Al Jazeera: The Tunisian president has imposed a state of emergency and fired the country's government amid violent clashes between protesters and security forces, state media has reported. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has also promised fresh legislative elections within six months in an attempt to quell the mass dissent over unemployment and high prices, sweeping the North African nation. There were also reports that the country's airspace has been closed and troops have taken control of the airport in the capital Tunis.

NYTimes: The failed attempt by the U.S. to bribe Israel with a $3 billion security assistance package, diplomatic cover and advanced F-35 fighter aircraft — if Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu would simply agree to a 90-day settlements freeze to resume talks with the Palestinians — has been enormously clarifying. It demonstrates just how disconnected from reality both the Israeli and the Palestinian leaderships have become.
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The Globe: Two weeks ago, she was virtually unknown. But after travelling aboard the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara, on which nine Turkish citizens were killed when Israeli commandos stormed the boat, Hanin Zoaby, a 41-year-old, first-term Knesset member, has become the most hated person in Israel. As an Arab Israeli, she also has found herself at the centre of a new political force with which Israel will have to contend. Accused of treason for supporting the Free-Gaza movement, forbidden by the courts to leave the country for 45 days, Ms.

Now we know the REAL cause of earthquakes: permiscuous women everybody!! FULL STORY

NY Times: The secular party of Ayad Allawi, a former interim prime minister once derided as an American puppet, won a wafer-thin victory in Iraq’s election, setting the stage for a protracted period of political uncertainty and possible violence that could threaten plans to withdraw American troops. The outcome, announced Friday, was immediately challenged by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki and his supporters in the State of Law coalition, who hurled accusations of fraud and made vague references to the prime minister’s power as commander in chief.

NY Times: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, under extraordinary pressure from the Obama administration to curb the construction of Jewish housing in Jerusalem, served notice on Monday that his government would not yield easily to American demands. In a speech to a pro-Israel lobbying group, Mr. Netanyahu reiterated that Israel had no plans to freeze housing in Jerusalem, the trigger for a recent dispute between Israel and the United States. He rejected the administration’s contention that Israel’s policies were impeding the peace process.

BBC: Tony Blair's cabinet was "misled" into thinking the war with Iraq was legal, ex-International Development Secretary Clare Short has told the UK's inquiry. She said Attorney General Lord Goldsmith had been "leaned on" to change his advice before the invasion. Mr Blair "and his mates" decided war was necessary, and "everything was done on a wing and a prayer", Ms Short said. She quit the cabinet two months after the March 2003 invasion, in protest at planning for the war's aftermath.

NY Times: Humam Khalil Abu Mulal al-Balawi, the Jordanian suicide bomber who killed eight people at a Central Intelligence Agency outpost in Afghanistan last month, was shown in a video on Saturday saying that the attack was carried out in revenge for the 2009 killing of the Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. Mr. Balawi, wearing green camouflage fatigues and carrying a weapon in his lap, appeared in a video on Al Jazeera satellite television denouncing his “enemies,” Jordan and America. Mr.

Ever wonder about the state of Yemen before this month? Probably not, though it has been front and centre to the 'war on terror' for several years now. It is a small state with little resources surrounded by other states with many resources. Poverty is commonplace as is Islamic extremism. It was created following a civil war which led to the unification of two countries in 1990. Most recently, there have been several extremists killed in targetted attacks by the United States.
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The Globe: The most grievous security breach to threaten the United States since Sept. 11, 2001, constituted a “systemic failure” of the country's counter-terror protocols, President Barack Obama said Tuesday as evidence mounted regarding just how much warning U.S. authorities had about an attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound flight on Christmas Day.