AFHGAN AUTHORITIES SAY TWO GUARDS AND AT LEAST FIVE ATTACKERS WERE KILLED AFTER A TALIBAN SUICIDE BOMBER AND FIVE GUNMEN ATTACKED A GUEST HOUSE OF AN INTL AID GROUP IN CAPITAL KABUL *

ATTACKS SET OFF A SHOOTOUT THAT LASTED FOR HOURS *

THE TALIBAN QUICKLY CLAIMED RESPONSIBILITY *

IT WAS THE SECOND MAJOR STRIKE IN KABUL IN JUST MORE THAN A WK *

INTL MONETARY FUND CHIEF CHRISTINE LAGARDE NAMED AS A KEY WITNESS IN AN INVESTIGATION INTO A CONTROVERSIAL PAYOFF TO A FRENCH BUSINESSMAN *

THE PAYOFF ALLEGEDLY HAPPENED WHILE SHE WAS FRANCE'S FINANCE MIN *

LAGARDE SAYS THE PARIS COURT HANDED HER THE STATUS OF "ASSISTING WITNESS" IN ITS PROBE OF A $520 MIL PAYOFF TO BUSINESS TYCOON BERNARD TAPIE *

LAGARDE COULD LATER BE CHARGED IN THE CASE *

PRES OBAMA WARNS NAVAL ACADEMY GRADUATES OF THE SERIOUSNESS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT IN THE ARMED FORCES *

IN A COMMENCEMENT SPEECH FRI IN ANNAPOLIS, MD, MR OBAMA SAID SEXUAL ASSAULT IS A CRIME THAT HAS "NO PLACE IN THE GREATEST MILITARY ON EARTH" *

SPEECH COMES IN THE MIDST OF WIDESPREAD REPORTS OF SUCH MISCONDUCT THROUGHOUT THE MILITARY *

A RECENT PENTAGON REPORT ESTIMATES UP TO 26,000 MILITARY MEMBERS MAY HAVE BEEN SEXUALLY ASSAULTED LAST YR AND THAT THOUSANDS MORE ARE UNWILLING TO COME FORWARD *

JURY FOREMAN IN JODI ARIAS' TRIAL SAYS THE PANEL COULDN'T DECIDE WHETHER ARIAS KILLING HER EX-BOYFRIEND WARRANTED A DEATH SENTENCE *

WILLIAM ZERVAKOS SAID THE JURORS THOUGHT IT WAS UNFAIR FOR 12 AVERAGE AMERICANS TO DECIDE ARIAS' FATE *

THE SAME JURY CONVICTED ARIAS OF FIRST-DEGREE MURDER ON MAY 8, IN THE 2008 KILLING OF HER EX-BOYFRIEND TRAVIS ALEXANDER *

THE JUDGE DECLARED A MISTRIAL THURSDAY AFTER THE JURY DEADLOCKED *

A NEW JURY WILL BE CHOSEN FOR A NEW PENALTY PHASE SET FOR JULY *

FED JUDGE RULES OFFICE OF SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO IN MARICOPA COUNTY, AZ, ENGAGES IN RACIAL PROFILING *

U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE MURRAY SNOW ALSO RULED FRI THAT PEOPLE STOPPED BY ARPAIO'S DEPUTIES ARE DETAINED FOR UNREASONABLY LONG PERIODS *

RULING BACKS UP ALLEGATIONS BY CRITICS SUCH AS THE ACLU THAT ARPAIO RELIES ON RACE IN ENFORCING IMMIGRATION *

ARPAIO HAS DENIED THE ALLEGATIONS *

WA GOV JAY INSLEE (D) SAYS FED OFFICIALS ARE SEARCHING FOR A TEMPORARY REPLACEMENT FOR THE I-5 BRIDGE THAT COLLAPSED INTO THE SKAGIT RIVER THURS NIGHT *

INSLEE SAYS REBUILDING THE 160-FOOT SECTION COULD TAKE MONTHS IF A REPLACEMENT CAN'T BE FOUND *

STATE OFFICIALS SAY AN OVERSIZED TRUCK CAUSED THE COLLAPSE AFTER HITTING AN OVERHEAD SPAN *

TWO VEHICLES PLUMMETED INTO THE WATER LEAVING THREE PEOPLE INJURED *

FDA RECEIVES REPORTS OF SEVEN CASES INVOLVING POTENTIALLY CONTAMINATED STEROID MEDICATIONS MADE BY A PHARMACY IN NEWBERN, TN *

INJECTIONS CONTAIN THE SAME DRUG AT THE CENTER OF LAST YR'S DEADLY FUNGAL MENINGITIS OUTBREAK THAT KILLED MORE THAN 50 PEOPLE *

THE PHARMACY HAS RECALLED THE PRODUCTS PENDING AN INVESTIGATION *

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I just don’t know what headline to put on this one – click and read

by Posted in:


Syrian first lady Asma al-Assad, second from right, meets the Spanish royal family in this 2010 photo. Her husband., President Bashar al-Assad is second from left. (DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP/Getty Images)

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Syria’s Bashar al-Assad says his wife is pregnant

By Max Fisher , Updated: January 28, 2013

 

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose regime is embroiled in a now two-year civil war that has killed tens of thousands, gave a cheery interview to unnamed “visitors,” as reported by a sympathetic newspaper, in which he offhandedly revealed that his wife is pregnant. Asma al-Assad, the 37-year-old, British-born young mother of three (now four?), was warmly profiled in Vogue’s February 2011 issue for her style and flair; shortly after, she was placed under severe economic sanctions by the European Union for her role in state abuses.

 

Bashar al-Assad let the news slip in a recent talk with mysteriously anonymous “visitors,” who relayed his comments to the Beirut-based al-Akhbar newspaper, an aggressive outlet often described as aligned with such anti-Western movements as Hezbollah. He mostly spent the interview insisting, against all evidence, that his regime was sure of imminent victory in the country’s civil war and that the resistance came purely from foreign-funded extremists. The article also strained to show Assad as coolly confident, including by apparently confirming rumors of his wife’s pregnancy:

 

On the personal level, the man seems calm and in control. His confidence level stands out. Also, there’s the news of the pregnancy of his wife Asmaa, which could not be dealt with as a simple personal matter

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