Iraq Won’t Let Israel Use Its Airspace for Attack Against Iran
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(BAGHDAD) — Iraq has told Israel that it won’t allow its airspace to be used in the event the Israelis launch a strike against its ally Iran.Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said on Monday that if Israel violates “Ira…
White House Calls for Turkish Government to Use Restraint
ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — The White House on Monday called on Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to use restraint in dealing with growing demonstrations against new social restrictions imposed by his government.What began as a…
Former US Marine Kidnapped in Mexico
Stockbyte/Thinkstock(SAN ANTONIO) — Federal law enforcement officials are asking the public for any information on a former U.S. Marine who was kidnapped in Mexico last month.The FBI is investigating the abduction of Armando Torres III in La Barranca,…
Alive After All? US Offers $5M for Mokhtar Belmokhtar
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — It’s been two months since the Chadian army claimed to have killed terrorist leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar, but apparently the U.S. government isn’t sold and instead has just announced a $5 million reward f…
Syria Delights in Turkish Unrest
ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images(ISTANBUL, Turkey) — For days, the dramatic pictures of violent unrest have led the newscasts on Syrian state TV: thousands of demonstrators in the streets calling for the downfall of the country’s leader, clashing wit…
Tiananmen Critics Shoved Aside on 24th Anniversary of Protests
iStockPhoto/Thinkstock(BEIJING) — The doors to Chairman Mao’s mausoleum, located just south of Tiananmen Square, open to the public every morning (except Mondays) at 8 o’clock. The imposing building typically receives a steady stream of vi…
NTSB to Investigate Cargo Plane Crash at US Base in Afghanistan
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(BAGRAM, Afghanistan) — Officials from the Afghan Ministry of Transport held a news conference Monday morning and offered an update on the Boeing 747 cargo plane that crashed dramatically at Bagram Air Base on April 29.The black …
Fire at Chinese Poultry Plant Kills over 100
STR/AFP/Getty Images(BEIJING) — At least 119 people were killed and more than 50 people were injured when a massive fire broke out in a poultry processing plant in China’s Jilin province.An estimated 350 workers were on site when the fire began….
Pistorius Family ‘Shaken’ by Photos of Crime Scene
Photo by Waldo Swiegers/Heat Magazine/Gallo Images/Getty Images(PRETORIA, South Africa) — Oscar Pistorius’ family is “shaken by the graphic images” released by a British media news outlet that show the bloody crime scene where the Olympian fatally sho…
UN Reports May Was Deadliest Month in Iraq in Five Years
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — As many had feared, May not only turned out to be the deadliest month in Iraq since American forces left the country a year-and-a-half ago but also the month with the most fatalities since June 2008.According to stat…
Losing a Hot Meal Makes Marines Hot Under the Collar
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Marines are losing a daily hot meal due to the gradual U.S. troop drawdown in Afghanistan.Last Saturday, Camp Leatherneck in southwestern Helmand Province cut back its food service from four to three meals …
McCain Says Al-Assad Has ‘Upper Hand’ in Syria
Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Senator John McCain’s visit to Syria last week was a secret, but he’s not holding back on what he thinks is the status of the two-year-long conflict and it isn’t good.Appearing on CBS’ Face the Nation Mond…
Steven Seagal ‘Opened Up Doors’ for US Delegation in Moscow
Photo by Matthew Simmons/WireImage(MOSCOW) — First, there was Dennis Rodman, who struck an unexpected friendship with the reclusive leader of North Korea. Now, add Steven Seagal to the list of improbable celebrity diplomats.The former action film hero…
Protests Continue Throughout Turkey
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(ISTANBUL) — Protesters continued demonstrations in a number of major cities in Turkey on Sunday, voicing frustration with authoritarianism and urging the government to resign after violence was used on peaceful demonstrators ear…
Four-Block Drug Den Made $44 Million Per Year
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(BOGOTA, Colombia) — In recent years, drug dealers have created a terrifying new form of criminal enterprise in Colombia. Micro-traffickers in Bogotá and other cities have taken over small neighborhoods to establish hubs c…
Former Mexican President Wants Marijuana Legalized
Jonathan Alcorn/Bloomberg via Getty Images(SEATTLE) — A former Latin American president has once again said that drugs should be legalized. This time it was Vicente Fox who was the president of Mexico from 2000 to 2006.Fox was in Seattle on Thursday, …
Taliban Denies Responsibility for Attack on Red Cross
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Just days after an attack on the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Taliban denied responsibility for the suicide bombing on Friday.The Red Cross, which is one of the largest and most effective n…
Leaked Photographs of Pistorius Murder Scene ‘Not from the Police’
Photo by Herman Verwey/City Press/Gallo Images/Getty Images(PRETORIA, South Africa) — Photographs of the bathroom where Olympian Oscar Pistorius allegedly killed his girlfriend were leaked on Friday, with questions abound regarding the handling of the…
US Mom Slain in Syria Not a Terrorist, Daughter Says
Nicole Lynn Mansfield was one of three westerners reportedly killed in Idlib province in Syria. (Facebook)(BURTON, Mich.) — The daughter of an American woman killed in a firefight in Syria denied that her mother was a “terrorist” and said she was a r…
Colombian Drug Den Raked in $44 Million Last Year
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — In recent years, drug dealers have created a new form of criminal enterprise in Colombia. Micro-traffickers in Bogotá and other cities have taken over small neighborhoods to establish hubs commonly referred …