World News

RT | North Korea has replaced its hawkish armed forces minister with a younger general.

Xinhua | The Syrian government has warned Israel that it would enter the occupied Golan Heights “whenever it wants because it’s a Syrian land.”

RIA Novosti | An Iranian government spokesman has dismissed a media report claiming President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could face 74 lashes for breaking the country’s election rules.

The Telegraph | The black flag of al-Qaeda flies high over Raqqa’s main square in front of the smart new governor’s palace, its former occupant last seen in their prison.

RIA Novosti | Russia’s Mediterranean task force will comprise 5-6 warships and may be enlarged to include nuclear submarines, Navy Commander Adm.

Richard Silverstein.com | Israel destroyed an advanced Shoval (“Heron”) drone that was on a mission over the sea between Tel Aviv and Netanya. Israel did indeed destroy the drone, one of the most advanced in its fleet.

Jurriaan Maessen | The mayor would be wise to consider signing up for a crash-course on how not to escalate an event before it even takes place.

RT | Around 20 people were killed and 46 injured when several explosions struck a city in southern Turkey.

Watford Observer | Watford’s elected mayor, Dorothy Thornhill, said she had mixed feelings about whether the summit was a good thing for the town.

Washington’s Blog | Today US military operations are involved in scores of countries across all the five continents.

Want China Times | Set to be used by the PLA Air Force and Navy Air Force for combat missions, but also for tracking and reconnaissance purposes.

RT | Kerry announced the new aid during his visit to Rome on Thursday.

Reuters | Two Dutch citizens suspected of involvement in a $45 million global cyber heist.

Russia Today | UK PM David Cameron claims there is no evidence the Syrian opposition used chemical weapons.

RIA Novosti | “It is a curtain-raiser to a dangerous war to invade” a North Korean official was cited as saying, Yonhap reported.

Zero Hedge | We almost got an entire 24 hour period that did not have news about imminent war rumblings out of Syria.

London Guardian | Prince uses speech at St James’s Palace to single out ‘confirmed sceptics’ and environmentally unfriendly businesses.

London Guardian | The well-resourced organisation, which is linked to al-Qaida, is luring many anti-Assad fighters away, say brigade commanders

Mike Adams | We are republishing two important stories here (with links to original sources) that you need to read.

CNet | Internet, mobile, and landline networks have been inaccessible in the war-torn country.

The Atlantic | All-out nuclear war isn’t something Americans worry about too much these days, which is good, because the people in charge of fighting that war have apparently been doing a lousy job lately.

Washington Post | The weekend airstrikes near the Syrian capital reportedly carried out by Israel have heightened concerns about terrorist attacks on Israeli tourists and other civilian targets.

RT | The Republican ranking member of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Tuesday that he expects the US will soon formally equip Syrian rebels with American arms.

Xinhua | Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman on Tuesday expressed “firm opposition” to a Pentagon report that misrepresents China’s military development.

Fox News | In 2003, Iraq’s Christian population was at least one million.

DEBKAfile | Negative diplomatic ricochets are pursuing Israel in the aftermath of its air force attacks on Syria.

Jerusalem Post | BBC Persian reporter: Residents heard blasts in Iranian capital.

RIA Novosti | Iran accused Western powers on Tuesday of helping Syrian rebels gain access to chemical weapons.

RT | In a sudden de-escalation of tension on the Korean Peninsula, Pyongyang has removed two of its ballistic missile units from their launching positions, US officials confirmed.

DEBKAfile | The columns of fire over Damascus flashing across world screens caused the Assad regime and army serious loss of face.

Arutz Sheva | Syrian official says Damascus will respond to Israeli attacks against targets on its territory.

London Telegraph | British intelligence is handing “bundles” of cash over to Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai for special peace projects despite warnings that handouts are promoting corruption at the heart of his regime.

YNet | New York Times quotes high-ranking Syrian military official as saying alleged Israeli strike in Damascus killed dozens of soldiers, hit Republican Guard bases, long-range missiles storehouses.

Jerusalem Post | Any further Israeli aggressions on Syrian territory would issue a declaration of war, Syrian President Bashar Assad said according to a source Monday in the Kuwait daily Alrai.

RT | Israel used “a new type of weapon”, a senior official at the Syrian military facility that came under attack from the Israeli Air Force told RT.

RIA Novosti | Iran condemned on Sunday the recent Israeli airstrikes on Syria.

YNet News | Israel is bolstering protective measures in preparation for possible retaliatory rocket fire.

CNN | “Yes, we received cash from the CIA for the past 10 years. It was very useful, and we are very thankful for this aid.”

Fox News | ox News has learned the names of the self-described Benghazi “whistleblowers”.

NY Times | Israel aircraft bombed a target in Syria overnight Thursday.

Reuters | Israeli warplanes have carried out an air strike on a target in Syria, a security source in the region said on Saturday, confirming a disclosure by a U.S. official.

The Hill | President Obama did not rule out sending U.S. troops to Syria on Friday but said he did “not foresee” such a scenario if his administration confirms that Bashar Assad’s regime has used chemical weapons.

Newsmax | The Libyan militia group that the State Department hired to defend its embattled diplomatic mission in Benghazi had clear al-Qaida sympathies.

Jurriaan Maessen | Former chief of staff to Colin Powell, Retired Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, told the Young Turks the early “indications” of the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime could point to “an Israeli false flag operation”.

Ynet | Wall Street Journal reports Americans showed Israeli officials video of Pentagon’s advanced ‘bunker buster’ bomb hitting target to convince Israel not to launch unilateral strike in Iran.

The Hill | President Obama said Thursday that the United States was “looking at all options” in Syria.

Prison Planet.com | Obama has signaled that he will green light the transfer of lethal weapons to FSA militants in Syria within weeks despite the fact that such groups are being led by Al-Qaeda terrorists.

The Hill | North Korea continues to work toward developing a long-range nuclear missile that can reach the United States, according to an unclassified report to Congress released by the Pentagon Thursday.

Reuters | Gunmen on a motorcycle on Friday shot dead a prosecutor investigating the 2007 assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, one of the most shocking events in the country’s turbulent history.

RIA Global | Three retired Air Force officers told a panel of six former members of the US Congress at the conference about their experiences with extraterrestrial “visitors” who meddled with US nuclear weapons systems.