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Free Syrian Army: No opposition talks if intervention is not discussed
Members of the radical Syrian opposition have boycotted a meeting in Cairo, where some 250 delegates are discussing an internationally backed transition plan. The armed rebels branded it a conspiracy and said the agenda lacked an aggressive stance. The rebel Free Syrian Army and “independent” activists lashed out at the organizers of the two-day conference…
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UN rights body to probe illegal Israeli settlements
UN rights body to probe Israel settlements GENEVA — The UN Human Rights Council has set up a panel to probe Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, a move that further irked Israel which said it will bar its access to the sites of inquiry. Israel severed contacts with the council in March after…
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European Parliament Rejects Anti-Piracy Treaty
European legislators on Wednesday rejected an international treaty to crack down on digital piracy, a vote that Internet freedom groups hailed as a victory for democracy but that media companies lamented as a setback for the creative industries. Foes of the treaty said the vote, by an overwhelming margin in the European Parliament at Strasbourg,…
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Regulators release ‘living wills’ for big banks
By Peter Schroeder Banking regulators released public portions of “living wills” submitted by nine of the world’s largest banks, which details how they could be dissolved if trouble strikes. The documents, required as part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, mark an effort to ensure that huge financial institutions, if struggling to stay afloat, can…
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World’s Richest Gain $21.4 Billion as Batista Falters
The world’s richest people added a combined $21.4 billion to their collective net worth this week as the wealth gap between billionaire Carlos Slim and Eike Batista widened to more than $50 billion. Batista’s net worth fell $4 billion. Shares of the tycoon’s commodities empire plunged after his oil company, OGX Petroleo & Gas Participacoes…
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Why Washington and Moscow want a backroom deal over Syria
The scene is set for a Clinton-Lavrov meeting that could still ring the death knell for the Assad regime Months of futile diplomatic tussling, UN deadlock and finger-pointing over Syria have boiled down to a dramatic, last-ditch effort this weekend to cut a deal between the US and Russia that eases President Bashar al-Assad from…
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Is Turkey moving toward ‘hard power’ over Syria?
The downing of a Turkish jet over the Mediterranean last Friday by a Syrian missile took Turkish-Syrian tensions to a new level. Though the Turkish government did not declare war as some expected, and others feared, it did declare Syria a “clear and present danger” and raised its rules of engagement to an alert level.…
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Troops have withdrawn from Iraq, but U.S. money hasn’t
By Walter Pincus The State Department is planning to spend up to $115 million to upgrade the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad, already its biggest and most expensive in the world, according to pre-solicitation notices published this month. Remember, it has been 3 1 / 2 years since American diplomats moved into the 104-acre, $700…
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Deadly Drone Strike on Muslims in the Southern Philippines
Marking the first time the weapon has been used in Southeast Asia Early last month, Tausug villagers on the Southern Philippine island of Jolo heard a buzzing sound not heard before. It is a sound familiar to the people of Waziristan who live along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, where the United States fights the Taliban.…
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Rodney King, who struggled with demons after beating, dead at 47
Rodney King, who died Sunday at 47, struggled with demons in the years after his beating by LAPD police officers made him a household name. King became a symbol for police brutality and troubled relations between the LAPD and minority residents. He was eventually awarded a $3.8-million settlement. But the money and the fame brought…
The Red Phoenix
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