The Washington Examiner – AP Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has warned of a war between Khartoum and South Sudan because their failure to settle a dispute over an oil export deal. Al-Bashir told Blue Nile TV on Friday that war “is a possibility” because of escalating tensions with Juba over the spat. But he said [...]

The Telegraph – Nick Collins Analysis of soil from the red planet found that its surface had been dry for such a long time that any life would have to be lurking deep underground. Researchers deduced that there had been water present during a warmer period lasting up to 5,000 years in the distant past, [...]

The Telegraph – Barney Henderson Taliban leader Mullah Omar purportedly sent a letter to President Barack Obama last year indicating an interest in peace talks, US officials have claimed. The unsigned letter from the one-eyed preacher was passed through a Taliban intermediary in July and was considered authentic by current and former US officials. “As [...]

World Net Daily – Jerome R Corsi A former employee of one of the world’s largest international banks has provided WND with more than 1,000 pages of documents, including customer account ledgers for dozens of companies through which the financial institution was laundering money each month, according to the whistleblower. “I found many accounts through [...]

abc NEWS – Richard Esposito Israeli facilities in North America — and around the world — are on high alert, according to an internal security document obtained by ABC News that predicted the threat from Iran against Jewish targets will increase. “We predict that the threat on our sites around the world will increase … on both [...]

Bloomberg – Jonathan Stearns Greece’s fight to win its second international bailout may only open a new chapter in its struggle to remain in the euro area. The rescue plan, which European officials and Greek creditors say may be wrapped up in coming days, includes a loss of more than 70 percent for bondholders in [...]

The Christian Post – Evelyn Cook Mexico’s epidemic of violence first erupted in 2006, according to most accounts. But an ex-Muslim from India, who serves as a Christian pastor along the Texas-Mexican border, believes the problem began much earlier, with human sacrifice, witches, and the adoration of death in ancient Aztec days. Bombay-born Mujahid Hussein, [...]

Reuters – Timothy Heritage It took several minutes and a woolly hat to resolve the latest differences among the loose alliance of Russian opposition groups challenging Vladimir Putin’s 12-year rule. Unable to agree on the order of a protest march through Moscow on Saturday, the organizers, gathered round a few tables shoved together in a [...]

BBC Prime Minister David Cameron will make an official visit to the US next month, the White House has said. Mr Cameron and his wife Samantha will be in the US on 13-14 March. A spokesman said President Barack Obama would welcome Mr Cameron to “highlight the fundamental importance of the US-UK special relationship”. The [...]

BBC At least 37 people have been killed in South Sudan during a shoot-out at a peace meeting aimed at ending recent violence, officials said. Officials from three states and the UN had met for talks in the remote town of Mayendit in Unity state in an effort to reduce inter-ethnic tensions. The talks were [...]

The Telegraph The Islamist secured 34 seats in the 50-member parliament, results showed today. All four of the female MPs who served in the previous parliament lost their seats. Liberals, who had five seats in the previous parliament, now have just two. Voters punished pro-government MPs during Thursday’s parliamentary election, reducing them to a small [...]

The Telegraph - Angela Monaghan An independent Scotland would be heavily indebted and at increased risk of default, placing greater restrictions on economic and fiscal policy, a think tank has warned. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research said Scotland would have no insurance from fiscal risk sharing with the UK if it voted for [...]

The Telegraph Argentina has accused David Cameron’s government of fanning the row over the Falklands Islands in an attempt to distract the British public from high unemployment. The moves “have to do with British domestic politics, with the high unemployment,” said Vice President Amado Boudou yesterday. “This is an attempt to cover for a government [...]

CNN The supreme leader of Iran issued a blunt warning Friday that war would be detrimental to the United States — and that Iran is ready to help anyone who confronts “cancerous” Israel. “You see every now and then in this way they say that all options are on the table. That means even the [...]

CNN Syrian army and security officers detained and tortured children with impunity during the past year, a rights group said in a report Friday, as it urged the United Nations to take action. The Human Rights Watch report comes as the U.N. Security Council considers a draft resolution intended to pressure Syria to end its months-long crackdown [...]

BBC More than 100 people have now died as a result of freezing weather in Ukraine since last Friday, the government has announced in Kiev. Most of the 101 who died were homeless people and 64 of them were found dead on the streets, the emergencies ministry said. Hundreds of others have been treated in [...]

BBC Gunmen in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula have kidnapped two American women tourists, Egyptian security sources say. They were travelling in a small bus with three other tourists from St Catherine’s monastery on Mount Sinai to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh when it was stopped by the gunmen. One official told the Reuters news [...]

BBC At least two people have been killed in the latest unrest in the Egyptian capital Cairo, amid continuing anger over 74 deaths after a football match in Port Said on Wednesday. Many Egyptians blame the authorities for failing to protect fans. A demonstrator and a soldier died on Friday as clashes continued outside the [...]

BBC Russia’s deputy foreign minister says his country “cannot support” a draft United Nations Security Council resolution on Syria. According to the Interfax news agency, Gennady Gatilov said that despite changes that took some of its concerns into account, Russia could not support the text in its current form. “This is not enough for us,” [...]

BBC At least five people have been killed and more than a dozen injured in an attack on a police station in western Colombia. The violence in Villa Rica comes a day after 11 people were killed in an explosion in Tumaco, in the south. Police blamed that attack on the left-wing rebel group, the [...]

CNN - Annalyn Censky  The recovery remains “frustrating slow” in the United States, and now Europe’s debt crisis is posing additional challenges, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Thursday. “Risks remain that developments in Europe or elsewhere may unfold unfavorably and could worsen economic prospects here at home,” Bernanke told the House Budget Committee. But [...]

The Washington Examiner – Sara A Carter More than 500 suspected Taliban fighters detained by U.S. forces have been released from custody at the urging of Afghan government officials, angering both American troops and some Afghans who oppose the policy on the grounds that many of those released return to the battlefield to kill NATO [...]

BBC Heavy snow has left at least 11,000 villagers cut off in remote areas of Serbia amid a European cold snap that has claimed more than 130 lives. At least six people have died in Serbia, with emergency services expressing concern for the health of the sick and the elderly in particular. Temperatures are below [...]

BBC Diplomats at the UN Security Council have watered down a resolution on Syria in an apparent attempt to overcome Russian objections to an earlier draft. The new text drops explicit reference to a call for President Bashar al-Assad to hand over power, a key part of an Arab League plan. The Russians have argued [...]

BBC - Wyre Davies Demonstrators angered by the deaths of 74 people after a football match in the city of Port Said on Wednesday have clashed with police outside the Egyptian interior ministry in Cairo. Hundreds have been injured, state-owned Egyptian TV reported. Earlier, the Egyptian prime minister announced the sackings of senior officials in Port [...]

Reuters – David Alexander The United States took Kabul by surprise by laying out plans to end its Afghan combat role earlier than expected, just after the leak of a secret report that the Taliban is confident of regaining control of the country. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said late on Wednesday the United States [...]

abc NEWS – Gabriele Steinhauser AP Greece’s international debt inspectors have discovered that the debt-ridden country still needs an extra euro15 billion ($20 billion) in help — on top of a promised euro130 billion bailout and a euro100 billion debt relief from private investors, a European official said Thursday. The European Commission, the executive arm [...]

The Telegraph – Martin Evans Around 50 people a year kill themselves on the London Underground, equating to approximately one every week. As well as the tragedy for the individual and their families, suicides on the Tube can create hours of chaos and disruption for millions of other passengers. So to try to get the [...]

The Telegraph – Nick Squires Domnica Cemortan, 25, was interviewed for nearly six hours on Wednesday by prosecutors in a police station in Grosseto, Tuscany, amid reports that divers had found some of her belongings in Capt Francesco Schettino’s cabin. According to Italian press reports, based on interviews with prosecutors, she said she had fallen [...]

BBC - M Ilyas Khan Pakistan’s Supreme Court is to charge Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani with contempt for failing to reopen corruption cases against the president. Mr Gilani must appear before the court on 13 February. If convicted he faces jail and being barred from office. The prime minister has refused to ask Swiss officials [...]

BBC The Philippine military says it has killed three senior militants from al-Qaeda-linked groups in a raid in the south of the country. The air raid took place on Thursday in an area known as a militant stronghold. Officials said two Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leaders and one Abu Sayyaf leader were among a total of [...]

BBC Crowds are gathering in Cairo as tension rises after riots in the city of Port Said on Wednesday which left at least 74 people dead. Angry fans blocked Tahrir Square. Others are marching in protest at the handling of the riots by police. Three days of national mourning were declared over the riot, in [...]

IRNUSA News – Sean Scott Ferguson Recently the BBC saw a secret NATO report which says that the Taliban in Afghanistan are being directly supported by the Pakistani security services – the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence). There is nothing particularly new about this revelation, as we have heard much on this alignment before. It is the [...]

BBC Attacks by Afghan allies against US troops rose sharply over the past two years, Pentagon data has revealed. Officials told a congressional committee most attackers were acting alone, not carrying out insurgent orders, although some attacker were insurgents disguised as soldiers. Lawmakers said the screening process for Afghan forces was “tragically weak” and called [...]

FoxNews.com – Dunstan Prial The question of whether or not Greece will default seems moot at this point. Greece is in the process of defaulting. The only question is whether the default will be orderly or disorderly. Make no mistake. The ongoing negotiations in which Greek debt holders are being asked to take losses estimated [...]