The Palestinian territories are descending into chaos, but many in Washington seem unconcerned. The Palestinians in the West Bank have too much to lose from a new uprising, some are arguing, given the recent moderate improvements in their daily lives. Others assert that the Palestinian Authority Security Forces, trained under American supervision, will prevent the [...]

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There are growing fears of a new war between Gaza and Israel, as violence rises markedly along the Israel-Gaza border and on Gaza’s border with Egypt.
After months of relative quiet, the number of rockets and mortars fired at southern Israeli towns has jumped sharply, although none so far has caused any injury.
War fears grow on [...]

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The regime in Tehran has gone on the defensive following deadly riots on Sunday. By breaking the traditional ceasefire on religious holidays, the regime has angered many conservatives. The government in Tehran could be facing louder and more self-assured demonstrators in the coming days who see their opportunity to force regime change.
Violence in Tehran: Iranian [...]

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DEBKAfile’s Iranian sources reveal that Mir Hossein Mousavi’s nephew, Ali Habib, was not shot dead during a Tehran demonstration Sunday, Dec. 27, as reported, but waylaid and gunned down as he left his home. Fresh riots followed the disappearance of the body from the hospital Monday. The episode became even more ominous when Iran’s security [...]

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The father and son, played by Viggo Mortensen and a wonderfully sensitive young actor named Kodi Smit-McPhee, drift through a world ruined by an unspecified cataclysm. A few flashbacks of ease and sunlight conjure the time before, when there was a mother on the scene, glowingly incarnated by Charlize Theron. Then something happened — Nuclear [...]

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How evangelical preachers are trying to stem the tide of killings in the Olympic city
What would happen if we ran into the police? “They would open fire,” Spiderman replied bluntly, his mouth half full with fluorescent pink candy. Welcome to the inner-sanctums of a murky underworld of murder, violence and solitude that is rarely seen [...]

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Defectors from the north, and frequent visitors there, believe that opposition of a Kim family dynasty is growing. Kim Jung Ils youngest son is being groomed as the third generation of Kims to run the communist police state. But many North Korean officials agree with the Chinese that economic reform is the only thing that [...]

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But chillingly, there are signs that one of the worst features of Mexico’s war on drugs—law enforcement officials on the take from drug lords—is becoming an American problem as well. Most press accounts focus on the drug-related violence that has migrated north into the United States. Far less widely reported is the infiltration and corruption [...]

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Is a third Intifada near?
Israeli forces stormed Jerusalem’s holiest shrine Sunday, firing stun grenades to disperse hundreds of stone-throwing Palestinian protesters in a fresh eruption of violence at the most volatile spot in the Holy Land.
Israeli police storm Jerusalem’s holiest site – Yahoo! News

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Recent violence in the capital and the ongoing tensions surrounding the Temple Mount could trigger a third intifada, senior Fatah official Hatem Abdel Kader warned in a conversation with The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.
Sheikh Raed Salah arrested for incitement | Israel Palestine-Gaza Conflict | Jerusalem Post

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