistência à operação de retirada de não índios da terra indígena Marãiwatsédé, têm até hoje para deixar o local.
Diante do ultimato da Justiça Federal, muitos estão desmontando casas e carregando caminhões para saírem da localidade, em Alto Boa Vista, nordeste de Mato Grosso.
O distrito era o principal foco de tensão até a semana passada, quando forças federais de segurança tomaram o posto de combustível que serviu de base de resistência dos posseiros durante um mês.
http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/1209803-posseiros-de-posto-da-mata-em-mt-devem-abandonar-local-hoje.shtml

The secrecy veiling Obama’s drone war

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2013/01/04/the-secrecy-veiling-obamas-drone-war/

US drone kills senior Pakistan tribal leader

US drone kills senior Pakistan tribal leader - Central & South Asia - Al Jazeera English

NY Times loses bid to uncover details on drone strikes

 A federal judge on Wednesday rejected The New York Times' bid to force the U.S. government to disclose more information about its targeted killing of people it believes have ties to terrorism, including American citizens.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/02/us-newyorktimes-drone-lawsuit-idUSBRE9010OV20130102

Israel completes key part of fence with Egypt

 Israel says barrier stretching from Red Sea port of Eilat to Gaza Strip on the Mediterranean will stop "infiltrators"
Israel completes key part of fence with Egypt - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

UN report: At least 60,000 killed in Syrian civil war

UN report: At least 60,000 killed in Syrian civil war - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

Where to be born in 2013

 
http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2013/01/daily-chart

Iran blasts Obama for Latin America law

 The Countering Iran in the Western Hemisphere Act, passed by legislators earlier in 2012, calls for the department to develop a strategy within 180 days to "address Iran's growing hostile presence and activity" in the region.
The text also calls on the Department of Homeland Security to bolster surveillance at US borders with Canada and Mexico to "prevent operatives from Iran, the IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps), its Quds Force, Hezbollah or any other terrorist organisation from entering the Untied States".
Iran blasts Obama for Latin America law - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

Turkey discussing disarmament with Kurdish leader: aide

  Turkey has begun discussing disarmament with Kurdish militants after concluding that it is unlikely to defeat them militarily, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's chief adviser said on Monday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/31/us-turkey-kurds-pkk-idUSBRE8BU0D620121231