[World] World leaders seek $1.5 billion in aid for afflicted Syrians

World leaders seek $1.5 billion in aid for afflicted Syrians
http://www.news.com.au/world/wife-of-syrias-assad-pregnant/story-fndir2ev-1226564957906
(CNN) -- Over 60,000 people dead. Millions forced to flee their homes. And thousands of refugees spilling out of the country every week.

Syria blames Nusra Front for Aleppo killings
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Jan-30/204300-syria-blames-nusra-front-for-aleppo-killings.ashx
BEIRUT: Syrian state media blamed the Islamist rebel Nusra Front for the killing of dozens of people in the northern city of Aleppo, contradicting activist accounts which blamed President Bashar al-Assad's forces for the bloodshed.

UN's Ban urges end to Syria fighting "in name of humanity"
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/uae-pledges-300m-to-syria-aid-as-un-chief-urges-end-to-war-s-unrelenting-horrors-1.500296
KUWAIT - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed on Wednesday to all combatants in Syria's civil war to stop fighting "in the name of humanity.

Surfer Garrett McNamara Conquers His 100-Foot Wave
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/30/surfer-garrett-mcnamara-conquers-his-100-foot-wave.html
After chasing a record-setting wave for a dozen years, the veteran surfer says he has ridden a 100-foot monster off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal.

Gillard announces surprise election
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/markets-shrug-off-pms-election-call-20130130-2dkjg.html
Prime Minister Julia Gillard surprised Australians on Wednesday by announcing that elections will be held on September 14, in a country where governments have traditionally given the opposition little more than a month's notice to keep a strategic advantage ...

Brazil police blame cheap fireworks for nightclub disaster
http://www.euronews.com/2013/01/30/brazil-police-blame-cheap-fireworks-for-nightclub-disaster/
Police in Brazil say the nightclub fire that killed 235 people was caused by cheap fireworks meant for outdoor use. As people in Santa Maria again marched demanding justice for the victims, the chief investigator has backed witness accounts suggesting the ...

Lapid and Bennett coordinating moves to outflank ultra-Orthodox in next coalition
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/lapid-and-bennett-coordinating-moves-to-outflank-ultra-orthodox-in-next-coalition.premium-1.500187
The link between Lapid and Bennett sends a clear signal to Netanyahu that both are serious about confronting the Haredi conscription issue.

Israel to boycott UN human rights review
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/9834336/Israel-refuses-to-appear-before-UN-human-rights-review.html
Israel said it was boycotting a UN meeting due to review its human rights record on Tuesday, in a move advocacy groups warned would undermine the watchdog's authority and set a negative precedent for other countries.

How close is North Korea to a nuclear missile?
http://www.livemint.com/Politics/3uYtqp3flUwQWRlAulj7cI/N-Korea-threatens-merciless-retaliation-on-South.html
(CNN) -- North Korea's intention to carry out a new nuclear test, coming on the heels of December's successful satellite launch, suggests that Pyongyang is moving forward toward developing a nuclear warhead and a deliverable missile system, experts say.

Australian military called in to battle floods as clean-up begins
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/30/australian-military-battle-floods
Military personnel have been called in to help clean up Australia's flood-ravaged east coast after torrential rains and swollen rivers damaged thousands of homes and businesses and left some communities short of power, food and water.

The Prince of Wales is 'interested' by abdication
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/9835242/Prince-Charles-interested-by-abdication.html
What does the Prince of Wales think of the announcement by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands that she is abdicating at the age of 74?