5-year-old rock thrower detained by Israeli army

The 5-year-old Palestinian boy said in a TV interview that he was aiming at a dog but hit a car instead. The Israeli army says passers-by were endangered.

An Israeli human rights group accused the army on Thursday of illegally detaining a 5-year-old Palestinian boy for throwing a stone in a flashpoint city in the occupied West Bank.
Video footage taken by the group B'Tselem of Tuesday's incident showed Wadi Maswadeh crying as he was surrounded by soldiers on a street in Hebron. He was then made to board a military jeep accompanied by a Palestinian adult.
The images, aired on Israeli media, looked likely to stoke debate about policy in the West Bank, where the army guards Jewish settlers. There is often friction with Palestinians, who have limited self-government but have been frustrated in their hopes of gaining statehood.
B'Tselem said troops took Maswadeh home, picking up his father and holding them both for another half-hour, during which the father was bound and blindfolded. The two were then handed over to Palestinian police, who questioned and released them.
In a later television interview, Maswadeh admitted throwing a stone, saying he had aimed at a dog but hit a car instead.
B'Tselem said Maswadeh's handling by the troops was illegal as the age of criminal responsibility in Israel and its West Bank jurisdiction is 12.
"The security forces are not allowed to arrest or detain children under that age, even when they are suspected of having committed criminal offenses, and the authorities must deal with the law-breaking in other ways," said group director Jessica Montell.
In a statement, the army said Maswadeh's stone-throwing had endangered passers-by. More than 150 Israelis were hurt in similar West Bank incidents between January and May, it said.
"Soldiers intervened on the spot and accompanied the minor to his parents. From there he was passed on to the care of the Palestinian Security Forces, all the while accompanied by his parents. The child was not arrested and no charges were filed," the statement said.

What really happened in Jerusalem

“I honestly believe that if any Israeli parent sat down with those [Palestinian] kids, they’d say, ‘I want these kids to succeed.’ ”
Very true. But how does the other side feel about Israeli kids?
Consider that the most revered parent in Palestinian society is Mariam Farhat of Gaza. Her distinction? Three of her sons died in various stages of trying to kill Israelis — one in a suicide attack, shooting up and hurling grenades in a room full of Jewish students.
She gloried in her “martyr” sons, wishing only that she had 100 boys like her schoolroom suicide attacker to “sacrifice . . . for the sake of God.” And for that she was venerated as “mother of the struggle,” elected to parliament and widely mourned upon her recent passing.
So much for reciprocity. In the Palestinian territories, streets, public squares, summer camps, high schools, even a kindergarten are named after suicide bombers and other mass murderers. So much for the notion that if only Israelis would care about Arab kids, peace would be possible.
That hasn’t exactly been the problem. Israelis have wanted nothing more than peace and security for all the children. That’s why they accepted the 1947 U.N. partition of British Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state. Unfortunately — another asymmetry — the Arabs said no. To this day, the Palestinians have rejected every peace offer that leaves a Jewish state standing.
This is not ancient history. Yasser Arafat said no at Camp David in 2000 and at Taba in 2001. And in 2008, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered a Palestinian state on all of the West Bank (with territorial swaps) with its capital in a shared Jerusalem. Mahmoud Abbas walked away.
In that same speech, Obama blithely called these “missed historic opportunities” that should not prevent peace-seeking now. But these “missed historic opportunities” are not random events. They present an unbroken, unrelenting pattern over seven decades of rejecting any final peace with Israel.
So what was the point of Obama’s Jerusalem speech encouraging young Israelis to make peace, a speech the media drooled over? It was mere rhetoric, a sideshow meant to soften the impact on the Arab side of the really important event of Obama’s trip: the major recalibration of his position on the peace process.
Obama knows that peace talks are going nowhere. First, because there is no way that Israel can sanely make concessions while its neighborhood is roiling and unstable — the Muslim Brotherhood taking over Egypt, rockets being fired from Gaza, Hezbollah brandishing 50,000 missiles aimed at Israel, civil war raging in Syria with its chemical weapons and rising jihadists, and Iran threatening openly to raze Tel Aviv and Haifa.
Second, peace is going nowhere because Abbas has shown Obama over the past four years that he has no interest in negotiating. Obama’s message to Abbas was blunt: Come to the table without preconditions, i.e., without the excuse of demanding a settlement freeze first.
Obama himself had contributed to this impasse when he imposed that precondition — for the first time ever in the history of Arab-Israeli negotiations — four years ago. And when Israel responded with an equally unprecedented 10-month settlement freeze, Abbas didn’t show up to talk until more than nine months in — then walked out, never to return.
In Ramallah last week, Obama didn’t just address this perennial Palestinian dodge. He demolished the very claim that settlements are the obstacle to peace. Palestinian sovereignty and Israeli security are “the core issue,” he told Abbas. “If we solve those two problems, the settlement problem will be solved.”
Finally. Presidential validation of the screamingly obvious truism: Any peace agreement will produce a Palestinian state with not a single Israeli settlement remaining on its territory. Any settlement on the Palestinian side of whatever border is agreed upon will be demolished. Thus, any peace that reconciles Palestinian statehood with Israeli security automatically resolves the settlement issue. It disappears.
Yes, Obama offered the ritual incantations about settlements being unhelpful. Nothing new here. He could have called them illegal or illegitimate. It wouldn’t have mattered — because Obama officially declared them irrelevant.
Exposing settlements as a mere excuse for the Palestinian refusal to negotiate — that was the news, widely overlooked, coming out of Obama’s trip. It was a breakthrough.
Will it endure? Who knows. But when an American president so sympathetic to the Palestinian cause tells Abbas to stop obstructing peace with that phony settlement excuse, something important has happened. Abbas, unmasked and unhappy, knows this better than anyone.

Read more from Charles Krauthammer’s archive

Death toll from Iraq violence rises to 51

THE death toll from a wave of attacks in Iraq mainly targeting security forces and Shi'ites has risen to 51 with 26 of them police and soldiers, officials say.
Thursday's attacks came amid a surge in violence that has killed more than 2500 people already this year, including upwards of 250 so far this month.
Analysts point to widespread discontent among Iraq's minority Sunni community, and the Shi'ite authorities' failure to address their grievances, as the main factors driving the increase in violence.
In Thursday's single deadliest incident, gunmen shot dead 11 police charged with protecting the country's vital oil infrastructure and three soldiers on the road between Haditha and Baiji, northwest of the Iraqi capital.
In another attack, a car bomb ripped through a funeral tent where family members of a Shi'ite man were receiving condolences in Muqdadiyah, northeast of Baghdad, and a suicide bomber detonated explosives when emergency personnel arrived.
The blasts killed a total of 10 people and wounded 22.
And a car bomb near a Shi'ite religious hall close to Dujail, north of Baghdad, killed nine people and wounded 21 more.
Many people gather at places of worship at night during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began earlier this week.
Sunni militants including those linked to al-Qaeda frequently target members of Iraq's Shi'ite majority, whom they regard as apostates.

Snowden to meet rights activists in Moscow

FUGITIVE US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden is set to meet with leading Russian rights activists and lawyers at the airport in Moscow where he has been stuck in transit for nearly three weeks.
Several campaigners have told AFP they will attend the 2300 AEST meeting on Friday after receiving an invitation from Snowden, in what will be the former government contractor's first publicised encounter since he arrived on a flight from Hong Kong.
According to the purported invitation from Snowden posted on social media by one activist, the fugitive wants to discuss his "next steps" forward.
He also rails against the "unlawful campaign" against him by Washington which is seeking his extradition after he leaked details of pervasive US intelligence surveillance
Those invited included representatives of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Transparency International as well as several prominent lawyers working in Moscow.
"I can confirm that Mr Snowden will hold a meeting with rights representatives on the territory of the airport," Sheremetyevo spokeswoman Anna Zakharenkova told AFP.
"We will provide access and premises," she added, declining to provide further details.
Snowden has made no public appearances since arriving at the state-controlled airport in the Russian capital on June 23. According to officials, he has spent the whole time in the airport transit zone.
Sergei Nikitin of the Moscow branch of Amnesty International told AFP he received an email inviting his group and said "we are planning to go".
Elena Panfilova of Transparency International said the "somewhat unexpected" invitation was being discussed. She said the email had come from an apparently secure email address in Snowden's name.
Tatyana Lokshina of Human Rights Watch in Moscow said on her Facebook page that she had also received an invitation from Snowden although she could not yet confirm "it was real".
She quoted the email as saying Snowden wanted to have the meeting for "a brief statement and discussion regarding the next steps forward in my situation".
Kristinn Hraffnson, spokesman for the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website which is supporting Snowden, told AFP that he could not confirm that the meeting was planned.
The email thanked Latin American states for considering an application for asylum but denounced "an unlawful campaign by officials in the US government to deny my right to seek and enjoy this asylum".
Leftist Latin American states are seen as the most likely destination for Snowden, who has applied for asylum in 27 countries.
Bolivia, Venezuela and Nicaragua have all expressed readiness to consider giving Snowden asylum.
Prominent Moscow lawyer Genrikh Padva confirmed to AFP that he had received an invitation for a meeting at the airport on Friday afternoon local time, but did not believe he would have time to attend.
Olga Kostina, a rights activist who is a member of Russia's public chamber advisory body, told the state ITAR-TASS news agency that she would attend "if just out of curiosity".
Interfax said Russia's human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin had been invited and he told the agency he was ready to attend the meeting.
A source had told Interfax the day earlier that the United States and Russia were now in "wait-and-see" mode over Snowden, indicating that a rapid solution to his presence may not be in sight.
President Vladimir Putin has vowed that Moscow will not extradite Snowden but also indicated the Kremlin is keen to see the back of a man who has added an additional problem to already strained relations with Washington.
The meeting comes after the United States on Thursday told China it was upset it did not hand over Snowden after he fled to Hong Kong, saying that the decision had undermined relations.
President Barack Obama, meeting senior Chinese officials who were in Washington for annual talks, "expressed his disappointment and concern" over the Snowden case, the White House said.

Myanmar jails Buddhists over violence

MYANMAR (Burma) has sentenced more than 20 Buddhists to prison for their roles in religious riots in March, including a deadly attack on a Muslim boarding school, lawyers and police say.
The convictions follow earlier concerns among rights groups that Muslims were bearing the brunt of the legal crackdown on suspects involved in the unrest which shook the central town of Meiktila.
The Buddhists were sentenced on Wednesday and Thursday on charges including murder, assault, theft, arson and inciting unrest, said a police official who did not want to be named.
According to state media, which did not specify the suspects' religion, the sentences ranged from two years for minor offences such as theft to 10 years for murder, with some defendants handed several terms to be served separately.
Some of the charges related to the deaths of students at an Islamic school on the outskirts of Meiktila, according to Ba San, a lawyer who was at the court.
"We have to say that both Buddhists and Muslims have been sentenced if found guilty," he told AFP.
More than a dozen Muslims have been convicted in relation to the violence, with a number receiving life imprisonment for murder.
In May, seven Muslims were sentenced to between two and 28 years for their parts in the killing of a Buddhist monk during the unrest, which was apparently triggered by a quarrel in a Muslim-owned gold shop.
Before the latest convictions, only two Buddhists were known to have been sentenced for serious offences during the riots, which drove thousands of Muslims from their homes.
According to eyewitnesses interviewed by the rights group Physicians for Human Rights, a Buddhist mob hunted down and killed some 20 students and four teachers at the Islamic school.
Witnesses recounted seeing one pupil being decapitated and several being burned alive, according to a May report by the US-based group.

NZ law changes nab murderer 34 years later Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/world/callous-nz-killer-jailed-for-1979-murder/story-e6frfkui-1226678440610#ixzz2YqCf6YkA

LAW changes played a key role in bringing to justice a New Zealand man who shot dead a service station attendant 34 years ago.
Reginald John Menzies Hallett, 72, was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for murdering Turangi service station attendant Rodney Tahu in 1979.
Hours after Hallett fatally shot Tahu, he revealed what he'd done to his then-wife Susan.
After the killing, Hallett drove to Wellington where his wife had moved after they separated, and confessed all.
Susan recounted how Hallett, angered by her refusal to allow him custody of their two daughters, told her he'd reached "flash point" when Mr Tahu refused to open the service station and sell him oil.
Hallett was so angry he called Mr Tahu a "black bastard", pulled out his prized pistol and fired three times.
The first shot missed, the second knocked him to the ground.
As the young father lay crying for help, Hallett stood over him and fired from virtually point blank range at a spot close to his eyebrow.
Within hours Mr Tahu was dead, taking his last breath as doctors worked to save his life in Taumarunui Hospital.
She had told police the graphic details, but the Evidence Act of the day prevented a wife testifying against her husband.
Hallett was nevertheless charged with Mr Tahu's murder, but walked free from court when the magistrate presiding at the depositions hearing ruled there was insufficient evidence for him to stand trial.
For more than three decades Hallett lived and worked as if nothing had occurred, taking on community roles, including commodore of Taupo's Trailer Yacht Squadron and president of the Bay of Plenty Musical Society.
When he moved to Rotorua - working in real estate, finance and as an insurance salesman - few were aware of his past history.
The laws were changed in 2006, and in 2011 Rotorua police reopened the Hallett file.
He was charged that November and in April this year the former Mrs Hallett, now Mrs Sharpe, took the stand.
On May 1, a jury rapidly found Hallett guilty of murder.
On Friday, crown prosecutor Fletcher Pilditch pressed the judge to sentence Hallett to jail with a lengthy minimum parole period, something the law also didn't provide for in 1979.
Justice Ailsa Duffy said she didn't entirely agree that the 2002 Evidence Act could be applied retrospectively. She also took the Human Rights Act into account.
She jailed Hallett for life which, under the provisions of the former Act, means he's not eligible for parole for 10 years.

5 Myths About Women’s Séxual Desire, Decoded

There is so much misinformation floating around about women’s séxual desire. It is built up to be so elusive, it is no wonder women feel restricted in their expression of it.
As a researcher who focuses a lot of my attention on s*xual desire, I think it is important to set the record straight when it comes to misinformation regarding women’s séxual desire.
Here are five myths decoded based on the science of desire:
Myth One: Women have lower séxual desire than men.
No! Research has found that women and men are equally likely to be the partner less desirous of séx. This hasn’t been found in just one study, either. In my own research alone, I’ve found a non-significant difference between men and women in three different samples of couples.
Myth Two: Séxual response involves desire, then arousal, and then climax.
Desire doesn’t have to come before arousal. Remember the séxual response cycle you learned in health class? That’s right, most of you likely didn’t learn about this in school… what a shame… topic for another post, perhaps. The model most commonly taught is Masters & Johnson’s model of s*xual response. It is linear. It doesn’t include desire. And it ends with climax followed by resolution (they say women don’t have to go through resolution, hence the ability for multiple climax). A séx therapist, Helen Singer Kaplan, came along and added desire to the model. But she left the model linear, with desire preceding arousal. A more recent model, created by Basson, allows for s*xual desire to happen at any stage; much more accurate to women’s experience. Sometimes, you don’t have any desire but your partner starts messing around with you, arousal kicks in, and bam — there’s some desire you didn’t know you had. Desire doesn’t have to come first, and there is not necessarily anything wrong with you if it doesn’t.
Myth Three: 43 percent of women suffer from s*xual dysfunction.

The still frequently-cited statistic from a study by Laumann and colleagues conducted in 1999 that 43 percent of women suffer from s*xual dysfunction is, simply stated, inaccurate. It is based on a yes/no response option, where participants were asked whether they had experienced any of seven problems for two months over the past year. If the women answered ‘yes’ to any of the problems, they were categorized in that 43 percent statistic. This question didn’t give any context to the reason around the experienced problems (such problems included lack of desire for s*x, anxiety about s*xual performance and difficulties with lubrication). There are a lot of reasons other than ‘dysfunction’ that may account for those types of problems, such as health concerns, relationship issues or cultural expectations. We don’t really know how many people suffer from s*xual dysfunction, because to be frank, we don’t really know whether it is a real dysfunction or not! But that is another topic for another day (but if you’re interested, here is some research and a website that may be of interest).
Myth Four: Women with high séxual desire are anomalies.
A study on what were called ‘highly séxual women’ was recently published by Wentland and colleagues. Based on the responses of 932 women to their online questionnaire, they found that 52 percent of their sample could be classified as “highly s*xual.” Although s*xual desire itself was not measured here, it does give some insight that women who are highly s*xual may not be as rare as one might assume.
Myth Five: Women are vastly different from men when it comes to séxual desire.
In the research I’ve conducted in the area of séxual desire, the most surprising (and perhaps interesting) result has been that there is just as much variation in desire within men and women as there is between men and women. What I mean by that is, people make assumptions that men and women are so different (not just regarding s*xual desire — it goes beyond that), and this may all stem from the whole (recently debunked) ‘Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus’ idea. But this focus on differences doesn’t bring us closer together; it pushes us further apart. And I don’t have any research conducted in the past decade to support this vast gender difference when it comes to s*xual desire. I’ve found that variations in s*xual desire are much more of a relationship issue than a gender issue.
Women’s séxual desire (and men’s, too) is far from simple — it is more like a complicated puzzle, the pieces of which we are still trying to put together. Having pervasive séx-negative myths like those busted above floating around isn’t helping anyone. So, do your part to pass the truth on so we can start to get rid of these harmful messages about women and their expression of s*xual desire.

Egypt rallies planned as tensions soar

ACTIVISTS for and against ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi have called rival rallies for the first Friday of Ramadan, as tensions soar over the army's overthrow of the Islamist leader.
The Muslim Brotherhood, the influential group from which Morsi emerged, has vowed to keep protesting until he is reinstated.
The group has called separate rallies across Cairo, but the group's ability to mobilise remains in question with much of its leadership detained, on the run or keeping a low profile.
The anti-Morsi camp has also called for rallies, including a mass iftar - the breaking of the Muslim fast - in Tahrir Square.
The military's overthrow of Morsi last week after millions took to the streets demanding his resignation has sparked deadly clashes and deepened divisions in the Arab world's most populous country.
Egypt's new premier said on Thursday he did not rule out Muslim Brotherhood members in his cabinet, even as the group vowed to keep defying the coup.
Hazem al-Beblawi, who was appointed on Tuesday, told AFP in a telephone interview: "I don't look at political association...
"If someone is named from (the Brotherhood's) Freedom and Justice Party, if he is qualified for the post" he may be considered.
"I'm taking two criteria for the next government. Efficiency and credibility," he added.
Beblawi said he wanted to decide on the best candidates before asking them to join the government.
The Brotherhood has already rejected a Beblawi offer to join the new government. They said the mass rally called for Friday was against what it called "a bloody military coup".
The United States meanwhile said it was pressing ahead with plans to deliver four F-16 fighters to Egypt, a US official said.
There was no decision to halt the scheduled transfer of the warplanes or to cut off other security assistance to Egypt, the official said on condition of anonymity, even though Washington has announced a review of all aid to Cairo.
In Cairo, the bloody run-up to Ramadan has marred the onset of the holy month.
In the worst incident, clashes around an army building on Monday left 53 people dead, mostly Morsi supporters.
In the restive Sinai peninsula, a Coptic Christian man was found decapitated on Thursday five days after gunmen kidnapped him, security officials and witnesses told AFP.
Police were hunting the Brotherhood's Supreme Guide, Mohammed Badie, after a warrant was issued for his arrest on Wednesday.
Badie and other senior Brotherhood leaders are wanted on suspicion of inciting the clashes.
Morsi himself is currently being held in a "safe place, for his safety", foreign ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty told reporters on Wednesday, adding: "He is not charged with anything up till now."

Irish MPs pass abortion law

IRISH MPs have voted in favour of controversial new legislation that will allow abortion in limited cases where the mother's life is at risk.
Weary MPs voted through the bill, by 127 to 31 against after marathon discussions on 165 amendments ran until 5am Thursday (local time) and 30 minutes past midnight on Friday (9.30 AEST).
It passed easily as the coalition government enjoys a large majority and the support of some members of the opposition.
The bill will now go to a vote in the upper house, where the government enjoys a majority.
The new bill will allow for abortion in limited cases where the mother's life is threatened.
Abortion laws in Ireland, which is predominantly Catholic, became the focus of global attention and intense debate following the death of 31-year-old Indian woman Savita Halappanavar in a Galway hospital last October.
Halappanavar had sought a termination when told she was miscarrying, but the request was refused as her life was not at risk at the time.
She later died of sepsis days after miscarrying.
The bill follows a 2010 European Court of Human Rights ruling that found Ireland had failed to implement properly the constitutional right to abortion where a woman's life is at risk.
Under a 1992 Supreme Court ruling, women in Ireland are legally entitled to an abortion if needed to save a mother's life, but legislation was never passed to reflect this.

15 Amazing Health Benefits of Onions

Onions have been used for thousands of years as an ingredient in various dishes by many cultures around the world. These vegetable can be eaten raw, cooked, fried, dried or roasted. They are commonly used as a flavouring and seasoning agent in many dishes. Apart from added an excellent taste to dishes, onions are also provides many health benefits to its users. In Chinese medicine, onions have been used to treat angina, coughs, bacterial infections, and respiratory problems. And even the World Health Organization (WHO) also supports the use of onions for the treatment of poor appetite and preventing atherosclerosis. Some health benefits of onions are as given below:

• Fight Cancer

Onion extract is rich in a variety of sulfides, which provide some protection against tumor growth. Some studies have showed, regular consumption of onions helps to reduce the risk of several cancers such as colorectal cancer, oral cancer, laryngeal cancer, stomach cancer, esophageal cancer, and ovarian cancer. It is suggested to consume one onion serving per day (approximately 1/2 cup).

• Cardiovascular Benefits

The regular consumption of onion has been shown to lower high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. This is attributed to the sulfur compounds, chromium, and vitamin B6 in onions, which helps prevent heart disease by lowering high homocysteine levels, another potential risk factor for heart attack and stroke.

• Reduce Blood Sugar Levels

The regular consumption of onions also have been shown to lower the blood sugar levels. A study found that, onions contain allyl propyl disulfide that helps to reduce the glucose levels by increasing the amount of insulin.

• Promotes Gastrointestinal Health

Onions packed with enormous flavonoids, these flavonoids help to reduce the risk of colon cancer. It has been shown to inhibit the growth of tumors in animals and to protect colon cells from the damaging effects of certain cancer-causing substances.

• Good for Skin

The onions help in stimulating the circulation of blood in the mucous membrane. It can be applied as poultice to boils, bruises, wounds, etc. Onion juice mixed with honey also can be the best home remedy for acne.

• Stimulate Hair Growth

Onion is rich in sulfur which is one of the essential nutrients in promoting hair growth. A study has shown that applying onion juice on scalp twice a week for 2 months will stimulates hair regrowth.

• Treats Cholera

Onion is an effective remedy for cholera. Grind about 30 grams of onions with 5-7 black peppers. Have 2-3 times of the mixture a day. This is effective treatment for cholera. On the other hand, this also helps to lessens diarrhoea and vomiting.

• Maintain Bone Health

A study revealed that onions also possess the ability of building connective tissue and bone health due to a newly identified substance in it called growth plate chondrocytes (GPCs). Hence onions are very beneficial for women who are at a risk for osteoporosis. There is also evidence to suggest that the risk of hip fracture in menopausal women may be lowered through regular consumption of onions.

• Remedy for Cold and Flu

Onion is also a great remedy for cold and flu. The Native Americans used them to ward off the common cold and flu. The World Health Organization has even recognized the onion for its ability to help relieve flu symptoms such as coughs, bronchitis, congestion, and respiratory infections.

• Relieve Tooth Disorders

Recent research shows that onions may kill bacteria that cause tooth decay and other dental problems. Chewing a raw onion for two to three minutes could kill all the germs in the mouth. Placing a small piece of onion on the affected tooth or bad tooth can also help in relieving toothache.

• Treat Urinary Disorders

Onion has diuretic properties, which are useful in treating urinary disorders. For those suffering from burning sensation during urination, drink water boiled with 6 to 7 gm of onion, this may relieve the symptoms.

• Prevents Blood Clot

Onions are considered as natural anti-clotting agents. The sulfur contents in the onions can suppress clumping of platelets thereby help in preventing blood clot.

• Improve Digestive Function

Onions are a good source of dietary fibre and prebiotics that encourage the growth of good bacteria (probiotics) in the digestive system, thereby improving digestive function.

• Protect against Allergies

The onions such as red onions are rich in Quercetin, an antioxidant which is known to have anti-inflammatory and anti-allergy properties. Flavonoid contained in them blocks the allergy creating histamine and other substances. According to a recent study, eye symptoms associated with hay fever are greatly reduced by quercetin. Suggested dosage is 200-400 mg thrice a day.

• Anti-Inflammatory Benefits

The quercetin found in onions, along with other substances, help promote a healthy immune system. These substances act as anti-inflammatory agents, which reduce the effect of inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

When buying onions, choose the fresh ones that are clean, well-shaped, and have no opening at the neck. Avoid those that show sprouting or have signs of black mould as they indicate that the items are old. In addition, poor quality bulbs often have soft spots, moisture at their neck, and dark patches, which may all be indications of decay.

11 Amazing Health Benefits Of Ginger!

Ginger is grown as a root and is a flexible ingredient that can be consumed in drinks (tea , beer, ale) or in cooking. It can be used to make foods spicy and even as a food preservative. For over 2000 years, Chinese medicine has recommended the use of ginger to help cure and prevent several health problems. It is known to promote energy circulation in the body and increase our body’s metabolic rate .

Here ‘s a list of some of the amazing benefits of ginger that you may not aware of.
1. Maintains Normal Blood
Circulation. Ginger contains chromium, magnesium and zinc which can help to improve blood flow, as well as help prevent chills, fever, and excessive sweat.
2. Remedies Motion Sickness. Ginger is a known effective remedy for the nausea associated with motion sickness. The exact reason is unknown, but in a study of naval cadets, those given ginger powder suffered less.
3. Improves absorption. Ginger improves the absorption and stimulation of essential nutrients in the body. It does this by stimulating gastric and pancreatic enzyme secretion.
4. Cold and Flu Prevention. Ginger has been used for thousands of years as a natural
treatment for colds and flu around Asia. The University of Maryland Medical Center states that to treat cold and flu symptoms in adults, steep 2 table spoon of freshly shredded or chopped ginger root in hot water, two to three times a day.
5. Combat Stomach Discomfort. Ginger is ideal in assisting digestion, thereby improving food absorption and avoiding possible stomach ache. Ginger appears to reduce inflammation in a similar way to aspirin and ibuprofen.

6. Colon Cancer Prevention. A study at the University of Minnesota found that ginger may slow the growth of colorectal cancer cells.
7. Reduce Pain and Inflammation. Ginger contains some of the most potent anti- inflammatory fighting substances known and is a natural powerful painkiller.
8. Fights Common Respiratory Problems. If you’re suffering from common respiratory
diseases such as a cough, ginger aids in expanding your lungs and loosening up phlegm because it is a natural expectorant that breaks down and removes mucus.. That way you can quickly recover from difficulty in breathing.
9. Ovarian Cancer Treatment. Ginger powder induces cell death in ovarian cancer
cells.
10. Strengthens Immunity. Ginger helps improve the immune system. Consuming a little bit ginger a day can help foil potential risk of a stroke by inhibiting fatty deposits from the arteries. It also decreases bacterial infections in the stomach, and helps battle a bad cough and throat irritation.
11. Combats Morning Sickness. Ginger has
demonstrated a success rate of 75 percent in curing morning sickness and stomach flu.

John Kerry's wife moves to rehabilitation

THE wife of US Secretary of State John Kerry has moved to a rehabilitation hospital after doctors said her condition had improved following a seizure.
On Thursday Teresa Heinz Kerry, 74, left Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where she had been treated since falling ill on Sunday, Kerry's personal spokesman Glen Johnson said in a statement.
Doctors also upgraded her condition from "fair" to "good," meaning she could move to the city's specialist Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital to focus on her recovery, Johnson said.
"Doctors have concluded that Mrs Heinz Kerry suffered a seizure on Sunday, but they are still determining its precise cause," he said, adding "many possibilities have been ruled out," such as stroke, heart attack or a brain tumour.
Kerry, 69, will split his time between Boston and Washington and will resume his official travel schedule as the top US diplomat soon, Johnson added.

Mexican soldiers kill 13 gunmen

AUTHORITIES say Mexican soldiers killed 13 gunmen in a clash in the northern state of Zacatecas.
Zacatecas state prosecutors' spokesman Jorge Flores says soldiers also seized several automatic rifles and vehicles.
Flores said Thursday's clash took place in a remote area of the town of Sombrerete.
Zacatecas Attorney General Arturo Nahle told Milenio Television a gunman survived and told authorities he belongs to the Gulf drug cartel.
The state of Zacatecas began seeing a rise in drug violence after the brutal Zetas drug cartel split from the Gulf cartel in 2010 and began pushing west from their home base in northeast Mexico.
More recently the state has been a hot spot for violence after the falling out between leaders of the Zetas drug gang and turf battles with other cartels.

Family prepares to bury UK soldier

RELATIVES of a British soldier killed in broad daylight by alleged Islamic extremists say they are profoundly grateful for the support they have received from the public ahead of his funeral on Friday.

Lee Rigby was hacked to death May 22 on a London street near his army barracks. The killing shocked Britain and much of the world, especially when one of the suspects - his hands still bloody - boasted of the attack on a video widely broadcast by the media.
Prime Minister David Cameron has said "the whole country will be mourning with" Rigby's family when the soldier is laid to rest after a private service on Friday in his regiment's town of Bury, northern England.
His widow, Rebecca, expressed gratitude for the "overwhelming" outpouring of support following the attack.
"There are so many kind and generous people out there," she said in an interview ahead of the funeral.
"It's just horrible that it takes something such as this to make you see how many good people there are."
She said Rigby had always wanted his funeral service to be a "remembrance of his life," filled with happy memories - such as Rigby's love of the Irish boy band Westlife.
"He just wanted to put a smile on everyone's face," she said, recalling Rigby as "so bubbly" and energetic.
"He lived his life like a kid in a candy shop."
Thousands are expected to line the streets and pay their respects to Rigby as his casket is carried through the centre of the town after the private memorial service, but Rebecca Rigby said she hoped time at the cemetery would be for family to "say our goodbyes".
Rigby's parents said they hoped the day would offer "respect and dignity" for their son, who loved being a soldier as much as he loved being a family man.
"His job meant the world to him, being in the army," said his father, Ian Rigby.
"But his family still came first."
Rigby's death caused a spike in racial tensions in Britain due to the apparent involvement of religious extremists. Police reported an increase in attacks against Muslim mosques and community centres.
The two men charged in relation to Rigby's murder - Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22 - are due to stand trial in November.

US 'set to deliver' F-16s to Egypt

THE US is pressing ahead with plans to deliver four F-16 fighters to Egypt despite a military coup against President Mohammed Morsi, a US official says. 

It's still the status quo," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said on Thursday.
There was no decision to halt the scheduled transfer of the warplanes or to cut off other security assistance to Egypt, the official said, even though the US government has announced a review of all aid to Cairo.
President Barack Obama's administration says it is examining whether the military takeover constitutes a coup, which under US law would force Washington to freeze any aid to Egypt.
The Pentagon says it remains dedicated to maintaining longstanding military ties with Egypt and that the US wants to see a prompt return to civilian, democratic rule.
"Looking forward, we will work with the Egyptian people to support a quick and responsible return to a sustainable, democratically elected civilian government," the Pentagon said in a statement.
"Given the events of last week, the president has directed relevant departments and agencies to review our assistance to the government of Egypt."
The F-16s are part of an arms deal with Egypt approved in 2010 that calls for the supply of 20 of the fighter jets.
Eight of the warplanes were delivered earlier this year and four more are scheduled to be delivered in August, with another eight due later in the year, officials said.
Egypt has received more than 220 F-16 fighters since 1980 and has the world's fourth largest F-16 fleet, behind the United States, Israel and Turkey.
With Egypt gripped by intense political turmoil, the Obama administration has relied on the US military's deep ties with the Egyptian armed forces as its main channel for diplomacy.

Pope widens punishment for child abuse

POPE Francis has bolstered criminal legislation against child abuse in the Vatican and increased criminal liability for employees of the tiny city state in a legislative overhaul. 

The Vatican said in a statement the Pope's decree included "a broader definition of the category of crimes against minors" including child prostitution, sexual acts with children and child pornography.
The new laws are part of an introduction of forms of crime indicated in international conventions that the Vatican has already ratified including against racism and war crimes and on children's rights.
"While many of the specific criminal offences included in these laws are undeniably new, it would however be incorrect to assume that the forms of conduct thereby sanctioned were previously licit," said Monsignor Dominique Mamberti, who is in charge of relations between the Holy See and other states.
"These were indeed punished, but as broader, more generic forms of criminal activity."
Francis also increased co-operation with other states against money laundering and terrorism in a continuation of reforms begun by his predecessor, Benedict XVI, to get the Vatican in line with international legislation.
The new norms also introduce the administrative responsibility of Vatican departments - a potentially radical change that would complement his plans to root out corruption from the scandal-ridden Vatican bureaucracy.
The Pope's reform "extends the reach of the legislation contained in these criminal laws to the members, officials and employees of the various bodies of the Roman Curia," the central body of the Catholic Church, Mamberti said.
"This extension has the aim of making the crimes included in these laws indictable by the judicial organs of Vatican City State even when committed outside the borders of the state," he said.
The laws will come into force on September 1.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/world/pope-widens-punishment-for-child-abuse/story-e6frfkui-1226677905924#ixzz2YprPZ6Tj

Suspected Terrorist Killed In Joint Army, SSS Operation In Sokoto

A suspected terrorist has been killed in Sokoto after a shoot out with soldiers and operatives of the State Security Services (SSS) on Thursday, the News Agency of Nigeria

Brig.-Gen. Tasi'u Ibrahim, the Commander, 1 Brigade, Nigerian Army, said the suspect was killed in the operation which lasted for about six hours at Gidan-Dare, near Kalambaina area of the city.
He also said one suspect was captured alive, while 11 members of the suspects' family, ``were rescued and secured''.
Ibrahim told a press conference in Sokoto after the operation that, six of those rescued were children while five were women, adding also that two of the women were pregnant.
The pregnant women are now receiving ante-natal care at the Brigade’s clinic," he said.
The commander disclosed that the joint operation was carried out following a tip-off, adding, ``the house was being used as a terrorist hide-out''.
The operation was clinically and carefully carried out in line with the existing global rules of engagement,’’ he assured.
Ibrahim listed some of the weapons recovered from the house to include: Six AK 47 and one pump action rifles, 13 IED Prima clocks and an Abuja vehicle plate number, EL 295 ABJ .
Other items were : 13 ammunition magazines, 7 Improvised Explosive Devices making materials, 32 (9 volts) batteries, one axe, four handsets, 56 SIM cards, three memory cards, 10 cartons of milk and N76, 685 cash, among others.
This group of people do not wish Nigeria and the state well. In this Holy month of Ramadan one may wonder how these people are bent on breaching the peace.
All well meaning and law abiding Nigerians will continue to be protected and secured. The Army will make every effort to ensure that the innocent do not suffer,'' he said.
Ibrahim commended the people of the state for their sustained cooperation to the security agencies, but cautioned them against renting their houses to unknown persons,
NAN reports that the house was immediately demolished and set ablaze after the operation.
The press conference was attended by the Commander, 55 Forward Operation Base, Nigeria Air Force, Sokoto, Air Commodore Hanbali Tukur, Commissioner of Police Shu’aibu Gambo and Director SSS Jubril Danmalam.

Yobe Attack: Islamic Cleric Loses 6 Sons

An Islamic cleric, Imam Lawan Alkali, who lost six of his male children at the recent attack on Government Secondary School, Mamudo has condemned the attack by gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram sect, even as he kicked against government’s plan to negotiate with the group.

Imam Lawan Alkali explained his ordeal in Mamudo and revealed that those who massacred his sons will be dealt by the almighty Allah, even before they perish as according to him, Islam abhors violence.
The cleric, who lost six boys in the attack, said that he had taken the incident in good faith as whatever happens to a man had already been ordained by Allah. “He takes and gives,” he said.
He attributed the incessant attacks on the inability of the federal and state governments to nip the sect’s activities in the bud before it escalated.
Getting down to the root of the crisis, Imam Lawal said that it all started from Zamfara State during the regime of Obasanjo when the then government of that state introduced the sharia law system in the state. He said that was what led to the mushrooming of all religious sects across the Northern part of Nigeria.
When reminded that there was Maitasine crisis in 1980, he fired back saying that Maitasine was not political.
He disclosed further that at the time Maitasine was able to control the activities of its members and there were no killing of innocent citizens or burning of schools, “Maitasine was only fighting the authorities and not the people as we are seeing today.”

Woman’s work

The twisted reality of an Italian freelancer in Syria

A dark, rancid corner Borri says journalists have failed to explain Syria’s civil war because editors only want ‘blood.’ (Alessio Romenzi)
He finally wrote to me. After more than a year of freelancing for him, during which I contracted typhoid fever and was shot in the knee, my editor watched the news, thought I was among the Italian journalists who’d been kidnapped, and sent me an email that said: “Should you get a connection, could you tweet your detention?”
That same day, I returned in the evening to a rebel base where I was staying in the middle of the hell that is Aleppo, and amid the dust and the hunger and the fear, I hoped to find a friend, a kind word, a hug. Instead, I found only another email from Clara, who’s spending her holidays at my home in Italy. She’s already sent me eight “Urgent!” messages. Today she’s looking for my spa badge, so she can enter for free. The rest of the messages in my inbox were like this one: “Brilliant piece today; brilliant like your book on Iraq.” Unfortunately, my book wasn’t on Iraq, but on Kosovo.
People have this romantic image of the freelancer as a journalist who’s exchanged the certainty of a regular salary for the freedom to cover the stories she is most fascinated by. But we aren’t free at all; it’s just the opposite. The truth is that the only job opportunity I have today is staying in Syria, where nobody else wants to stay. And it’s not even Aleppo, to be precise; it’s the frontline. Because the editors back in Italy only ask us for the blood, the bang-bang. I write about the Islamists and their network of social services, the roots of their power—a piece that is definitely more complex to build than a frontline piece. I strive to explain, not just to move, to touch, and I am answered with: “What’s this? Six thousand words and nobody died?”
Actually, I should have realized it that time my editor asked me for a piece on Gaza, because Gaza, as usual, was being bombed. I got this email: “You know Gaza by heart,” he wrote. “Who cares if you are in Aleppo?” Exactly. The truth is, I ended up in Syria because I saw the photographs in Time by Alessio Romenzi, who was smuggled into Homs through the water pipes when nobody was yet aware of the existence of Homs. I saw his shots while I was listening to Radiohead—those eyes, staring at me; the eyes of people being killed by Assad’s army, one by one, and nobody had even heard of a place called Homs. A vise clamped around my conscience, and I had to go to Syria immediately.
But whether you’re writing from Aleppo or Gaza or Rome, the editors see no difference. You are paid the same: $70 per piece. Even in places like Syria, where prices triple because of rampant speculation. So, for example, sleeping in this rebel base, under mortar fire, on a mattress on the ground, with yellow water that gave me typhoid, costs $50 per night; a car costs $250 per day. So you end up maximizing, rather than minimizing, the risks. Not only can you not afford insurance—it’s almost $1,000 a month—but you cannot afford a fixer or a translator. You find yourself alone in the unknown. The editors are well aware that $70 a piece pushes you to save on everything. They know, too, that if you happen to be seriously wounded, there is a temptation to hope not to survive, because you cannot afford to be wounded. But they buy your article anyway, even if they would never buy the Nike soccer ball handmade by a Pakistani child.
With new communication technologies there is this temptation to believe that speed is information. But it is based on a self-destructive logic: The content is now standardized, and your newspaper, your magazine, no longer has any distinctiveness, and so there is no reason to pay for the reporter. I mean, for the news, I have the Internet—and for free. The crisis today is of the media, not of the readership. Readers are still there, and contrary to what many editors believe, they are bright readers who ask for simplicity without simplification. They want to understand, not simply to know. Every time I publish an eyewitness account from the war, I get a dozen emails from people who say, “Okay, great piece, great tableaux, but I want to understand what’s going on in Syria.” And it would so please me to reply that I cannot submit an analysis piece, because the editors would simply spike it and tell me, “Who do you think you are, kid?”—even though I have three degrees, have written two books, and spent 10 years in various wars, first as a human-rights officer and now as a journalist. My youth, for what it’s worth, vanished when bits of brain splattered on me in Bosnia, when I was 23.
Freelancers are second-class journalists—even if there are only freelancers here, in Syria, because this is a dirty war, a war of the last century; it’s trench warfare between rebels and loyalists who are so close that they scream at each other while they shoot each other. The first time on the frontline, you can’t believe it, with these bayonets you have seen only in history books. Today’s wars are drone wars, but here they fight meter by meter, street by street, and it’s fucking scary. Yet the editors back in Italy treat you like a kid; you get a front-page photo, and they say you were just lucky, in the right place at the right time. You get an exclusive story, like the one I wrote last September on Aleppo’s old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site, burning as the rebels and Syrian army battled for control. I was the first foreign reporter to enter, and the editors say: “How can I justify that my staff writer wasn’t able to enter and you were?” I got this email from an editor about that story: “I’ll buy it, but I will publish it under my staff writer’s name.”
And then, of course, I am a woman. One recent evening there was shelling everywhere, and I was sitting in a corner, wearing the only expression you could have when death might come at any second, and another reporter comes over, looks me up and down, and says: “This isn’t a place for women.” What can you say to such a guy? Idiot, this isn’t a place for anyone. If I’m scared, it’s because I’m sane. Because Aleppo is all gunpowder and testosterone, and everyone is traumatized: Henri, who speaks only of war; Ryan, tanked up on amphetamines. And yet, at every torn-apart child we see, they come only to me, a “fragile” female, and want to know how I am. And I am tempted to reply: I am as you are. And those evenings when I wear a hurt expression, actually, are the evenings I protect myself, chasing out all emotion and feeling; they are the evenings I save myself.
Because Syria is no longer Syria. It is a nuthouse. There is the Italian guy who was unemployed and joined al-Qaeda, and whose mom is hunting for him around Aleppo to give him a good beating; there is the Japanese tourist who is on the frontlines, because he says he needs two weeks of “thrills”; the Swedish law-school graduate who came to collect evidence of war crimes; the American musicians with bin Laden-style beards who insist this helps them blend in, even though they are blonde and six-feet, five-inches tall. (They brought malaria drugs, even if there’s no malaria here, and want to deliver them while playing violin.) There are the various officers of the various UN agencies who, when you tell them you know of a child with leishmaniasis (a disease spread by the bite of a sand fly) and could they help his parents get him to Turkey for treatment, say they can’t because it is but a single child, and they only deal with “childhood” as a whole.
But we’re war reporters, after all, aren’t we? A band of brothers (and sisters). We risk our lives to give voice to the voiceless. We have seen things most people will never see. We are a wealth of stories at the dinner table, the cool guests who everyone wants to invite. But the dirty secret is that instead of being united, we are our own worst enemies; and the reason for the $70 per piece isn’t that there isn’t any money, because there is always money for a piece on Berlusconi’s girlfriends. The true reason is that you ask for $100 and somebody else is ready to do it for $70. It’s the fiercest competition. Like Beatriz, who today pointed me in the wrong direction so she would be the only one to cover the demonstration, and I found myself amid the snipers as a result of her deception. Just to cover a demonstration, like hundreds of others.
Yet we pretend to be here so that nobody will be able to say, “But I didn’t know what was happening in Syria.” When really we are here just to get an award, to gain visibility. We are here thwarting one another as if there were a Pulitzer within our grasp, when there’s absolutely nothing. We are squeezed between a regime that grants you a visa only if you are against the rebels, and rebels who, if you are with them, allow you to see only what they want you to see. The truth is, we are failures. Two years on, our readers barely remember where Damascus is, and the world instinctively describes what’s happening in Syria as “that mayhem,” because nobody understands anything about Syria—only blood, blood, blood. And that’s why the Syrians cannot stand us now. Because we show the world photos like that 7-year-old child with a cigarette and a Kalashnikov. It’s clear that it’s a contrived photo, but it appeared in newspapers and websites around the world in March, and everyone was screaming: “These Syrians, these Arabs, what barbarians!” When I first got here, the Syrians stopped me and said, “Thank you for showing the world the regime’s crimes.” Today, a man stopped me; he told me, “Shame on you.”
Had I really understood something of war, I wouldn’t have gotten sidetracked trying to write about rebels and loyalists, Sunnis and Shia. Because really the only story to tell in war is how to live without fear. It all could be over in an instant. If I knew that, then I wouldn’t have been so afraid to love, to dare, in my life; instead of being here, now, hugging myself in this dark, rancid corner, desperately regretting all I didn’t do, all I didn’t say. You who tomorrow are still alive, what are you waiting for? Why don’t you love enough? You who have everything, why you are so afraid?
With the exception of Alessio Romenzi, the names in this article have been changed for reasons of privacy.

Gang rape, the dark side of Egypt's protests

Last week, a 22-year-old Dutch journalist was gang-raped in Tahrir Square and had to undergo surgery for severe injuries. The assault reminds us yet again of an often overlooked aspect of the Egyptian revolution.

When Egyptians overthrew their dictator in 2011, one of the first celebratory acts in Tahrir Square included the gang beating and sexual assault of American journalist Lara Logan, who, like the Dutch journalist, landed in the hospital.

The Logan rape has always been portrayed as another unfortunate byproduct of mob violence. In fact, it was much more than that. It was a warning shot fired by men whose political beliefs are founded on a common pillar: Women must stay out of the public square.

Nina Burleigh

One of the hallmarks of revolutionary victory in Tahrir Square has always been rape and sexual harassment. Mobs of men routinely set upon women, isolating, stripping and groping. No one is ever arrested or held accountable, and elected officials shrug their shoulders and blame the victims.

Vigilante groups have been organized to track the incidents. Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment, one of the groups, recorded 46 cases of sexual assaults and harassment against women on Sunday night alone -- and has added 17 more to its list that the group said happened Monday.

Egyptian women are the primary victims of sexual violence, and ultimately they are the intended recipients of the message: Stay home, your input in government and politics is not wanted.

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Is Morsy on the brink?

Egypt's military gives Morsy ultimatum

Raping foreign journalists -- guaranteed to attract global attention -- is merely a more efficient way of getting that message across.

When Egyptians overthrew the dictator, the Muslim Brotherhood took advantage of public hatred of the dictator to ally him with Western progressive ideals, including gender equality. Out went the nongovernmental organizations that worked to make divorce easier and inheritance laws fairer. In came the thugs who stripped and beat women in the streets.

Granted, some of these crimes against women were committed by the military and the police themselves, as women like Mona Eltahawy (a journalist whose arms were broken by soldiers) and Samira Ibrahim (a young protester who sued the government, accusing an army doctor of submitting her to a forced "virginity test") have reported.

Dina Zakaria, an Egyptian journalist, reported that the men who raped the Dutch journalist last week called themselves "revolutionists." That label should surprise no one.

If one fervently believes women should stay inside their homes and out of the business of public life, what better way to accomplish that than rampant sexual harassment and sexual assault in a country in which women's virginity and honor is the sine qua non of female participation in society?

Egyptian Salafist preacher Ahmad Mahmoud Abdullah said that women protesting in Tahrir Square 'have no shame and want to be raped.'
Nina Burleigh

Not long ago, Egyptian Salafist preacher Ahmad Mahmoud Abdullah said that women protesting in Tahrir Square "have no shame and want to be raped." The public face of the Muslim Brotherhood would never espouse such a statement. But its founding intellectual lights never hid the fact that a pillar of their planned theocracy was keeping women powerless. And their record in office is one of sexist exclusion. Women held only eight seats out of 498 (four of the eight women were from the Brotherhood party) in the disbanded Parliament.

Women made up 7% of the constitutional assembly that drafted the Egyptian constitution. No wonder then that the document (approved by referendum in December 2012) refers to women only as sisters and mothers, and only within the framework of family -- not employment or public life, even though a majority of Egyptian women work.

Egypt has always been a place where life for women is nasty and brutish, if not short. Last year, a UNICEF survey showed 91% of Egyptian women between the ages of 15-49 said they had to undergo female genital mutilation. The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality in May reported that 99.3% of Egyptian women interviewed said they had been subjected to some form of sexual violence. Rape victims almost never go to the hospital and certainly not the police. There are no medical protocols for rape, and police treat female victims as prostitutes.

Whether or not that violence is political is worthy of discussion. I believe it is. At the moment, no one even debates it. It is the elephant in the room.

As the Egyptian revolution enters another chapter, and more women get stripped and sexually assaulted in the streets while being systematically excluded from the halls of power in Cairo, it is high time for American progressives and other Arab Spring commentators to stop separating anti-female violence from the politics of the Muslim Brotherhood's revolutionaries.

In the broadest sense, the West's response to the treatment of women in post-Arab Spring countries, from Egypt to Syria, says a lot about the status of women here.

We might not be able to do anything to stop violent, organized misogyny in far-off lands, but we can certainly stand up for our own principles and call it what it is.

5 reasons Syria's war suddenly looks more dangerous

While the world's attention was focused on Boston and North Korea, the conflict in Syria entered a new phase -- one that threatens to embroil its neighbors in a chaotic way and pose complex challenges to the Obama administration.

What began as a protest movement long ago became an uprising that metastasized into a war, a vicious whirlpool dragging a whole region toward it.

Many analysts believe the United States can do little to influence -- let alone control -- the situation. And it could make things worse. Fawaz Gerges of the London School of Economics argues against the United States "plunging into the killing fields of Syria ... because it would complicate and exacerbate an already dangerous conflict."

Others contend that if the United States remains on the sidelines, regional actors will fight each other to "inherit" Syria, and hostile states such as Iran and North Korea will take note of American hesitancy. They say inaction has given free rein to more extreme forces.

And in the wake of the strikes against Damascus, apparently by Israeli planes, critics argue that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is now more vulnerable than ever and U.S. intervention could help finish him off.

For Syrian Shiites, civil war isn't simply rebels vs. government

Syrian opposition: Russia changed stance

Obama takes aim at Syria, North Korea

A war wary village

Difficulty of proving chemical weapons

Republican Sen. John McCain has revived calls for a no-fly zone. And introducing legislation to arm the Syrian rebels in the U.S. Senate on Monday, Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez said: "There will be no greater strategic setback to Iran than to have the Assad regime collapse, and cause a disruption to the terror pipeline between Tehran and Hezbollah in Lebanon."

But more than two years since the revolt against al-Assad began, regional analysts say Syria is in danger of becoming the next Somalia, which collapsed into fiefdoms 20 years ago and has been stalked by anarchy, terrorism and hunger ever since. Except Syria would be worse. Its religious and ethnic fault lines extend across borders in every direction; Somalia's anarchy was largely self-contained. Somalia never had chemical weapons, nor the missiles and modern armor that make Syria one of the most crowded arsenals in the world.

And unlike Syria, Somalia was never central to a titanic struggle between different branches of Islam: Sunni and Shia.

Kerry announces more aid to Syria

Given that background, here are five reasons Syria's war suddenly looks more dangerous.

1: Israel and Hezbollah's proxy war

For two years, Israel has looked on with growing anxiety as brutal repression in Syria has become de facto civil war. Now a high-octane game of regional poker is under way. The Israelis have not admitted carrying out the devastating strikes of last week, but U.S. officials tell CNN they have no doubt Israel was responsible.

Why would Israel suddenly become an active participant? While much has been said about President Barack Obama's "red line" -- that the use of chemical weapons in Syria would make him reassess U.S. involvement -- the Israelis have a different threshold: the transfer of advanced missiles to al-Assad's ally, the Shiite Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

Their main worry, U.S. officials say, was the possible transfer of Iranian-made Fateh-110 missiles, whose accuracy would pose a new threat to Israel. A consignment of these ballistic missiles had recently arrived at Damascus' airport. Similarly, the second Israeli strike before dawn Sunday was on a "research facility" near Damascus where weapons destined for Hezbollah were kept.

According to Jane's Intelligence, Iran's Defense Ministry reported the test firing of an upgraded Fateh-110 last year, and the Iranian Aerospace Industries Organization claimed it had a range in excess of 180 miles (300 kilometers.)

Israel's motive was not to degrade the Syrian military. It was about sending al-Assad a message (copied to Iran and Hezbollah): "If you try to raise the regional stakes by passing a new generation of short-range ballistic missiles to Hezbollah, the response will be swift and severe."

Gerges, author of "Obama and the Middle East," told CNN that we are seeing "an open-ended war by proxy. ... On the one hand you have Israel, regional powers and the Western states; on the other hand you have Iran, Hezbollah and Syria."

Is Syrian war escalating to wider conflict?

Middle East analyst Juan Cole agrees, writing on his blog: "It is not that the Israelis and Hezbollah are in any direct conflict, but they are gradually both becoming more active in Syria on opposite sides. It is an open question how long this process can continue before the conflict does become direct."

One miscalculation could provoke a wider escalation.

The stakes for Hezbollah are enormous. For nearly 30 years, it has been sustained by Iranian and Syrian support. If Syria becomes a Sunni-dominated state, Hezbollah's "rear-base" vanishes, and suddenly it looks more vulnerable to its archenemy Israel, one of whose strategic goals is to counter the growing missile threat from the north.

See destruction from airstrikes in Syria

Syria's battle of the textbooks

Israel bolsters defense near Syria

Military analysts believe Hezbollah has an arsenal of some 50,000 missiles and rockets, supported by a sophisticated, hardened infrastructure that would be even harder to uproot than during its last conflict with Israel in 2006. Little wonder that Israel has deployed two of its Iron Dome missile-defense batteries in its northern cities.

Will the Syrians retaliate for the strikes, which they describe as a declaration of war by Israel? To do so would divert resources from the regime's battle for survival. Not to do so would convey an image of weakness in the face of the "Zionist enemy."

Al-Assad has a history of not retaliating against Israel, most notably when the Israelis took out what was purported to be a Syrian nuclear installation in 2007. According to Cliff Kupchan with the Eurasia Group, Israel has calculated that "Bashar al-Assad is incapable of fighting on two fronts, that Iran will keep its powder dry for a possible future conflict over its nuclear program, and that Hezbollah will not attempt significant retribution without approval from its sponsors."

But one risk to Israel is that in weakening the Assad regime, it may strengthen some of the best organized and most potent rebel factions: jihadist groups such as the al-Nusra Front, which has already declared its affiliation with al Qaeda in Iraq.

2: More than ever, it's sectarian

In the early days of the Syrian uprising, people who were anti- and pro-regime shared one common dread: that Syria would descend, Bosnia-style, into sectarian horror. Now, in the fight to prevail, that has become a reality.

Moderates have been sidelined, and despite efforts to revitalize the opposition's political leadership in exile there is still no umbilical cord between the government-in-waiting and the fighters inside Syria.

The Free Syrian Army coexists with a strong Sunni jihadi element, while the regime is mobilizing "irregular" Alawite militia and Hezbollah fighters.

Syria's (largely Sunni) rebels say hundreds if not thousands of (Shia) Hezbollah fighters are now fighting for the Assad regime. Hezbollah's secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, said last week that his party would not stand by and watch the Assad government fall. Regional analysts believe there is a very real risk that along the poorly marked Syrian-Lebanese border, Sunni jihadists will come up against Hezbollah units, setting off a vicious war-within-a-war.

The Syrian opposition sees Iran and Hezbollah everywhere. The head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel-Rahman told the newspaper Asharq al-Awsat that "Iranian and Hezbollah officers are running the operations room in the battle for Homs and are controlling the army operations in the city."

He warned of "massacres against the Sunni community living in the besieged areas if the army captures these areas."

Such massacres were reported in the past week in the coastal Sunni enclaves in Baniyas and al-Bayda. The State Department said over the weekend that "regime and shabiha forces reportedly destroyed the area with mortar fire, then stormed the town and executed entire families, including women and children."

3: Al-Assad goes for broke?

After being on the defensive for months, the Syrian regime has recently launched a series of brutal counterattacks against areas controlled by rebel factions, seeking to restore precious lines of communication and reconnect Damascus with other parts of the country. In so doing, it appears Assad has relied even more on the shabiha -- loyalists with an existential stake in the regime's survival.

As veteran Middle East watcher Anthony H. Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies has put it: "The Assad regime seems ready to escalate in any way it can to either preserve power or effectively divide the country."

Among the areas where this counteroffensive has been most intense is Daraya, south of the capital, which has been reduced to ruins on the principle that "if we can't control it nor shall you." To the east of Damascus, regime forces have encircled rebels in the Gouta region, relieving the immediate threat to Damascus airport, which is at one end of the critical air bridge between Syria and Iran.

As critical as these areas around Damascus is the town of Qusayr between Homs and the Lebanese border, once home to 50,000 people. Videos uploaded in recent days show the regime pouring artillery fire into the town and conducting airstrikes from above; whole blocks have been demolished. Claims emerged Wednesday from opposition sources of new massacres around the town.

Qusayr sits astride one route to the Syrian coast and another to the Lebanese border. For the rebels, holding Qusayr is important because it's another way of strangling the regime's ability to sustain itself, and it complicates Hezbollah's access to Syria.

The signs are that al-Assad is investing heavily in trying to break the rebels' hold in key parts of south and central Syria, reversing the gains they had made in a series of hard-won victories last year.

Short of forceful foreign intervention, some military analysts argue for tying al-Assad's hands behind his back by providing the rebels with more anti-armor and anti-aircraft missiles and a communications infrastructure. More ambitiously, some say the international community should enforce what might be called a "no-move" zone, selectively picking off regime forces from the air or with missiles.

In essence, that's what NATO's mission in Libya became. But it would take considerable airpower and the use of facilities across the region to gain control of the Syrian sky. The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, said at the end of April: "The U.S. military has the capability to defeat that system (of Syrian air defenses), but it would be a greater challenge, and would take longer and require more resources" than in Libya.

4: Chemical Weapons

For much of last year, Obama's "red line" seemed a largely hypothetical one. But as al-Assad's situation grows more desperate and control of chemical weapons stocks more difficult to guarantee, there are indications that some chemical agents have been used in limited quantities in places like Daraya. The questions are: how much, of what and by whom?

The announcement by a senior U.N. official Monday that rebels may have used sarin gas during an operation near Aleppo in March means this red line is even more difficult to discern. The U.N. commission subsequently said it "has not reached conclusive findings as to the use of chemical weapons in Syria by any parties to the conflict."

Establishing "custody" and the systematic use of such weapons is very difficult in the absence of monitors on the ground.

A U.S. State Department official on Monday would say only: "We take any reports of use of chemical weapons very seriously and we are trying to get as many facts as possible to understand what is happening."

But understanding and countering the threat are miles apart. The Pentagon estimated last year it might take 70,000 troops to secure or destroy Syria's massive stockpiles -- and the situation on the ground has deteriorated since then.

In Cordesman's view, "Any U.S. forces that tried to deal with the chemical weapons in Syria through ground raids would present the problem of getting them in, having them fight their way to an objective, taking the time to destroy chemical stocks, and then safely leaving."

5: Players and Puppets: Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan

Syria is surrounded by neighbors with a stake in influencing the outcome of its civil war. Most -- and other more distant states such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia -- are backing their own factions as well as supporting the "government-in-waiting." Now more than ever they feel the force of that whirlpool.

Iraq's beleaguered Sunni minority is more and more in confrontation with a Shia-dominated government in Baghdad allied to Iran. The Sunni tribes of Anbar and Ramadi have historical connections with their brethren across the border and would welcome a Sunni-dominated government in Syria as a valuable counterbalance to a hostile government at home.

For more than a year, there have been persistent reports of weapons crossing the border to help the Syrian resistance and evidence of co-operation between Syrian and Iraqi jihadists. Resupply convoys headed through Iraq to the Syrian regime have been ambushed in recent months.

In the view of Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, "Iraq is teetering back towards civil war, with direct implications for the investment climate across the country, and deepening geopolitical conflict between Iran and the Sunni monarchies" of the Gulf.

Turkey is also growing alarmed at the prospect of a more "Balkanized" Syria. It already has 322,000 refugees on its soil, according to latest figures from the UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, with another 100,000 clamoring to cross.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has upped his rhetoric in recent days, criticizing the Israeli strikes but reserving his most passionate denunciation for the Assad regime.

"You, Bashar Assad, will pay for this. You will pay heavily, very heavily for showing courage you can't show to others, to babies with pacifiers in their mouths," he told an audience over the weekend.

But Erdogan is struggling to turn indignation into influence. As the International Crisis Group noted in March: Turkey "now has an uncontrollable, fractured, radicalized no-man's-land on its doorstep."

The Jordanians know how that feels. They are trying to cope with 450,000 Syrian refugees -- equivalent to some 7% of the Jordanian population -- growing restless and desperate in makeshift camps. The number in Lebanon has shot up to 455,000, according to the United Nations. In all, the Syrian conflict has generated an extra half million refugees in just two months.

Lebanon -- whose sectarian equation mirrors that in Syria -- cannot help but be dragged into the war next door. Several Salafist sheikhs in Lebanon have declared jihad against the Syrian regime in response to Hezbollah's growing involvement. One of them, Sheikh Ahmed Assir, called on Sunnis in the city of Sidon to form brigades to help the resistance in Qusayr. And rocket fire, apparently from the Free Syrian Army, has landed in Shiite areas around the Lebanese town of Hermel.

A land of bad options

Some critics of the Obama administration say there is a moral imperative to intervene in Syria in the face of slaughter (at least 70,000 Syrians have died so far.) In the Washington Post, former Obama adviser Anne Marie Slaughter has recalled the "shameful" failure to confront genocide in Rwanda.

But Cordesman writes: "Syria has become the land of bad options. The Obama administration has reason to hesitate in intervening."

And Joshua Landis, who runs the blog Syria Comment and is director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, warns that even "a humanitarian intervention will become a nation-building project, as was the case in Iraq."

With the number of internally displaced now put at 4.25 million people, that would be a huge project.

The dream among diplomats a year ago was that a moderate opposition could be brought together with some regime elements to ease al-Assad from power. As the Syrian war threatens to become a regional one, the United States and Russia are dusting off that option, calling for an international conference within weeks that would be attended by both the government and the opposition.

"The alternative is that Syria heads closer to the abyss, if not over the abyss and into chaos," said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

Sex-Drive Killers

Some people do many things well when they're stressed. Feeling sexy usually isn't one of them. Stress at work, home, or in your relationships can happen to anyone. Learning how to handle it really helps. You can do a lot of it yourself, and a counselor or doctor can also help.

Partner Problems

Problems with your partner are among the top sex-drive killers. For women, feeling close is a major part of desire. For both sexes, watch for fallout from fights, poor communication, feeling betrayed, or other trust issues. If it's tricky to get back on track, reach out to a couples counselor.

Alcohol

A drink may make you feel more open to sex. But too much alcohol can numb your sex drive. Your being drunk can also be a turn-off for your partner. If you have trouble drinking less, seek help.

Too Little Sleep

If your sexual get-up-and-go is gone, maybe you're not spending enough time in bed. Do you go to bed too late or rise too early? Do you have a sleep problem like trouble falling or staying asleep, or a condition such as sleep apnea? Anything that messes with a good night's rest can mess with sex. Fatigue saps sexy feelings. Work on your sleep habits, and if that doesn't help, talk to your doctor.

Having Kids

You don't lose your sex drive once you're a mom or dad. You do lose some time to be close, though, with kids under foot. Hire a babysitter to nurture some time to be partners as well as parents. New baby? Try sex during nap time.

Medication

Some drugs turn down desire. They include some of these types of medications:

• Antidepressants
• Blood pressure medications
• Birth control pills (some studies show a link; others don't)
• Chemotherapy
• Anti-HIV drugs
• Finasteride

Switching drugs or dosages may help -- ask your doctor about that and never stop taking any medicine on your own. Tell your doctor, too, if  your sex drive stalls soon after you start taking a new drug.

Poor Body Image

Feeling sexy is easier if you like how you look. Work on accepting your body as it is today, even if you're working to get in shape. Feeling good about yourself can put you in the mood. If your partner has low esteem, assure them that they're sexy.

Obesity

When you're overweight or obese, desire often dims. It could be that you don't enjoy sex, can't perform like you want to, or are held back by low self-esteem.  Working on how you feel about yourself, with a counselor if needed, may make a big difference.

Erection Problems

Men with ED (erectile dysfunction) often worry about how they will be able to perform sexually, and that worry can drain their desire. ED can be treated, and couples can also work to keep it from affecting their relationship.

Low T

The "T" hormone, testosterone, fuels sex drive. As men age, their T levels may drop a bit. Not all lose the desire for sex as this happens, but some do. Many other things -- from relationships to weight -- also affect a man's sex drive and testosterone levels, so there's not a one-size-fits-all answer for every man.

Depression

Being depressed can shut off pleasure in many things, including sex. That's one of many reasons to get help. If your treatment involves medication, tell your doctor if your sex drive is low, since some (but not all) depression drugs lower sex drive. Talk about it with your therapist, too.  

Menopause

For many women, sex drive dims around menopause. That's partly about symptoms such as vaginal dryness and pain during sex. But every woman is different, and it's possible to have a great sex life after menopause by tending to your relationship, self esteem, and overall health.

Lack of Closeness

Sex without feeling close can slay desire. Intimacy is more than just sex. If your sex life is idling, try spending more non-sexual time together, just the two of you. Talk, snuggle, trade massages. Find ways to express love without having sex. Getting closer can rebuild your sex drive.