Egypt army attacks Sinai militants

Armored vehicles and troops - backed by Apache helicopters - had attacked the militants in towns along the border with the Gaza Strip, the operation is said to be the biggest of its kind in recent years in Sinai.

A military official, who spoke anonymously, told the Associated Press that the army would "clean" the areas in Sinai where Islamic militants operated, this included the towns of Rafah and Sheikh Zuweyid, as well as nearby villages, he said.

A witness told the news agency he had seen a column of tanks, trucks carrying infantry, rocket launchers and other military vehicles. Smoke was also seen rising from the area.

source bbc

Obama appeals to country to back U.S. military force in Syria

President Barack Obama appealed on Saturday to a dubious American public to back his bid to use military force in Syria while supporters scrambled to persuade lawmakers to authorize the move.

But the president, clearly still the reluctant warrior who rose to political prominence on his opposition to the Iraq war, said he did not want another costly and protracted conflict, "this would not be another Iraq or Afghanistan," Obama declared in his weekly radio address, previewing arguments he will make in a nationally televised address on Tuesday.

source reuters.com

Arrests, clashes as EDL marches through London in anti-Sharia law protest

Clashes broke out in London after anti-racist protesters confronted the English Defense League (EDL) during a march at Tower Bridge on Saturday. Police made arrests, used batons, and kettled demonstrators in an attempt to contain the violence.

Roughly 600 EDL supporters attempted to march to the East London Mosque on Whitechapel Road on Saturday, despite the fact that marchers were previously banned from entering the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, where the mosque is located. The EDL believes the area has become “subject to Sharia law.”

EDL protesters were stopped approximately 600 meters away from the mosque. Demonstrators attempted to break police lines by throwing flares and using placards.

source rt.com

Obama rejects G20 pressure to abandon Syria air strike plan

U.S. President Barack Obama resisted pressure on Friday to abandon plans for air strikes against Syria and enlisted the support of 10 fellow leaders for a "strong" response to a chemical weapons attack.

source reuters.com

No clear winner in Russia-US G20 duel

According to President Vladimir Putin, the outcome was not a 50/50 split, but a balance of opinion in Russia's favour, he claimed that, at the G20 dinner on Syria, only four countries - France, Turkey, Canada and Saudi Arabia (plus a British prime minister rebuffed by his own parliament) - had backed America.

Whereas siding with Russia in rejecting military strikes on Syria, he says, were seven nations: China, India, Indonesia, Argentina and Brazil, as well as South Africa and Italy, yet not all the Russian president's views on Syria were endorsed by other G20 leaders.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama also declared he had enjoyed support from a majority of G20 participants, who were "comfortable" with American claims.

Eleven countries did indeed endorse a joint statement circulated by the White House, alongside the US were, unsurprisingly, the two keenest cheerleaders when it comes to taking military action, French President Francois Hollande and Britain's David Cameron.

source bbc