„She is committed to testifying, and we are working with the committees on an appropriate set of dates,“ Ms Nuland said. Those appearances are not likely before the week of January 14, two officials said.

Mehr reported that Megdad has been welcomed by some Iranian foreign ministry officials.

Recently Megdad visited Russia, Syria‘s another close ally, as well.

Egypt will replace 10 ministers, state media reported on Saturday, in a cabinet reshuffle directed by Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in order to improve the country‘s struggling economy, dpa reported.

Rund drei Monate nach einem Anschlag der Taliban ist das pakistanische Mädchen Malala Yousafzai aus dem Krankenhaus entlassen worden.

In October, Malala Yousafzai, a schoolgirl from the nearby district of Swat, survived being shot in the head by a Taliban gunman, who objected to her fight for girls to be educated. Last week she was discharged from hospital in Birmingham after weeks of treatment.

On Friday Yachimovich and Livni agreed to meet to discuss the possibility of forming a united bloc. Meretz has already voiced its support for the initiative.

In 1998, for example, 35 percent of troops in a Defense Department-sponsored survey considered themselves binge drinkers.

rael‘s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has been forced to recalibrate his election campaign in response to a downward spiral in opinion polls due to a surprise challenge from an ultra-nationalist startup millionaire and veteran of Israel‘s most elite commando unit.

The Labor party regained losses as well, moving up to a solid second place with 18 seats. Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) remained in third place with 13, and Shas in fourth with 11.

Sudanese and South Sudanese presidents will start talks Saturday over the implementation of a security deal after separate meetings with the Ethiopian Prime Minister and the African Union chief mediator in Addis Ababa.

by Paul Craig Roberts

… Another puzzle is the video of a father whose child has supposedly been shot to pieces. Prior to the interview he is caught on camera laughing and joking, and then, like an actor, he pulls his face and voice into a presentation of grief for the interview.

The leaders of Sudan and South Sudan have agreed to set up a long-delayed demilitarized zone along their disputed border as soon as possible, a condition for the resumption of oil exports, an African Union mediator said on Saturday.