All Terrorism & Security
- Turkey closes its Syria embassy, boosts aid to oppositionThe embassy closure by such a key regional player is likely to increase pressure on the Syrian government. Turkey also pledged, along with the US, to increase 'non-lethal aid' to Syrian rebels.
- EU expands Syrian sanctions to include Assad's fashionable British wifeThe European Union has announced that it will freeze the assets of four members of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's family, including his British wife Asma.
- UN Security Council poised to threaten Syria's Assad - with Russia's blessingThe United Nations Security Council secured Russia's critical backing yesterday for a statement backing envoy Kofi Annan's peacemaking plan. The step marks a distinct shift in Russia's stance.
- Spate of bombings in Iraq undermines stability ahead of Arab summitA series of bombings across Iraq today belie Iraq's efforts to portray itself as a stable, resurgent power as it prepares to host the annual Arab League summit for the first time since 1990.
- Fighting in Damascus belies Syrian government's claim of controlSyrian government troops and rebel forces clashed in the most violence Damascus has seen in the year-old uprising.
- NATO's Afghan strategy tested as Taliban talks derail, Karzai demands troop pullbackDetails are emerging about US soldier who killed Afghan civilians in a rampage that spurred聽Afghan President Karzai to demand that US troops leave village outposts. 聽
- Afghans angry that shooting suspect flown out of countryThe US military says it is standard procedure to move the suspect, but many Afghans are demanding the US soldier accused of killing 16 villagers in Kandahar face justice in the country.
- Next on Syrian hit list: Deraa, cradle of the uprisingAfter overrunning Homs and launching an assault on Idlib, Syrian government troops are staging an offensive on Deraa, where the uprising began a year ago.
- Report: Syrian forces overrun rebel strongholdSyrian government troops appear to have overrun the rebel-held city of Idlib in an offensive that apparently began while UN special envoy Kofi Annan was still in the country.
- Activists: With UN gone, Syrian forces kill nearly 50 women, childrenActivists described 'horrific' methods used by Syrian government forces and called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting. The government blamed the deaths on terrorists.
- Former Israeli spy chief talks down strike on Iran nuclear sites as 'stupidest idea'Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan gave a lengthy interview to CBS's 60 Minutes just days after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu came to Washington to drum up support for an Iran nuclear strike.
- Russia says it won't offer asylum to Syria's AssadBut that doesn't mean that President-elect Vladimir Putin will soften Russia's opposition to intervention in Syria, as the US had hoped.
- Iran nuclear talks: delaying tactic or platform for peace?A return to the negotiation table could relieve some of the tension that has built up over threats of an Israeli military strike on Iran nuclear targets.
- UN inspectors get rare access to suspected Iran nuclear siteTehran confirmed today that UN inspectors can visit Parchin, a military complex where a chamber for explosives tests has raised concerns about Iran nuclear weapons development.
- Al Qaeda militants serious threat as Yemen transitions away from SalehAl Qaeda militants attacked several military bases in Yemen, killing hundreds and presenting an early challenge for聽 the new government of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
- Humanitarian aid arrives in Homs, Syria, as international pressure buildsEven China and Russia 鈥 Syrian allies 鈥 have joined the international push for humanitarian relief amid Assad's harsh crackdown.
- Syria's nonviolent opposition aligns with armed groupsThe Syrian National Council announced that it has established links with the armed opposition faction, the Free Syrian Army, after months of hewing to nonviolence.
- Reports: Netanyahu will push Obama hard on IranIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will reportedly ratchet up the pressure when he meets with President Obama in Washington next week.
- Syria's Assad reportedly launching ground invasion of HomsWhile the rebel stronghold has been pummeled by indiscriminate shelling for weeks, an influx of troops could lead to door-to-door searches, arrests, and potential torture of key activists.
- Taliban claim Afghanistan suicide attack, citing 'revenge' for Quran burningsAn Afghan suicide bomber attacked outside the NATO base in Jalalabad today, killing nine people. The attack follows a deadly week of protests over Quran burnings at a US base.