| Hard News Forty-seven killed in Iraqi blasts, shootings: Video report - At least 47 killed in Iraq as tensions intensify between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims Six men snatched and killed north of Baghdad; Militants in police uniforms claiming to be carrying out a security operation on Monday kidnapped and killed six men in a pre-dawn attack north of Baghdad, officials said. Kurdish rebels claim to have killed 7 Iranian soldiers; Kurdish rebels based in north Iraq Monday claimed to have killed seven Iranian soldiers in clashes last week near the Islamic republic's border with Iraqi Kurdistan. Syria rebels seize strategic town, execute Alawite cleric: activists: Rebel forces took control of a strategic town in northern Syria on Monday, cutting off government forces' only supply route out of the city of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. UN chemical weapons team in Syria shot at by snipers: "The team themselves, the team members... are safe and they returned to the government checkpoint and they will return to the area after replacing the vehicle." UN inspectors reach Syria gas victims despite coming under fire: U.N. chemical weapons inspectors in Syria met and took samples from victims of an apparent poison gas attack in a rebel-held suburb of Damascus on Monday after the U.N. team themselves survived a sniper attack that hit a vehicle in their convoy. Russia: West has no proof Assad launched gas attack: "[The] West is unable to present evidence of the involvement of the Syrian authorities in chemical attacks, but states that 'red line' in situation has been passed", said Lavrov, according to the Voice of Russia. "The use of force without the approval of the United Nations Security Council is a very grave violation of international law," Russia says it won't be drawn into war over Syria: "If anybody thinks that bombing and destroying the Syrian military infrastructure, and leaving the battlefield for the opponents of the regime to win, would end everything - that is an illusion," Lavrov said. William Hague warns of a 'strong response' to chemical weapons attack in Syria - video: Foreign secretary William Hague says that no dictator could use chemical weapons on such a scale without consequences William Hague: Military Action Against Syria 'May Be Only Remaining Response'; The Foreign Secretary told MPs demanding the recall of parliament from its summer break ahead of any British involvement in any such intervention that it would "depend on the timing and nature of what we propose to do". Assad warns failure awaits US military intervention in Syria: President says chemical weapons allegations are politically motivated and all US wars since Vietnam have ended badly Warplanes spotted in Cyprus as tensions rise in Damascus: Warplanes and military transporters have begun arriving on Britain's Akrotiri air base on Cyprus, less than 100 miles from the Syrian coast, in a sign of increasing preparations for a military strike against the Assad regime in Syria. Turkey would join coalition against Syria, says FM: Davutoglu says Ankara will join any international coalition even if wider consensus isn't reached at UN's Security Council; Germany: A chemical attack in Syria 'cannot be without consequences': The German government has said that, if proven, the use of chemical weapons by President Bashar al-Assad's forces "cannot be without consequence." But Berlin also said those consequences might take several forms. Israel's Peres urges world to 'take out' Syria chemicals: "The time has come to make an international attempt to take out all the chemical weapons in Syria," Peres said, without elaborating if he envisioned this being achieved through military strikes or otherwise. "It's very complicated, very expensive, but it will be more expensive and more dangerous to keep" the situation as it is, Peres added. Report: Israeli, US and Jordanian commandos operating in Syria: American, Israeli and Jordanian commandos are currently deployed on the ground in Syria, training and operating alongside the rebels trying to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, the French daily Le Figaro reported on Saturday. The report has not been corroborated by any official American, Israeli or Jordanian source. WIKILEAKS RELEASE Syria: 84,067 sensitive emails from US intelligence contractor Stratfor: All emails are available on Wikileaks site and can be read by clicking here. Syria-based al Qaeda group issues threat to Western aid workers: Al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria - the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham, or ISIS - warned Western aid workers that they are at risk of kidnapping or death if they enter Syria. The directive from the terror group now officially makes many U.S.-funded organizations targets. American Tells of Odyssey as Prisoner of Syrian Rebels: For seven months, Mr. Schrier, 35, was a prisoner in Syria of jihadi fighters opposed to President Bashar al-Assad. Held in bases and prisons run by two Islamist rebel groups, he said, he was robbed, beaten and accused of being an American spy by men who then assumed his identity online. Three Palestinians shot dead by Israeli troops: Palestinian negotiators cancel peace talks after three men killed and 15 wounded during dawn raid on Qalandiya camp Nigerian Islamists kill 14 vigilantes in Bama raid: Nigerian Islamists killed 14 pro-government youth vigilantes in an attack on the northeastern town of Bama, a local official who attended a mass funeral for the victims said on Monday. United Nations troops accused of killing two civilians in Congo: Demonstrators reportedly killed after car set ablaze and crowd tried to storm UN base in protest at lack of protection 'Violent chaos': Libya in deep crisis 2 years since rebels took over: On this day two years ago, Libyan rebels were transferring their government to Tripoli. However, the anniversary is marred by an acute parliamentary crisis, a severe economic slump and the country becoming the main base for Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb. Egypt's police state resurgent in Sinai tourist haven: It may seem an irony that Egyptians should welcome the re-emergence of a police state whose reputation for brutality and venality drove them to revolution. But in Sharm el-Sheikh the logic is obvious to those whose living depends on promising a sunny, and safe, holiday in an area with a history of violence. Egypt Airport Official: Planes Arriving Near Empty: The chairman of the Egyptian Airports Co. says some flights are arriving nearly empty to Egypt and that passenger traffic in the past week has fallen by half. 7 killed as Taliban launch attack on Afghan army base: Two Afghan army soldier and five militants were killed Monday morning when Taliban raided an Afghan army base in Tagab district of the eastern province of Kapisa, an official said. Britain's child poverty 'social apartheid': Problems faced by the young are worse than 1960s claim researchers ===
"Let us be peace and joy" Tom Feeley | 
