A Third Intifadeh? Deadly Nakba Protests Spark Fears of Israel-Lebanon Border Escalation

South Lebanon Sunday witnessed its deadliest day since the month-long Israel-Hizballah 2006 war when 10 Palestinian demonstrators were reported shot dead and another 112 wounded as Israeli troops opened fire on protests along the border fence. The casualties came as a massive crowd of Palestinians gathered at Maroun er Ras, a small hilltop village overlooking the border with Israel, to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the Nakba, or Catastrophe, when the state of Israel was established.

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The New Tehran-Riyadh Rivalry

Afghanistan has been something of a forgotten war in recent months because of the world’s preoccupation with Libya and Egypt and the wave of antigovernment protests spreading throughout the Middle East. That will soon change, now that the Obama Administration is stepping up talks with the Taliban in an effort to come up with some peaceable endgame to the half-trillion-dollar war

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Nelson Mandela

In a recent television broadcast BBC commentator Brian Walden argued that Nelson Mandela, “perhaps the most generally admired figure of our age, falls short of the giants of the past.” Mandela himself argues that “I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances.” Clearly, a changing world demands redefinition of old concepts.

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Arab Spring: Is a Revolution Starting Up in Syria?

Updated: March 20, 2011 Has the wave of popular revolts rocking the Arab world finally reached Syria, one of the region’s most policed states, a country its young president boasted was “immune” from calls for freedom, democracy and accountable government? Or were the unprecedentedly large protests on Friday just a one-off

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Europe’s pilots stage protest over flying hours

Airline pilots and cabin crew across Europe are holding demonstrations Monday to protest over rules governing their flying hours which they say are putting the lives of passengers at risk. LONDON, England (CNN) — Airline pilots and cabin crew across Europe are holding demonstrations Monday to protest over rules governing their flying hours which they say are putting the lives of passengers at risk.

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Russian ships to visit Venezuela; naval exercises possible

Russia announced Monday it might hold joint military maneuvers with Venezuela in the Caribbean, and the United States said it is scrapping a once ballyhooed deal with Moscow on nuclear technology. A stream of videos posted on social networking Web sites depicted scenes of chaos — the sound of gunshots and helicopters whirring overhead and graphic images of wounded men and women being carried away.

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