Egyptian Math. Soldier ambush caps bloody day in Syria; 90 dead. Syrians hold up their national flag as they rally in front of the Foreign Ministry as their Foreign Minister Walid Muallem speaks to the press in the capital Damascus, on November 14, 2011.
LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images BEIRUT - Dozens of soldiers and security forces were gunned down by suspected army defectors in southern Syria, a deadly ambush that comes as President Bashar Assad increasingly appears unable to manage the crisis, activists said Tuesday. Monday's hours-long clash in the southern province of Daraa came on a particularly bloody day in Syria, with as many as 90 people killed across the country. Disney factory faces probe into sweatshop suicide claims.
Disney's best-selling Cars toys are being made in a factory in China that uses child labour and forces staff to do three times the amount of overtime allowed by law, according to an investigation.
One worker reportedly killed herself after being repeatedly shouted at by bosses. Luxury, horror lurk in Gadhafi family compound. Sadistic brutality in Libya CNN visits the seaside homes of the Gadhafi familyA horribly scarred family nanny recounts being scalded by Gadhafi's daughter-in-lawA colleague corroborates the account and says he, too, was regularly torturedGadhafi family seaside villas are packed with high-end liquor and electronics CNN is working with humanitarian organizations and medical officials to get help for the nanny, Shweyga Mullah.
We know that viewers around the world want to help too. As soon as we get more information finalized we will post details on our Impact Your World page. Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Moammar Gadhafi told his people he lived modestly during his nearly 42-year rule over Libya, often sleeping in a Bedouin tent. Wael Ghonim relaunches the revolution. DIY Weapons of the Libyan Rebels - Alan Taylor - In Focus. For the past four months in Libya, rebel forces made up of civilians and army defectors have been waging battles against Muammar Qaddafi's armed forces, holding their own and sometimes advancing with the assistance of NATO air strikes. Scrambling to arm themselves against mercenaries and a professional army, rebels have been making use of everything they can -- from using captured weapons and munitions to rigging anti-aircraft guns and aircraft rocket launchers to the backs of civilian pickup trucks.
Behind the Arab Revolt Is a Word We Dare Not Speak. Shortly after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, I interviewed Ray McGovern, one of an elite group of CIA officers who prepared the President's daily intelligence brief.
At that time, McGovern was at the apex of the "national security" monolith that is American power and had retired with presidential plaudits. On the eve of the invasion, he and 45 other senior officers of the CIA and other intelligence agencies wrote to Bush that the "drumbeat for war" was based not on intelligence, but lies. "It was 95 percent charade," McGovern told me. Hamza Ali al-Khateeb Becomes a Symbol of Syrian Brutality. Egypt: general confirms "virginity checks" forced on female protesters by military. Via CNN and other sources today, the revolting news that a senior Egyptian general admits so-called "virginity checks" (presumably, forcible examination of the hymen) were performed on women arrested in at least one demonstration this spring.
Previously, military authorities denied it. Now, an Egyptian general who asked not to be identified defends the practice—wait for it—as a protective measure for the women's own good. As noted previously on Boing Boing, Amnesty International reported and condemned news of this systematic sexual abuse by military agents back in March. Political Unrest in North Africa and the Mideast - Graphic. Libya: African mercenaries 'immune from prosecution for war crimes' The key paragraph said that anyone from a non-ICC country alleged to have committed crimes in Libya would “be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction” of their own country.
It was inserted despite Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the UN, saying that all those “who slaughter civilians” would “be held personally accountable”. Speaking to reporters outside the council chamber, Gerard Araud, the French UN ambassador, described the paragraph as “a red line for the United States”, meaning American diplomats had been ordered by their bosses in Washington to secure it. U.S. says Libyan rebels may sell oil. The war in Libya and the new scramble for Africa. 29 March 2011 Today’s international conference on Libya in London will be dutifully reported in the media as a gathering of concerned parties determined to honour their pledge to safeguard civilians from reprisals by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.
In reality, state dignitaries from 40 countries—including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and African Union Chairman Jean Ping—have gathered like vultures to either take part in or provide political cover for those picking over the spoils of a post-Gaddafi carve-up of Libya and Libyan oil reserves, the largest in Africa and the ninth largest in the world. Hana El-Gallal: 'He will kill everyone. Do something. Please...' - Commentators, Opinion. Whenever he gets to Benghazi, he will deny us our lives too.
Days ago, a no-fly zone could have been imposed and that would have helped. It would still help, but now it may be too late.