David Blair's Blog, page 109

'I would have done it again': Anders Breivik claims his massacre was motivated by 'goodness not evil'

Anders Behring Breivik, flushed with boastful self righteousness, claimed that "goodness not evil" had caused him to murder 77 Norwegians, declaring: "I would have done it again."

Anders Behring Breivik forced to confront cold reality of his crimes

Anders Behring Breivik, the far-right killer who traumatised Norway by massacring 77 people, was finally forced to confront the cold reality of his crimes on Monday when his trial opened with the first full account of his three hours and nine minutes of slaughter.

Afghanistan: Taliban attacks are major blow to false optimism of Western policy

The explosions echoing across Kabul on Sunday wrought as much damage on the false optimism of Western policy towards Afghanistan as on their immediate targets.

Iran agrees to concrete proposals for resolving nuclear crisis

A new effort to break the deadlock over Iran's nuclear ambitions is set to begin after 10 hours of talks between Tehran and the world's leading powers ended with rare words of mutual praise.

Iran, Syria, North Korea: Is the world sitting on a tinderbox?

With Iran forced into nuclear talks, Syria’s ceasefire barely holding and North Korea snubbing the West, could these rogue states threaten global stability?

Landmark international talks held with Iran

Iran and the world’s leading powers have held their first talks for over a year in an atmosphere hailed by both sides as unusually “positive”.

Syria: it would be entirely rational for Bashar al-Assad to observe ceasefire

At dawn on Thursday morning, Syrian forces appear to have begun observing a ceasefire, although there are already isolated reports of violations.

Iran promises 'new initiatives' ahead of landmark talks over nuclear ambitions

Iran has sent a rare conciliatory signal, promising "new initiatives" when landmark talks with the world's leading powers open on Saturday, having dropped any preconditions for negotiating over its nuclear ambitions.

Syria: Bashar al-Assad's adversaries likely to return to UN Security Council

The swift unravelling of the Annan peace plan leaves President Bashar al-Assad's adversaries with a handful of unappealing options.

Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says they can withstand oil embargo for '2 to 3 years'

Iran has amassed sufficient reserves to withstand a total embargo of all oil exports for "two to three years", President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed on Tuesday.