At least 12 people have been killed in a US assassination drone strike in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region near the Afghan border. - In the attack, which occurred on Monday, US drones fired several missiles at a private compound in the Shawal area in the North Waziristan tribal region, Reuters reported. The targeted compound is in Dray Nashtar village, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan. Local residents said that the airstrike sparked a huge fire in the building. Most of the bodies have been recovered from the rubble.

Some local media reports said five drones were still hovering over the area, creating panic among the people in the tribal region, and hampering the rescue work.

Despite Pakistani government’s repeated calls on Washington to end the drone attacks, the US government continues its strikes on the tribal regions of the country.

Asian Tribune: Civilian death by drone attacks is high: but US sidesteps the issue arguing legality

Anaheim police have shot dead yet another man just a day after killing 24-year old Manuel Diaz. The previous day's shooting sparked a protest against police brutality that was violently broken up by authorities. - Police say the second shooting took place on Sunday, when anti-gang crime officers spotted a stolen SUV and started chasing it. Three suspects were said to have jumped out of the SUV, with police continuing their pursuit on foot. The men reportedly opened fire at an officer, and the policeman retaliated by shooting dead one of the shooters. However, eyewitnesses say police shot dead a man who was already handcuffed, OC Weekly reports. Residents on the scene allegedly tried to take photos from a second floor of an apartment block, but police obscured their view with flash lights. The second alleged killing took place a few blocks away from the place where 24-year-old Manuel Diaz was gunned down by police on Saturday.

All 16 requests for assistance are refused in full - The table below contains the letter from Julian Assange’s solicitor, human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce from Birnberg Peirce and Partners, and Ken Pascoe, the Consul-General of the Australian High Commission in London. Australia refuses to make representations on Mr. Assange’s behalf in any manner whatsoever. The letter outlines the requests that Mr. Assange makes for representations by his government regarding due process and fair trial, and the Australian government’s position: an effective declaration of abandonment. Not only does Australia fail to make representations that are perfectly appropriate and customary - they explicitly refuse to do so. Note that the Australian government took almost two months to respond to Ms. Peirce’s letter, despite her insistence that the matter was urgent, and that Mr. Assange’s due process rights were being violated, and are being violated, in the absence of the Australian government’s representations.

[Video] When a twelve-year-old Palestinian boy is killed in the West Bank city of Jenin by Israeli soldiers who mistook his toy gun for the real thing, it could have been just one more blip on the news: one more human tragedy that devastated a family and community, but rippled no further into the world's consciousness.

But something extraordinary happened that turned Ahmed Khatib's tragic 2005 death into a gift of hope for six Israeli children. Even while overwhelmed with grief, Ahmed's parents consented to donate their son's organs. Amid the violence and hatred surrounding an intractable conflict, a simple act of humanity rose above the clamor and captured worldwide attention.

Heart of Jenin tells the story of Ahmed's tragic death and his father Ismael Khatib's journey to visit three of the organ recipients two years later. One of Ahmed's kidneys went to an Orthodox Jewish girl, his other to a Bedouin boy. While his parents hesitated to donate Ahmed's heart, it now beats in the chest of a Druze girl. Crossing from northern Israel to the Negev desert and ending up in Jerusalem, Khatib encounters every complexity of the conflict: deep-seated animosity, hardened judgments, and heartfelt generosity. While laying bare the deep divisions between Israelis and Palestinians, Heart of Jenin offers a rare vision of common humanity and hope. To learn more, go to: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/episodes/heart-of-jenin/introduction/4991

Israel’s Defense Ministry has ordered eight Palestinian villages in the West Bank to be razed, claiming the land is needed for military training. Hundreds of Palestinians are to be displaced despite evidence that the villages have existed since 1830. The residents of the villages, located in the southern region of Hebron, are accused of “illegal dwelling in a fire zone.” The government said in a memo to the Supreme Court on Sunday that the 1,500-plus residents will be moved to the nearby city of Yatta, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. The Defense Ministry has obtained evidence the Palestinians have permanent homes there.

Haaretz: Israel orders demolition of 8 Palestinian villages, claims need for IDF training land