2011 will be remembered as the year the US, Britain, France and Israel went into Imperial Overdrive in North Africa and the Middle East. Will 2012 be remembered as the year those same Western Allies unleashed World War III? ­It is not news anymore to say that the West will soon attack Iran, maybe Syria. They have been threatening to do that for years now, certainly ever since the failed Israeli invasion... 

An “urgent” follow-up report from General Director Vladimir Popovkin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) to Prime Minister Putin on the failed Phobos-Grunt Mars space probe [photo 2nd right] mission circulating in the Kremlin today states that since his last report (which we reported on in our 26 December report US Warned Could Soon Face Russian Wrath From Space) the Americans who... 

As the eurozone teeters on the brink of collapse, the UK Treasury is working on a contingency plan to limit the fallout of a potential full-scale euro meltdown. ­The plan would entail capital controls to restrict the flow of money in and out of the country. Officials fear the departure of a eurozone member might trigger capital flight from weaker members of the economic union to countries like the... 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Newly released figures in Germany indicate that the European country’s debt exceeded two trillion dollars at the end of this year’s third quarter. According to provisional official data published on Tuesday, Europe’s largest economy had a debt totaling 2.028 trillion euros (USD 2.65 trillion) at the end of the third quarter of this year. A statement... 

Just two weeks after the Russian capital saw its biggest opposition rally in nearly twenty years, Russians unhappy with the results of the December 4 parliamentary elections have gathered once again. But this time, it’s in even bigger numbers, with the hopes that their collective voice will be heard. They have come together to protest against vote fraud – and to demand a new ballot. Protest... 

Coping with recession: 49.1million Americans come from poor or low-income households, latest census figures estimate. A record number of Americans – nearly one-in-two – have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low-income, according to new figures. The latest census data reveals a middle class that is shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government’s... 

A peer-reviewed study published in the International Journal of Health Services estimates 14,000 excess deaths in the United States are linked to the radioactive fallout from the Fukushima nuclear reactors. The article by Joseph Mangano and Janette Sherman is the first published in a medical journal. “This study of Fukushima health hazards is the first to be published in a scientific journal. It... 

The aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" The US-based intelligence-gathering firm Stratfor says most of the claims by the Syrian opposition about the seriousness of the country’s crisis are untrue. The company insists protesters are exaggerating, to win support from powers like the US. ­Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, a former Reagan administration official, told RT he believes Washington... 

Dictator’s death could have been result of internal power struggle with country’s military. A prominent North Korean defector and a South Korean politician are contradicting reports that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il died of a heart attack, pointing to rumors that he was assassinated as result of an internal power struggle between the ruling Communist Workers’ Party and the country’s military. “A... 

North Korea, Pyongyang : North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il returns a salute to Korean People's Army soldiers marching in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang to mark the 60th anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea, 10 October 2005. North Korea’s veteran leader Kim Jong-il has died at the age of 69. A tearful announcer at North Korea’s state television, dressed in black, said on Monday... 

The "Blue bra girl" atrocity The blogosphere is boiling at the cruel beating of a female protester by Egyptian military police, who continued battling protesters in Tahrir Square on Sunday. The clashes, into their third day now, have left 10 people dead and hundreds injured. ­The video uploaded on YouTube Sunday reveals the extreme cruelty of the country’s law enforcers during the crackdown... 

The President is expected to sign the bill, which will allow indefinite detentions without charge or trial, even for American citizens. The Senate passed the 2012 defense authorization bill 86-13 on Thursday, one day after the House of Representatives passed it in a 283-136 vote. The bill, which codifies a system of indefinite detention for terrorism suspects, will be sent to the President’s desk... 

A Baghdad ceremony marks the official end of the US military mission in Iraq on December 15, 2011. American troops are holding a ceremony in the Iraqi capital city, Baghdad, to mark the official end of the US military presence in the Middle Eastern country, Press TV reports. During the highly symbolic ceremony on Thursday, which according to a US army tradition is called “casing,” the US military... 

US President Barack Obama delivers remarks to troops and military families at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, December 14, 2011. US President Barack Obama has marked the end of the nearly nine-year Iraq war that strained America’s armed forces and damaged to its status worldwide. “It is harder to end a war than to begin one,” Obama said in his speech to about 3,000 soldiers gathered at... 

Killer: Nordine Amrani murdered a cleaning lady in his rented flat before heading off on a bloodthirsty rampage in the center of the Belgian city Liege killer Nordine Amrani murdered four people and wounded 125 others because he feared being sent to back to prison for a sex crime, his lawyer said today. The 32-year-old convicted criminal, who was due to marry his long-term girlfriend, used grenades...