| Hard News 72 militants, 11 policemen killed in Afghanistan clash: "Several hundred militants launched an attack on a convoy. The clash lasted until Monday morning. The gunfight killed 72 militants and 11 cops," he said. The incident took place in Gulistan district in Farah, he noted. Afghan attorney general sacked after 'unsanctioned meeting with Taliban': The Afghan president Hamid Karzai has sacked his attorney general after the chief law officer held an unsanctioned meeting with Taliban peace negotiators in the United Arab Emirates, a senior Afghan official and a legislator said today. 25 Egyptian police killed in Sinai ambush at Rafah: Medical sources and officials said the police were in two buses which came under attack from armed men close to the town of Rafah on the Gaza border. Egypt: 36 killed in prison truck escape attempt: The suspects killed were part of a prison truck convoy of some 600 detainees. Detainees in one of the trucks rioted and managed to capture a police officer inside, the officials said. Security forces fired tear gas into the truck in hopes of freeing the badly beaten officer, the officials said. The officials said those killed died from suffocating on the gas. Egypt government admits killing Islamists in custody: The Muslim Brotherhood, described the deaths as "assassinations," and said the victims, which it said numbered 52, had been shot and tear-gassed through the windows of the locked prison van. Amnesty denounces 'utter carnage' in Egypt: "A clear violation of international law and standards has been carried out in Egypt in what can be described as no less than utter carnage," Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty, said in a statement issued on Monday. Egypt condemns European Union threats to halt aid as death toll rises: Egypt has flatly rejected a warning by the European Union that it will "urgently review" its aid to the country against a background of mounting international concern about the deteriorating situation and the huge loss of life in the last few days. US lawmakers join ranks to suspend Egypt aid: A growing bipartisan chorus of US lawmakers said on Sunday that the United States should suspend its $1.5 billion in military and economic aid to Egypt following a violent crackdown on protesters that has left nearly 800 dead. Prince Saud: Arabs to cover any foreign aid cuts to Egypt: Saudi Arabia said on Monday that Arab and Islamic countries will step in to help Egypt if Western nations cut aid packages to Cairo over a crackdown on extremists. 'Israel intensifying bid to rally support for Egypt military rule': The Israeli government intends to step up this week a campaign urging the United States and the European Union to back the interim military government in Egypt, despite the regime's rise to power through violence and its ongoing crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood Former Israeli defense minister : Sisi is preventing Egypt from turning into Iran: "The Egyptian Army won't give up [on the peace treaty]. The army is its own kingdom within Egypt, and it protects the peace treaty because it understands its joint interests with Israel," he stated. Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak released on corruption charges: The Cairo Criminal Court Monday ordered the prison release of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, pending an investigation into corruption charges. The ousted leader will remain in custody, though, for separate charges of murder and corruption, Ahram Online reported. 8 people killed, 25 wounded in Iraq's violence: Eight people were killed and 25 wounded in separate attacks in Iraq on Monday, police said. Three workers at a carpentry shop were shot dead by gunmen in eastern the city of Mosul. A child and a civilian were killed when a roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol at al-B'aj area, some 120 km west of Mosul Almost 30,000 Syrian refugees enter Iraq since Thursday - UN: An estimated 29,000 Syrian refugees have entered northern Iraq since Thursday in one of the largest crossings in Syria's two-year-old conflict and the influx is continuing, the United Nations said on Monday. Syrian army recaptures Latakia: A Syrian security force told AFP Monday that the Syrian army was yet to recapture the Salma region, a strategic part of territory that lies on the border with Turkey. It has been in rebel hands since the end of 2012. Assad's forces push back rebels in Syria's Alawite mountains: Syrian army and militia troops loyal to President Bashar Assad have pushed back a rebel offensive in the mountain heartlands of his Alawite sect, officials and activists said on Monday, after days of heavy fighting and aerial bombardment. Egypt closes Rafah crossing after Sinai attack: official: The decision to close the crossing, which is the only way most Palestinians in Gaza can leave the territory, comes after 24 Egyptian police were killed in an attack nearby. PLO charges Israel with 'war crimes, anti-human, racist acts': Palestinian leaders say talks are "cover for settlement project," accuse Israel of undermining "all prospects for peace." Terrorists 'aim to hit Israeli, Jewish targets worldwide' in coming weeks: Counter-Terror Bureau issues strident warning, citing 'concrete, very high' threats in numerous countries Ex-judge gunned down in Benghazi: A former judge, aged 79, was gunned down as he left a mosque in the restive eastern city of Benghazi on Monday, a Libyan security services spokesperson said. Ex-rebel sworn in as Central African Republic president: Former rebel leader Michel Djotodia was formally sworn in as the Central African Republic's president on Sunday, starting the clock on his interim administration's 18-month deadline to restore order and organise elections. Rebels kill five Paraguayan guards: Paraguayan police reported the incident on Sunday, saying rebels attacked the guards' campsite the night before in a ranch located in the province of San Pedro. Partner of Glenn Greenwald held under Terrorism Act: Mr Greenwald said: "I will be far more aggressive in my reporting from now. I am going to publish many more documents. Intelligence Official Says He Was Fired For Not Lying To Congress; Says Rogers & Feinstein Don't Know What's Happening Terrorism law watchdog calls for explanation of Miranda detention: David Anderson QC becomes latest figure to question treatment of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald's partner How to Keep the NSA Out of Your Computer: Sick of government spying, corporate monitoring, and overpriced ISPs? There's a cure for that. Judge: US position in drone suit 'disconcerting': It names as defendants then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, then-CIA Director David Petraeus and two commanders in the military's Special Operations forces, and seeks unspecified compensatory damages. Ex-CIA official to ask Italy for pardon for kidnapping an Egyptian Muslim cleric under the U.S. 'extraordinary rendition' program: Lady was among 23 Americans sentenced at an Italian trial in 2009, the first time U.S. nationals had been convicted over the program, operated by the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush during the so-called war on terror. State police recorded license plates at political events: Virginia State Police recorded the license plates of every vehicle arriving from Virginia to attend President Barack Obama's first inauguration in Washington in 2009, as well as those at campaign rallies three months earlier in Leesburg for then-candidate Obama and Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. JPMorgan Bribery Probe: : Federal authorities are investigating JP Morgan's hiring practices in China, looking at whether JPMorgan (JPM) hired the children of powerful Chinese officials to help the bank score business, The New York Times reports. Lawmakers travel the world on lobbyists' dime: U.S. lawmakers are once again taking advantage of their summer recess to race around the globe on privately financed tours to places like China, the Middle East and Scotland - trips watchdog groups cite as evidence that congressional ethics reforms are unraveling. Four million patients on statins don't need them: Half of those on cholesterol-reduction pills risk side effects with little chance of benefit, doctors warn ===
"Let us be peace and joy" Tom Feeley | 
