Ballistics evidence does not support claims Jeffrey Johnson opened fire at police as CCTV footage shows officers confronting him. - A laid-off clothing designer who killed a former colleague outside the Empire State Building did not fire on police, according to evidence. Jeffrey Johnson, 58, was shot by armed officers as he attempted to flee the scene following the fatal shooting on Friday morning. CCTV footage shows him walking along the street, before two officers confront him and he pulls a gun from a bag and points it at them. A witness had claimed Johnson fired at police, but authorities said ballistics evidence so far does not support that. He was then shot dead by officers and nine bystanders were also wounded in the shooting. Johnson had worked for six years as women's accessories designer at Hazan Imports, which is housed in the Empire State Building, but he was laid off about a year ago. Police commissioner Ray Kelly said Johnson fired at his former colleague three times at close range after a dispute about 9am. Johnson then tried to flee but he was confronted by police who had been alerted by a nearby construction worker, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. Mr Bloomberg originally said Johnson "clearly turned his gun on the police", but that claim is now in doubt. The injured were thought to have been hit by police bullets. All are expected to survive.

Says Action Would Be Taken Only if Attacked First. - Syrian Ambassador to Jordan Bahjat Suleiman has warned in an interview earlier this week that Syria is prepared to attack Israel’s nuclear weapons facilities in retaliation for any Israeli attack, and that he believes the sites could be destroyed with just 20 missiles. “What the Zionists have, nuclear weapons-wise, could cause us major casualties should they attack Syria. In contrast, we could cause massive losses to their nuclear facilities and we wouldn’t need more than 20 missiles,” Suleiman told a press delegation. Suleiman reportedly went on to say that Syria would never be the one to start a war with Israel, but that they would “not stand idly by” if attacked. Israeli officials raised the possibility of attacking Syria and trying to capture their chemical weapons and most advanced conventional weapons last month.

UN special rapporteur on human rights to urge establishing a mechanism to investigate such killings. - The US must open itself to an independent investigation into its use of drone strikes or the United Nations will be forced to step in, Ben Emmerson QC said yesterday. His comments came as Pakistani officials said that a US drone strike had killed at least four militants after targeting their vehicles in North Waziristan on Sunday. Attacks by American unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are deeply unpopular in the country, which claims they violate its sovereignty and fan anti-US sentiment. Only last week cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan vowed to defy Taliban threats to attend a rally in Pakistan's tribal areas aimed at highlighting the human cost of US drone strikes.

Anders Behring Breivik refused to appeal a prison sentence that could keep him locked up for life, saying it would legitimize Norway’s legal system. Having been found sane, he apologized to militant nationalists for "not killing more". - In an often harrowing 13-month legal proceeding which found Berivik guilty of carrying out last July’s bombing and shooting massacre which killed 77 and wounded over 240, the Norwegian far-right extremist remained defiant until the end. In his final statement before the court, Breivik insisted he did not

“recognize the court as it “received its mandate from political parties that accept multiculturalism." “Since I don't recognize the authority of the court, I cannot legitimize the Oslo district court by accepting the verdict," he continued. "At the same time I cannot appeal the verdict, because by appealing it, I would legitimize the court." "I wish to apologize to all militant nationalists that I wasn't able to execute more."

He would give one final clinched-fist salute before being led out of the courtroom for the last time.

PressTV: Analyst: West lies about failure of multiculturalism - Video
AWIP: Verdict in Murder Trial of Norwegian Extremist: Guilty
Jordan Shilton: Norwegian mass murderer Breivik sentenced to 21 years
Max Fisher: A Different Justice: Why Anders Breivik Only Got 21 Years for Killing 77 People

Three years in prison have become a closer prospect for some German followers of Russian punk band Pussy Riot. The Catholic Church has pressed charges against Cologne Cathedral intruders, who now face longer prison terms than their heroes. - The three protesters have been charged with disturbing a religious service which, according to German law, could mean up to three years in jail. "The right to demonstration cannot be set above the right to religious freedom and the religious feelings of the congregation,” Cologne Cathedral’s dean told the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper. Three women from Pussy Riot received a two-year prison sentence for hooliganism over their controversial performance in Russia’s central Cathedral of Jesus Christ the Savior.

Extraits imagés du discours de Hassan Nasrallah au 18 juillet 2012. Les parties sélectionnées pour cette vidéo traitent des 3 membres du gouvernement tombés en martyr le 18 juillet 2012 et du rôle de la Syrie d'Alassad dans les mouvements de résistance au Moyen-Orient. [Karbalaqsa][TEXT in English]

PlaneteNon-Violence.org: Plan D’Israël Pour La Syrie : Le Modèle Somalien (Article in English)