Now, the UN weapons inspectors have quietly retracted one of their main claims implying that Assad was behind the attack. Former Associated Press and Newsweek reporter – Robert Parry – notes:

A United Nations analysis of samples taken from one of the two sites of the alleged Sarin attack outside Damascus, Syria, on August 21 found zero chemical weapons agents, and one UN laboratory backed off its earlier claim to have found a residue that can result from degraded Sarin on the remnants of the missile, according to revisions in a new UN report.

The two UN laboratories are now in agreement that there was neither Sarin nor possible derivatives of Sarin on the metal fragments from the Moadamiyah missile.

Time will tell if these two cities will end up like Detroit. However, the fact that they are losing their biggest industries to major competition, much like Detroit did, with depressed housing, casinos bankrupting/closing and businesses fleeing, makes their fate seem eerily similar.

Cash and debit card spending limits are being implemented on 2 million debit card holders because those customers are suspected of having shopped at Target during the time period in question. JPM is considering issuing new debit cards to those customers who were directly affected by the data breach.

Chase customers will be limited to $100 daily withdrawal from ATMs. Debit card users will see $200 – $500 daily limits as well as $500 daily purchase limit. Customers are encouraged to come into their local branch to withdraw more cash if necessary; however that too is limited to $300 per day.

A judge ruled in 2002 – at the urging of the White House – that the suit should be dismissed. The Obama administration has also urged that the suit be dismissed. But the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that the suit could proceed. Unless the Supreme Court plays politics, justice will proceed …

Customers at Marks and Spencer will not be refused alcohol or pork by Muslim staff after the store reacted to a massive backlash by customers. Thousands of shoppers threatened to boycott the retailer after Marks and Spencer said it would allow Muslim staff to refuse to sell pork and alcohol because it was against their religious beliefs.

But now Marks and Spencer has apologised and said that Muslim staff who did not want to handle these products would not man tills and would work in other roles such as in clothing or in the bakery. The issue was revealed after customers at a London branch of Marks and Spencer were told they would have to use another till because the assistant would not be able to serve them pork or alcohol. At the time Marks and Spencer said staff could refuse to sell these items, based on their religious beliefs.

A study published in the European Heart Journal suggests millions of patients put on the medications may be being “over treated” - exposing them to potential side effects - while other patients who are more likely to suffer a heart attack are not being targeted.

Most patients are put on Statins because they have high cholesterol, high blood pressure or other conditions such as diabetes. But the study of almost 7,000 adults found that the risk factors were not an accurate way of predicting the likelihood of a heart attack or a stroke. Scans to examine the build-up of calcium in the arteries were far better at identifying patients who would suffer a cardiac event, researchers found.

MK Hana Sweid (Hadash), who was born to a Christian Arab family, submitted a request for an official Knesset Christmas tree last week. Sweid argued that putting a tree up in a highly visible place in the Knesset would show consideration for Christian citizens of Israel and would highlight Israel’s ties to the Christian world.

Edelstein told Sweid that individual MKs or parties may put up a tree if they choose to do so, but that the Knesset will not host a central Christmas display. “There is nothing preventing you from putting a tree in your office, or your party could put a tree in the room belonging to its Knesset faction. But I do not believe it would be fitting to order a tree put up as per your request,” he informed the MK in a letter.

The report was based on a report in the London-based Arabic paper A-Sharq Al-Awsat, which spoke to senior Arab League officials at the Arab League meeting in Cairo. PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas called the meeting to discuss Israel-PA talks. So far, the Arab League has voted to reject a US proposal according to which Israel would withdraw from the Jordan Valley, but IDF soldiers would remain for a 10-year period. Arab leaders insist Israel withdraw completely in the short term.

Israeli leaders have expressed strong concern over Kerry’s suggestion as well, arguing that a complete withdrawal in 10 years is not in Israel’s interests and would pose a serious security risk. An Arutz Sheva analyst has described the proposal as a "death trap." Arab League officials reported that Kerry has not been deterred by rejection of his proposals, and remains hopeful for significant agreements to be reached within the next week.

Kerry is currently in Israel to promote an agreement, and reportedly plans to "attack" Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and exert heavy pressure on Israel to accept his security plan.

Israel and the PA also continue to disagree on the status of Jerusalem and the subject of “return” to Israel for Arabs of Palestinian Arab descent. Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel since the reunification of the city in 1967; the PA argues that all parts of the city that were under Jordanian control from 1949 to 1967 should rightfully be under Arab control.

The demand for previously Jordanian-occupied areas includes a demand for complete control over the Temple Mount, Judaism’s most holy site and the site of the Al-Aqsa mosque.

“There will be a unified command of around 100,000 members, God willing. I hope it will happen soon, and the National Guard is ready for anything that is asked of it,” Minister of the National Guard Prince Miteb Bin Abdullah announced, Saudi Press Agency reports. The prince also stressed the need for unity among the Gulf’s monarchs to display power in the region, claiming that the new force will boost security, defense and the economy of the member states.

Last week Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbors, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar, at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Kuwait City, agreed to create a joint military command and tasked the Joint Defense Council to implement measures.

On Thursday, the kingdom’s ambassador to London, Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, said that the Western approach to the region was a “dangerous gamble” that jeopardizes stability in the Middle East, hinting that Riyadh intends to pursue an independent policy in the Arab world after the US resorted to diplomatic solutions to the Syrian and Iranian crises.

“This means the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has no choice but to become more assertive in international affairs: more determined than ever to stand up for the genuine stability our region so desperately needs,” Abdulaziz wrote in a New York Times commentary.

In contrast to M&S, Sainsbury’s said it had issued official guidelines that stated there was no reason why staff who did not drink alcohol or eat pork for religious reasons could not handle the goods. The advice followed consultations with religious groups, said a spokesman. Tesco said it treated each case on its merits, but said it “made no sense” to employ staff on a till who refused to touch certain items for religious reasons.

Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, the former bishop of Rochester, who has voiced fears that Britain is losing its Christian identity and warned of the dangers of the influence of radical Islamic beliefs, said supermarket customers risked feeling uncomfortable if they were told they would have to wait to be served just because they were buying alcohol. He said: “If supermarkets do not put up a notice saying this desk does not handle alcoholic beverages, it runs the risk shoppers could be humiliated when they get to the checkout.”

Douglas Alexander, a senior frontbencher, suggested that public figures have allowed “political correctness” to prevent them talking about faith and the persecution of Christians in the Middle East. In a thinly-veiled attack on the Tony Blair era, when Alastair Campbell, the then communications director in Downing Street, said “we don’t do God”, Mr Alexander warned that people should have the courage to speak up for Christians without fear of causing offence. Mr Alexander, the shadow foreign secretary, spoke out to voice his concerns about growing harassment and attacks suffered by Christians in the Middle East.

Writing in the Telegraph, he warns that the mounting persecution of Christians is a “story that goes largely untold”, describing those who have spoken out on the issue, including the Prince of Wales, as lone voices. “Across the world, there will be Christians this week for whom attending a church service this Christmas is not an act of faithful witness, but an act of life-risking bravery. That cannot be right and we need the courage to say so,” Mr Alexander says.

“In the UK today, perhaps through a misplaced sense of political correctness, or some sense of embarrassment at 'doing God’ in an age when secularism is more common, too many politicians seem to fear discussing any matters related to faith.” He adds: “People of all faiths and none should be horrified by this persecution. We cannot, and we must not, stand by on the other side in silence for fear of offence.” Mr Alexander says persecution of Christians should be treated in the same way as anti-Semitism or Islamophobia.

Events in Italy are turning serious. President Giorgio Napolitano has warned of “widespread social tension and unrest” in 2014 as the Long Slump drags on. Those living on the margins are being drawn into “indiscriminate and violent protest, a sterile lurch towards total opposition”. The protest movement in Italy is literally called the Pitchfork Movement (Movimento dei forconi). Their demands are no less than the overthrow of the government.

The protestors, a mix of both right-wing and left-wing extremists, have called for a military junta to replace the government. It's roots are an anti-EU protest movement. One of its leaders was recently arrested for tearing down the European flag from the EU office in Rome.

Italy's economy is expected to have contracted 10% by next year. The unemployment rate is 12%. The government has no answers for the high unemployment and stagnant economy. "The wind of revolt that is blowing in Italy today is the direct result of the euro and the wrong choices made by the EU and the ECB" - Mario Borghezio, Northern League member.

Italy isn't the only country with a shaky government. From Denmark to Greece the right-wing is on the rise in Europe. There is even a pan-European alliance of far-right groups. Their common goal (other than being anti-immigrant)? To break up the EU. Much like the 1920's and 30's, Europe is drifting to the extreme right because the center-left can't find the political will to stand up to the multi-national financiers nor the political courage to admit being wrong about the EU.

The level of beta ray-emitting radioactivity in groundwater around the crippled Fukushima Number 2 reactor has been rising since November, NHK reported. Previous the highest level – 1.8 million becquerels (bq/liter), of beta-ray sources per liter - was registered at reactor Number 1 on December 13.

Meanwhile, TEPCO’s latest examination of deeper groundwater beneath the #4 reactor's well has raised new concerns that there might be another source of radioactive substances leaking into the ocean. For the first time, the analysis of water samples taken from a layer 25 meters beneath the Number 4 reactor's well that is facing the ocean has revealed radioactivity in groundwater.

"The Administration has repeatedly condemned in the strongest terms his despicable and deeply offensive comments, particularly his anti-Semitic blog postings, his endorsement of 9/11 conspiracy theories, and more recently, his deplorable statements with regard to the terrorist attacks in Boston," US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said, referring to an April blog post in which Falk implied that the Boston Marathon terror attack was perpetrated as a result of Washington's close ties with Israel.

Friday's State Department comments came in the aftermath of Falk’s brief appearance on December 15 on Russia’s English television news program RT. Falk was interviewed for only a few seconds as part of a larger program on Israel that included an argument that it was Israel, not Iran, which had a dangerous nuclear program.

Earlier this week, Canada condemned Falk's anti-Israel comments as well, calling on the UN Human Rights Council to fire him from his position.

Following a year of talks, the aerospace firm admitted the UAE had ‘elected not to proceed’ on the purchase of a range of defence and security equipment. The decision was a blow for Mr Cameron, who flew to Dubai last month to persuade crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to buy the warplanes, which are also in service with the RAF.

Defence analysts said the Government had paid the price for failing to be ‘robust’ over Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, who killed more than 1,400 civilians in a chemical weapon attack in a bid to crush pro-democracy rebels.

In August, Mr Cameron suffered a humiliating Commons defeat over plans for missile strikes on Syria - seen as a grave threat to Middle East stability.

But inaction by Downing Street over Damascus - and Iran’s nuclear ambitions - fuelled concerns in the Gulf about the UK’s long-term commitment to the region’s stability. Dr John Louth, of the Royal United Services Institute think-tank, said: ‘Britain didn’t really do a great deal in relation to Syria and this may have undermined [the UAE’s] confidence.’