South Korean authorities are stepping up the search for a group of sailors still missing hours after a naval ship sank near the disputed sea border with North Korea. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said rescuers had picked up 58 sailors but 46 others are missing. Navy and coast guard vessels as well as air force planes are searching the waters near South Korea's Baeknyeong Island where the "Cheonan" sank around 9.45pm (local time) during a routine patrolling mission. Five hours later, 58 sailors had been pulled to safety by other navy and coastguard vessels but some 40 others were missing, reports said. There was no indication early Saturday that North Korea was to blame for the ship's demise, but troops kept a vigilant watch. AWIP: South Korean navy ship sinking, North suspected: report.

This classified CIA analysis from March, outlines possible PR-strategies to shore up public support in Germany and France for a continued war in Afghanistan. After the Dutch government fell on the issue of dutch troops in Afghanistan last month, the CIA became worried that similar events could happen in the countries that post the third and fourth largest troop contingents to the ISAF-mission. The proposed PR strategies focus on pressure points that have been identified within these countries. For France it is the sympathy of the public for Afghan refugees and women. For Germany it is the fear of the consequences of defeat (drugs, more refugees, terrorism) as well as for Germany’s standing in the NATO. The memo is an recipe for the targeted manipulation of public opinion in two NATO ally countries, written by the CIA. It is classified as Confidential / No Foreign Nationals. [Via: Uruknet]

Raw Story: CIA paper reveals plans to manipulate European opinion on Afghanistan:

'Out-of-the-box' CIA think tank proposes concerns over women's rights, fear of terrorism as ways to boost support for Afghan war.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared on Capitol Hill Thursday, March 25, to launch the Obama administration’s drive to secure nearly $40 billion in supplemental appropriations, the bulk of it to fund the escalation of the Afghanistan war. WSWS: Obama cuts to home energy assistance to have devastating consequences.

[A tribesman watching a US drone strike in Pakistan. Islamabad says the US has not been given assent to carry out drone attacks on Pakistani soil. ] Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik says the US drone attacks in the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan are carried out without the consent of Islamabad. Speaking to reporters outside the Lahore High Court non Friday, Malik said the controversial issue of US drone attacks was to be raised with Washington during bilateral talks. The remarks come as Washington claims the raids target militants in Pakistan. However, hundreds of civilians have fallen victim to such US drone attacks since 2008. The Pakistani government routinely protests against the US strikes, saying they violate its sovereignty and complicate its efforts against terrorism by fuelling anti-Americanism. AWIP: 11th Drone Strike of 2010: Latest US Attack Kills Six in North Waziristan: AFP: 11 killed in US missile strikes in NW Pakistan: officials. AntiWar: US Drone Fired Missile Into a Crowd of "Suspects," Killing 13 Afghans. TANSW: Pakistan Taliban deny US drone strike killed top leader. This comes on top of this Nobel Peace Prize winner Kills at Least 15 in North Waziristan and this Civilians Slain as Latest US Drone Strike on North Waziristan, Kills Five and this US Drones Kill 12 in North Waziristan: Third TERROR Strike in 24 Hours in Tribal Area and this U.S. Drones Kill 15 People Near Border in Pakistan and summing up all of 2009, this: 44 US drone hits in Pakistan killed 700 civilians in 2009.

The far rightwing government of Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu may have a choice between expanding settlements in the West Bank or achieving a global consensus on the need to sanction and coerce Iran into giving up its nuclear enrichment program. Netanyahu is so dedicated to the settler project that he cannot see the ways in which it forestalls other, broader Israeli objectives.

[Editor's Comment:] And it's not just the two madmen mentioned above, but also the Israeli Science and Technology Minister Daniel Hershkowitz, who, called Obama 'Pharaoh':

"The demand to prevent natural growth in settlements is unreasonable and is akin to Pharaoh's demand that all firstborn sons be thrown into the Nile River."

Considering the sheer number of lunatics in this Israeli government, the question remains: are the Israeli nukes safe?

One Palestinian has been killed and seven others wounded during an overnight Israeli incursion into Gaza, medical officials said on Saturday. Palestinian medics told AFP that the death and injuries occurred when an Israeli tank fired a shell. Witnesses said that the incursion of the Israeli ground forces into the Gaza Strip was backed by helicopters. The incursion followed a fierce clash Friday on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel in which two Israeli soldiers, one a high-ranking officer, and four Palestinians were killed. Friday clashes broke out after Israeli forces supported by tanks invaded the southern town of Khan Younis on Friday. Hamas' military wing, the al-Qassam Brigade, has claimed responsibility for the Israeli fatalities. PressTV: Latest Israeli offensive into Gaza kills 4.

There is only seven states that have passed legislation that regulates the use of shackles on jailed pregnant women during labor and delivery —California, Illinois, New Mexico, New York, Texas, Vermont and Washington. It’s hard to imagine a woman would be physically and mentally fit for a jail break during labor and delivery, and shackling them is clearly unconstitutional as it falls under “cruel and unusual punishment”. But here we are in the twenty-first century and such practices are still occurring in the United States of America. MSNBC: Court: Seattle police OK to stun pregnant woman.

"No way we will accept the results," Mr. Maliki said. "These are preliminary results." Gesturing angrily, he said he would challenge the vote count through what he described as legal process. Former U.S.-backed prime minister Ayad Allawi and his secular, anti-Iranian coalition narrowly won Iraq's parliamentary elections in final returns Friday, edging out the bloc of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who angrily vowed to challenge the results. The Economist: Iyad Allawi wins most seats in Iraq, but long wrangling will decide who rules.

A military judge on Friday refused to dismiss charges against a Marine who led a squad that killed 24 Iraqi men, women and children in the town of Haditha after a bomb killed a Marine. The ruling cleared the way for a court-martial for Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, the only remaining defendant in the biggest criminal case against US troops to arise from the Iraq war. Marine Lieutenant Col. David Jones said attorneys for Wuterich failed to show that two generals who oversaw the case were influenced by a top aide who was disqualified under military policy from giving advice because he had investigated the killings on a previous assignment. AWIP: Marine Most Responsible for Killing 24 Iraqi Civilians in Haditha May Be Freed on Technicality.

For Israelis and Palestinians, the ground water from the Mountain Aquifer is a shared water source. It is the largest and highest quality water source in the area, producing 600 million cubic meters (mcm) of water annually. Israel holds almost complete control of the aquifer and exploits 80 percent of the production for its needs, leaving the remainder for the Palestinians’ use. The discriminatory and unfair division of shared water resources creates a chronic water shortage in the West Bank, and is liable to harm Palestinians’ health.

How I will be engaging the read more...criminal class agents making inquiries of me.

Eyes closed and lips pursed, Imelda Marcos leans forward to plant a ghoulish kiss on the glass coffin containing her husband's embalmed corpse. Many believed the former Filipino first lady, still elegant at 80, had cloistered herself away to spend her remaining days in anonymous ignominy. They were wrong. At the last possible moment - and with her trademark taste for the theatrical - Marcos has exploded back into political life.