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Al Jazeera English - Europe - UK court 'issued warrant for Livni' : "A British court reportedly issued an arrest warrant for Israel's former foreign minister on charges relating to Israel's 22-day war on Gaza, before apparently withdrawing it after it was found she was not in the country. Tzipi Livni, the leader of the opposition Kadima party, had been expected to travel to London this week for an event organised by the Jewish National Fund, followed by meetings with British government officials. Livni cancelled the visit two weeks before the event was due to take place. Israeli media reported on Monday that Livni had called off the trip fearing that she would be arrested after a pro-Palestinian group won a warrant for her arrest. The British foreign office issued a statement on Monday saying it was looking into the incident and its possible effect on the peace process. 'The UK is determined to do all it can to promote peace in the Middle East and to be a strat

Saudi Air Strikes Kill Up to 70 Yemeni Civilians -- News from Antiwar.com : "The Shi’ite separatists that have been fighting along the Saudi border later insisted that the raid had actually killed 70 people and over 100 were wounded. Exact figures are impossible to ascertain with the Yemeni government blocking reporters from the region. The Saudi government has yet to comment but the Yemeni government, always quick to make spurious claims about the situation on the ground, insisted they were actually the ones who attacked the market, and that every person in the market was actually a militant. The Saudi military has been bombing the region off and on for over a month, as the rebels clash with patrols along the ill-defined border. Yemen’s government has repeatedly condemned the Shi’ite separatist faction, and has denied that any Saudi bombings took place, even when the Saudi government confirmed them."

The Taxi Driver Who Drove Us to War by Justin Raimondo -- Antiwar.com : "Over on the other side of the pond, the British are doing something we would never ever do – aside, that is, from spreading Marmite on a tea biscuit and actually consuming it. They are investigating the origins of the Iraq war. They want to know how did they get lured into an operation that not only turned out badly, but also seems to have been based on a battery of ill-thought-out lies. A commission has been set up, and public hearings are being held: among the revelations is the information that a key source of claims for the existence of Iraq’s fabled 'weapons of mass destruction' was the 'intelligence' provided by an Iraqi taxi driver who said he overheard a conversation between two Iraqi military officers. According to a report written by Tory MP and defense specialist Adam Holloway, here’s how it went down: “Under pressure from Downing Street to find anything to back up the WMD case, Bri

Citizen of 12 countries singled out for special US airport screening - Telegraph : "Travellers from 12 countries around the world, including Cuba, Iran and Syria, are automatically singled out for extra screening at airports in America unless they have been specifically cleared, according to a leaked document from the Homeland Security department." The disclosure is among more embarrassing and sensitive information to have reached the public after guidelines issued to security officers at airports were posted online. The breach has led to five transport officials from the Transportation Security Administration which posted the document being suspended from duties while an investigation is carried out, the Guardian reports. The information disclosed in the document includes those countries whose citizens are singled out for automatic additional screening. In addition to Cuba, Iran and Syria, they are: Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, North

Manuel Zelaya refuses to leave Honduras as asylum seeker | World news | guardian.co.uk : "A dispute over political asylum today hindered a plan to fly the ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya to exile in Mexico. The leftist leader was set to leave his Brazilian embassy refuge in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, in a deal with the country's de facto rulers which would have ended an at times surreal three-month siege. The plan unravelled after Zelaya insisted that he travel to Mexico as a 'guest' rather than asylum seeker, as the latter category would curb his efforts to be reinstated as president. He told Honduran radio he would leave on condition he could continue political activities. 'I want to leave as a distinguished guest, not as political refugee like the interim government wants.' The de facto authorities withdrew their offer of safe passage when his terms became clear. There would be no further talks with Mexico and Brazil unless Zelaya accepted as

Chomsky says Israel, 'US military base' : "Renowned American sociopolitical analyst Noam Chomsky says Israel functions as Washington's main weapons storage base in the Middle East. 'Israel is essentially a US military base, the US positions weapons there, that's a very close military and intelligence tie,' the Jewish academic told Press TV on Wednesday while explaining the complexity of relations between Washington and Tel Aviv. Commenting on the weapons that Israel received from the US before launching its 2007-2008 offensive in the Gaza Strip, Chomsky said that the exchange of weapons between the two sides was not surprising. '[Israel] is receiving weapons constantly. In fact, weapons were sent during the invasion of Gaza. They tried to send them, they were supposed to send them from Greece, and Greece refused to ship them,' he said."

Obama Wins the Nobel Peace Prize. Is This a Joke? : Information Clearing House - ICH : "December 10, 2009 'New Statesman' -- So what are the odds? The week I write a cover story for the New Statesman, arguing that President Obama has turned into 'Barack W Bush' and is emulating his predecessor's policies on human rights, civil liberties, Afghanistan and a host of other issues, the bloody Norwegians go and give him a Nobel Peace Prize. You couldn't make it up. Over the past couple of years, the cult of Obama has elevated him to a godlike, saint-like, superhuman position in the global political landscape. He is a celebrity, he is an icon, he is a political phenomenon. And just when you thought his international sheen was rubbing off, with his failure to win the 2016 Olympics for his adopted city of Chicago, he goes and wins the world's most prestigious civil liberties award. Obamaniacs, rejoice! So why has he got the prize? Here is the

ei: Another EU policy statement will not stop Israel's colonization : "Israel started a preemptive campaign against a EU statement on the Middle East session even before it was formally presented for discussion by EU ministers this week on whether to adopt it. Israeli spokesmen expressed outrage at what they saw as an EU effort to 'divide' Jerusalem, and claimed that the European position would 'harm the peace process,' as if it is only Israel that has been carefully protecting it from the harmful moves of others. Despite the usual hype, the document, a version of which was published by the Israeli daily Haaretz on 2 December, does not contain much that should cause Israel any undue worry. It is no more than a fine tuning of long-stated, and ineffectual EU positions. The statement is of course 'balanced' -- meaning it goes out of its way not to offend the Israeli occupier and lawbreaker -- and it is strewn with cliches and contradictions."