[World] In Affidavit at Bail Hearing, Track Star Denies He Intended to Kill Girlfriend

In Affidavit at Bail Hearing, Track Star Denies He Intended to Kill Girlfriend
http://www.thestar.com/sports/amateur/2013/02/19/distraught_oscar_pistorius_denies_murdering_girlfriend_in_the_strongest_terms.html
PRETORIA, South Africa - Early on Feb. 14, Oscar Pistorius says, he heard a strange noise coming from inside his bathroom, climbed out of bed, grabbed his 9-millimeter pistol, hobbled on his stumps to the door and fired four shots.

$50 million heist challenges Belgian diamond industry, Antwerp most to lose (+ ...
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2013/0219/50-million-heist-challenges-Belgian-diamond-industry-Antwerp-most-to-lose-video
Utrecht, The Netherlands. Only “a few minutes”: That is all the time that thieves needed to steal an estimated $50 million worth of diamonds from Brussels Airport in Belgium.

US, China Ties Tested in Cyberspace
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/chinese-military-unit-tied-to-hacking-against-us/articleshow/18585800.cms
Ties between China and the U.S., strained by military rivalries and maritime disputes, may face an even greater test from the newest front in global conflict: cyberspace.

General Selected for NATO Post Will Retire, Citing Wife's Health
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/us-general-caught-up-in-petraeus-scandal-quits-20130220-2eqe3.html
WASHINGTON - Gen. John R. Allen, the four-star Marine Corps officer who served until earlier this month as the top commander in Afghanistan, will retire from the military to focus on “health issues within his family,” President Obama said on Tuesday.

Army Rocket in Syria Kills at Least 19, Rebels Say
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/world/middleeast/syrian-army-rocket-kills-19-and-levels-buildings-in-aleppo-rebels-say.html
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Syrian antigovernment activists said on Tuesday that an army rocket had leveled several buildings in a rebel-held neighborhood of Aleppo, killing at least 19 people and possibly leaving dozens more buried under rubble.

In Bangladesh, a generation turns its politics to the angry past
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bangladesh-remains-tense-as-three-die-in-jamaateislamis-countrywide-bandh/373752-2.html
In Dhaka the other day, I saw children dancing in the streets, swinging nooses like festive streamers. Bangladesh, a country of 160 million, is currently experiencing a “Bengal Spring.

Israel denies Zygier had contact with ASIO
http://www.news.com.au/world/court-tells-how-mossad-agent-died/story-fndir2ev-1226581548597
Israel has denied that a man identified by the ABC as an Australian-Israeli Mossad agent who committed suicide in jail had any contact with Australia's security services, as a court backed its government's claims that he hanged himself.

US drones killed more Afghan civilians in 2012 â€" UN
http://rt.com/usa/news/us-drones-afghan-casualties-631/
The UN says American drone strikes have killed many more Afghan civilians in 2012 than in the previous year. It comes as the US stepped up the use of drones as it prepares to leave war-torn Afghanistan by 2014.

Prisoner hunger strike is uniting Palestinian activists
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/prisoner-hunger-strike-is-uniting-palestinian-activists.premium-1.504604
'Sheikh' Adnan Khader, who negotiated his release from Israeli prison after hunger strike last year, has begun a new hunger strike at evacuated Red Cross office in support of jailed strikers.

North Korea Warns South of 'Final Destruction'
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/02/19/north-korea-un-threat.html?cmp=rss
North Korea has threatened South Korea with "final destruction," saying Pyongyang could take further steps after last week's nuclear test if Seoul and its allies continue to push for tougher U.N.

Greeks to down tools in fresh strike against austerity
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21515012
Greece is braced for its first general strike of the year as workers renew their protest over austerity measures. The 24-hour strike will disrupt transport, close schools and state-run offices and leave hospitals working with emergency staff.

French Family Kidnapped in Cameroon
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/02/19/four-children-among-seven-french-citizens-kidnapped-in-cameroon-and-taken-to-nigeria/
LAGOS, Nigeria - Seven French tourists, including four children, were kidnapped in northern Cameroon on Tuesday, the second large-scale hostage-taking in the region in four days.