2 US Troops Killed in Afghanistan

Two US troops were killed in Afghanistan when their helicopter crashed, on Tuesday.

The crash occurred in the Pachir Agam district of Nangarhar province.

A NATO spokesman said that there was no enemy activity, at the time of the crash.


No further details have yet been released.

Al Qaeda's Iraq and Syrian Wings Merge

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, announced the official merger of his group and Syria's al-Nusra Front.

Both are members of Al Qaeda.

They will now be known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

It is a sign of the growing prominence of Al Qaeda, in Syria, that they are now being completely open about their presence.

Other Arab countries and western powers are growing increasingly uneasy with Al Qaeda's gathering of strength in Syria.

Most of them back the rebels against the Assad regime, but Al Qaeda's presence makes it difficult for them to be active in their support.

UN Peacekeepers and Workers Killed in South Sudan

Militants in South Sudan attacked a UN convoy, on Tuesday.

Five Indian peacekeepers and seven international workers were killed and nine more were wounded, in the attack.

They were in the Jonglei state, which is one of the most dangerous areas in Africa, due to extremely active rebels.

The UN was quick to remind the world that killing UN peacekeepers is considered a war crime and punishable in the International Criminal Court.

6.3 Quake Kills 32 in Iran

A 6.3 earthquake struck southwest Iran, Tuesday morning.

Thirty-two people were killed and eight hundred and fifty injured as at least one village was destroyed.

Buildings in Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE swayed from the force of the quake.

Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant was undamaged by the quake, despite it's proximity to the center.

Japan Readies Defenses as North Korea Warns of Nuclear War

On Tuesday, Japan joined South Korea and the US in preparing missile defenses.

AEGIS equipped ships were sent out of harbor to protect Japan's coasts from any possible launches.

Patriot missile batteries were deployed at key sites in the country.

Japan will take no chances with the safety of it's people, and states that any launch, by the North, will be considered as hostile.

Adding to their rhetoric, North Korea warned foreigners to leave the South, saying nuclear war was about to occur.

However, things in North Korea are calm, and the military does not seem to be preparing for active war.

Robbers Make Off With 2 Million Euros in Italy

Bandits made off with over two million Euros, after robbing an armored truck in Italy.

Monday morning, gunmen used a bigrig to block a highway.

When the armored truck appeared, they lit the rig on fire.

They they used an explosive charge to open the armored truck and made off with it's cargo.

As they left, they dumped nails onto the roadway, to slow any pursuit.

Their escape vehicles were later found abandoned, near a farm house.

At this point police have no leads on who the bandits were, or where they made off to.

Turks Protest Coup Trial

Thousands gathered in Silivri, Turkey to protest a coup trial.

Protesters attempted to tear down barricades as they chanted their support for those on trial.

Security forces used tear gas and water cannons against the massed protesters.

After the clashes, officials announced that the trial will be delayed, with no reschedule date yet given.

Two hundred and seventy-five are on trial for their alleged roles in plotting a supposed coup, almost all of them are military personnel.

The government's prosecutors are seeking life in prison for sixty-four of the defendants.

As no coup was attempted, the government's accusations are based on what they say is evidence of a conspiracy.

Many Turks believe that the accusations are an attempt by the government to limit the power of the military.

Damascus Car Bomb Kills 15 Injures 50

Fifteen people were killed and over fifty injured when a car bomb went off in Damascus.

It happened at Sabaa Bahrat Square, and is being blamed on rebel forces.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which does not seem to have had a specific target.

During the nearly twenty-five month long conflict, nearly eighty thousand people have been killed.

Margaret Thatcher, Dead at 87

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died of a stroke, on Monday. She was eighty-seven. As the news crossed the world, flags across the former British empire were dropped to half mast in respect for the Iron Lady. Words of mourning were sent from almost every country in the world, and her name trended across the internet.

Margaret Roberts was born on October 13, 1925, to a father who owned a grocery store and was a Methodist preacher. His influence would guide through her whole life.

Studying chemistry at Sommerville College, Oxford she would become president of the Oxford University Conservative Association. After graduating she became more and more involved in the political world.

The 50's were a big decade for her. 1950 saw her begin to campaign for a seat in Parliament. She was not just the only female candidate, but at the age of twenty-four was the youngest conservative, ever. In 1951, she began studying for the bar and married Denis Thatcher. 1953 saw the birth of her twins and her passing of the bar. Then, in 1959, she achieved her first election.

By 1975, she had become the first female head of a major British political party. Talk grew of her becoming the first female Prime Minister, but she remained sure that she would not live to see the first one. Then in 1979 it happened, Margaret Thatcher was elected to become the first female Prime Minister of Great Britain.

As Prime Minister her policies were initially very unpopular, and by 1971 her approval rating was the lowest of any PM up til that time, at twenty-five percent. Then came the war. On April 2, 1982 Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. Thatcher's swift reaction not only won the war, on June 14, but saw her government gain popularity. They used it in 1983 to win a general election, in a landslide.

Her government would face the challenge of striking miners, but the government proved the stronger in the battle of wills. She would personally survive an attack on her life on October 12, 1984, when the IRA bombed a hotel in Brighton. Thatcher would eventually be removed from office, in 1990 after fighting to stop the unification of Europe.

In 1995, she was granted the title of Baroness of Kesteven, which granted her a permanent seat in the House of Lords. Her health began to fail in 2001, when she suffered her first stroke. Then in 2003, her husband died, at the age of eighty-eight. By 2008, dementia was affecting her short term memory and she withdrew from public life.

Britain is burying her with the highest honors possible of a non member of the direct royal family. Only the Queen Mother and Princess Di have been afforded the same level of funeral, that is planned.

Margaret Thatcher will long be remembered as a champion of conservative politics. Her friendships with US President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev helped shape the current world order.

21 Injured in Clashes Between Copts and Muslims in Cairo

Twenty-one people were injured when a mob attacked a mass Christian funeral outside of St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, in Cairo.

Egyptian security forces rushed to the scene and used tear gas to separate and disperse the two sides.

It was but the latest clash between Coptic Christians and Muslims, in the city.

The funeral was being held for Copts who died in the last round of violence.