‘That leads us to war’: US, Israel & Saudi Arabia should tone down Iran rhetoric, says Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron has blasted the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia over their hostile statements concerning the ongoing protests in Iran, saying it could lead to a war with the Islamic Republic.

Risk of US-North Korea war 'very high,' Russian FM Lavrov says

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday cautioned that the risks of escalation of tensions between the United States and North Korea were "very high" following the recent war of words between Washington and Pyongyang.

Only 'large-scale war' would allow US to block Beijing from S. China Sea islands, state media warns

Chinese state media has warned that the US would have to launch a "large-scale war" to prevent Beijing from accessing islands it has built in the South China Sea. It comes after secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson said such access should be restricted.

Peace means dignity, well-being for all, not just absence of war – (UN officials)

UN, 9 September 2014 – Underscoring that peace is more than just the absence of war, United Nations officials today stressed the need for concerted efforts to achieve the common vision of a life of dignity and well-being for all. 

“We know that peace cannot be decreed solely through treaties – it must be nurtured through the dignity, rights and capacities of every man and woman,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his remarks to the High-level Forum on the Culture of Peace, convened by the General Assembly. “It is a way of being, of interacting with others, of living on this planet.”

Dolphin wars in the Black Sea? - In recent years, U.S. Navy dolphins have been deployed to Iraq and Bahrain to patrol for enemy divers

The United States Navy has deployed military-trained dolphins to protect one of its warships in the Black Sea amid rising tensions with Russia over Ukraine, the Russian daily Izvestia reported.

A Russian fighter jet made multiple close-range passes near the USS Donald Cook, a Navy destroyer, on April 12, two days after it entered the Black Sea, passing the Turkish straits. As the crisis in Ukraine deepened, U.S. ship commanders considered the Russian action provocative and inconsistent with international agreements, prompting the ship to issue several radio queries and warnings.

Ariel Sharon: A Bulldozer in War and Peace

Sharon was always consistent in his desire to secure Israel’s borders and was often photographed with a map in hand....

Israel’s indomitable lion Ariel Sharon, a bulldozer in war and peace, died on Saturday, eight years after suffering a massive brain hemorrhage that left him in a coma from which he never awoke.

Perhaps the most revered and often reviled of the country’s politicians, perceived alternately as a peacemaker and a warmonger, for decades his actions as a military commander and statesman shaped both Israel’s self-perception and the world’s image of the Jewish nation.

German, Turkish press declare war .... Bild carried Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on its cover with the caption “New Dictator”

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Media outlets in Turkey and Germany upped the severity of language of new reporting, amid rising tension between the countries that followed Berlin initiative to halt Turkey’s European Union bid.

The two have been in conflict since German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s statements on the ongoing Gezi Protests, and the daily newspapers of both countries have decided to join in.

German Bild carried Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on its cover with the caption “New Dictator,” depicting Erdoğan with a Hitler-like moustache. The cover was then featured on the front page of Turkish daily Takvim, who itself dubbed Merkel a “Nazi.”

German industry, government planning for resource wars

By Peter Schwarz
20 February 2013

A year ago, leading German industrial companies launched the Resource Alliance (Rohstoffallianz) for the purpose of securing the supply of selected raw materials for its shareholders and corporate members. To achieve this goal, it is calling for the use of military assets.
In an interview with Reuters on Monday, the manager of the Resource Alliance, Dierk Paskert, called for “a strategically oriented foreign economic and security policy” to ensure the supply of raw materials for German business.
Although this policy should be guided by the “objective of free and transparent commodity markets,” Paskert said, “it would be naive to take this for granted in the near future.” Developments had moved in “exactly the opposite direction, unfortunately.” Therefore, Paskert concluded, “we [Germany], together with our partners in the EU and NATO, must take on more responsibility in foreign economic and security matters.”

Chinese protest Aso's visit to cemetery

Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso has visited the Japanese War Cemetery in Yangon during a three-day visit to Myanmar.
Friday’s visit raised protests from some Chinese war veterans living in the country, who were in Myanmar fighting the Japanese invaders during the Second World War.
Aso’s visit lasted only 15 minutes because of the protest. Chinese veterans accused Aso of trying to cover up Japanese crimes during the war and attempting to portray its aggression as reasonable.

Syria shells capital area as protests surge / two generals reportedly defect.

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Ex-general Abdel Aziz Jassem al-Shallal purportedly joins rebels on YouTube, saying army turned into "murderous gangs". ( 28-Dec-2012 ) 

State warplanes pound Damascus province, as anti-regime rallies erupt across country and two generals reportedly defect.

Οι εξεγερμένοι της Συρίας προειδοποίησαν ότι θα έχουν ως στόχο το διεθνές αεροδρόμιο του Χαλεπίου.

Οι εξεγερμένοι της Συρίας προειδοποίησαν χθες Παρασκευή, 21/12/12, ότι θα έχουν ως στόχο το διεθνές αεροδρόμιο του Χαλεπίου. Η δήλωση αυτή γίνεται μετά την πρώτη άμεση στοχοποίηση πολιτικού αεροπλάνου που ετοιμαζόταν αν απογειωθεί και ήταν η πρώτη κατά την 21-μηνών εξέγερσή τους, μετέδωσε το Reuters.

Η επίθεση της Πέμπτης είναι ένα άλλο σημάδι της αυξανόμενης αυτοπεποίθησης των ανταρτών στις δυνάμεις τους καθώς άρχισαν και επιθέσεις στην κεντρική επαρχία Χάμα στοχεύοντας σε εδαφικές κατακτήσεις που θα κόψουν τις γραμμές ανεφοδιασμού του στρατού και θα αυξήσουν την πίεση στην πρωτεύουσα Δαμασκό νότια.

U.N. Court Frees Former Leader of Kosovo

PARIS — A United Nations war crimes tribunal on Thursday acquitted the former prime minister of Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj, for the second time of torturing and killing Serb civilians while he was a commander of the NATO-backed Kosovo Liberation Army during its fight for independence in 1999. 

Two of his comrades, Idriz Balaj and Lahi Brahimaj, were also acquitted, although Mr. Brahimaj has already served a six-year sentence for torture handed down in an earlier trial. The judges ordered the three men released immediately.