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Iraq security forces involved in bombings: PM | Reuters : "BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Dozens of Iraqi security force members were involved in attacks that killed up to 112 people in Baghdad last week, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Wednesday."

Holocaust Survivor Heads to Gaza : Information Clearing House - ICH : "By Hedy Epstein December 16, 2009 'Code Pink' -- It's strange to see President Obama accepting a Peace Prize as he escalates a war. As a Holocaust survivor whose parents perished at Auschwitz in 1942, I know all too well what war looks like. I also know what peace looks like and I can tell you this: Sending 30,000 more U.S. troops to fight in one of the poorest countries in the world, Afghanistan, is not making peace. As President Obama accepts a Peace Prize he does not deserve, it's a good time to model what real peacemaking looks like. That's why-at the ripe age of 85-I'll be joining the Gaza Freedom March on December 31. Over 1,000 peacemakers from around the world will join hands with 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza as we walk together to the Israeli border. As Jews, Christians, Muslims, atheists, and members of many faiths we will come together as one humanity to cond...

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...