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

U.S. extends Iran sanctions waivers to Japan

The sanctions aim to choke funding to Iran's disputed nuclear program by reducing the country's oil sales, its main source of income. Washington believes Iran's nuclear program is aimed at developing weapons, and it has worked with the country's main oil consumers to find alternative petroleum supplies.

source  reuters.com

15 Palestinians arrested, 2 policemen injured in clashes near mosque

Fifteen Palestinian protesters were arrested and two Israeli policemen injured during clashes at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam's third holiest site, according to police. Dozens of officers fired stun grenades to disperse worshipers, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. The cause of the incident was not immediately clear. Tensions in the region have been running high since Israel recently accelerated the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Palestine strongly opposes settlement construction on the disputed territories.

US drone strike kills 6 insurgents in Pakistan

A drone strike on an insurgent hideout near the Pakistani border with Afghanistan has left six people dead, report Pakistani intelligence officials. Two missiles were fired from an unmanned craft at a compound near the town of Ghulam Khan early on Friday morning. The identity and nationality of the slain men has not yet been released by authoritie

Russian Navy may join NATO drills in 2014

There is a “strong chance” that Russian warships will take part in NATO naval training next year, Director of NATO Information Office in Moscow Robert Pszczel announced at a press conference. He also informed that on October 10-14, six NATO warships from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Poland will call to St. Petersburg on a friendly visit.