A number of children have been killed as well. (AFP/Scanpix)

A team of UN observers deployed in Syria to monitor a shaky truce arrived on Saturday in the town of Houla, site of a massacre "by regime forces" in which at least 90 people died, monitors said.

"A team of UN observers arrived in the village of Taldau (on the outskirts of) Houla, to document the crimes committed in the past 24 hours, in violation of the ceasefire," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "Syrian regime forces" have massacred more than 90 people, including 25 children, in Houla, in the central province of Homs, the Britain-based watchdog said. The violence caused residents to flee for safety, the monitoring group noted. "Many people are fleeing Taldau village in Houla," the Observatory said, adding that residents feared new attacks on the town, in the central province of Homs. Amateur videos posted on YouTube showed horrifying images of children lying dead on the floor, with some of their corpses badly mangled. At least one child had had part of his head blown off.

Al Jazeera: Syrian activists condemn Houla massacre

A US assassination drone strike has killed four people and injured several others in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal area of North Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan. - The US drone fired two missiles at a house near the city of Miranshah early Saturday, killing four people and injuring several others, security officials said. The offensive came only two days after another US drone targeted a mosque in the Hassokhel town east of Miranshah early Thursday, where at least ten people were killed. In a similar attack, five other people were killed and several more injured on Wednesday in the tribal area.

Ontario students have pledged to take to the streets in solidarity with their protesting fellows in Montreal and other cities of Quebec. The students are defying emergency laws the authorities are imposing to curb down the wave of dissent.

Students in Quebec have been protesting for more than 100 days now, with violent clashes between police and protesters reported on several occasions. The latest demo on Wednesday night resulted in a police crackdown on demonstrators. About 700 people were detained throughout the province, which pushed the total number of detentions over the months over 2,500. That is at least five times more than during the 1970 crisis, when martial law was declared in Quebec in response to the actions of radical nationalists. The protest against the hike of tuition fees was mainly focused in the province’s largest city Montreal, but it is now spreading outside of Quebec. A group of students the neighboring province of Ontario pledged their support of the movement Friday.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada is speaking out against Bill 78 which restricts the freedom of expression and association of all students and citizens of Quebec.

■ This bill violates democratic traditions both in Quebec and Canada. Premier Charest will only succeed in aggravating the situation, by provoking students and their allies who oppose tuition fee hikes.
■ The Bill violates the fundamental rights of Quebec citizens to peaceful public demonstration and to free association. The Bill will prevent all well-intentioned citizens from participating in demonstrations for fear of committing an illegal act. Bill 78 will effectively make every protestor legally responsible for illegal acts committed by a small number of individuals during a legitimate protest. This approach in no way resolves the crisis but rather inflames an already tense situation throughout Québec.
■ As well, Bill 78 abolishes any presumption of innocence afforded to citizens and thus violates the right to due process. Under Bill 78, if criminal acts are committed by individuals during legal demonstrations, organizers will be presumed guilty of those offences. In other words, protest organizers will have to prove their innocence before a court of law.

Stephen Lendman: Social Justice on Trial in Canada
Keith Jones: Quebec police mount mass arrests in bid to break student strike
Keith Jones: Quebec: Huge protest supports striking students, denounces Bill 78
Andrew Gavin Marshall: 10 Things You Should Know About the Quebec Student Movement

As Greece prepares for elections on June 17 amid an overwhelming popular rejection of austerity, the ruling class is making secret preparations for a military crackdown against the workers. - What has been imposed in Greece, under the diktat of the “troika”—the European Union, European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF)—is barbarity on a scale unseen since the Nazi occupation. An official at Greece’s official statistics bureau said last week: “By the close of 2012, we estimate the economy will have shrunk by a total of 27 percent since the start of the recession five years ago... That’s almost a third. It’s completely unprecedented for an advanced Western economy.”

In the run-up to new elections in Greece, the German elite is discussing various scenarios involving the use of force to ensure control over Athens, including the establishment of a protectorate or the deployment of "protection forces" in that southern European country. The German austerity dictate, pushing Greece into destitution, is provoking growing popular resistance, which, apparently, can no longer be suppressed with democratic means. Berlin has failed in its efforts to force Athens into subordination by threatening to withdraw the Euro, as much as with its demand that Greece combines its parliamentary elections with a referendum on the question of remaining in the Euro zone. Berlin categorically rejects the option of retracting the austerity dictate and replacing it with stimulus programs, as is being demanded by leading economists world wide, even though the exclusion of Greece form the Euro zone threatens to push the currency, itself, into an abyss. A Greek government spokesman confirmed that Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Greek President Karolos Papoulias last Friday to implement the German plan for a Greek referendum, whereas in November 2011, Berlin briskly rebuffed the Prime Minister at the time, Giorgos Papandreou, when he publicly announced his proposal to hold a referendum. This led to his demise. Berlin's open interference is met with outrage in Athens.

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother...

A leather-bound religious text, thought to date from the fifth century but discovered only 12 years ago, will cause the collapse of Christianity worldwide, claims Iran. The book, written on animal hide, apparently states that Jesus was never crucified and that he himself predicted the coming of the Prophet Muhammad, according to the the Iranian press. Written in Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, the gospel even predicts the coming of the last Islamic messiah, the report adds. Turkish authorities believe it could be an authentic version of the Gospel by Jesus's disciple Barnabas, and the Iranian press report has claimed that its contents will trigger Christianity's downfall by proving that Islam is the final and righteous religion. Others have dismissed the Iranian claims as 'laughable' anti-Christian propaganda. The Basij Press claims the text was written in the 5th or 6th century and it predicted the coming of the Prophet Muhammad and the religion of Islam. It says the Christian world denies the existence of such a gospel. Turkish authorities seized the text in 2000 in a crackdown on a gang who were charged with smuggling antiquities, illegal excavations and the possession of explosives. But excitement at the find only peaked in February this year, when it was reported that the Vatican had made an official request to view the book. It is not known whether the request was granted.

Rabbi Yitzhak Shapiro, who heads the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva in the Yitzhar settlement, wrote in his book “The King’s Torah” that even babies and children can be killed if they pose a threat to the nation. - Shapiro based the majority of his teachings on passages quoted from the Bible, to which he adds his opinions and beliefs.

“It is permissable to kill the Righteous among Nations even if they are not responsible for the threatening situation,” he wrote, adding: “If we kill a Gentile who has sinned or has violated one of the seven commandments – because we care about the commandments – there is nothing wrong with the murder.”

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said that the footprints of "established terrorist groups" can be seen in the recent bomb attacks in Syria. - In a letter to the Security Council on Friday, the UN chief said that the size and sophistication of some recent bombings in the Middle Eastern country suggest the involvement of terrorist groups. "The (Syrian) Government asserts that such groups are active in the country, as do some opposition groups. The al-Nusra Front has claimed responsibility for at least six of the recent bombings," Ban said. He urged member states not to supply arms to the government or armed groups in Syria. He also added that supporting any side with weapons and military training jeopardizes a sustained cease-fire.