Friday, June 7, 2013 at 6:44 | Scott Lucas in EA Live, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran Aleppo, Austria, Ayman Kareem, Golan Heights, Israel, Kafranbel, Syria Thursday, June 6, 2013 at 7:34 | Scott Lucas in EA Live, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 
Qusayr After the Battle Zawahiri Calls To Prevent "Pro-US Regime" In Syria
An audio recording purportedly from Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda, calls on jihadi groups in Syria to prevent the establishment of a pro-US regime in the country.
In the message, published on the internet on Thursday, urges the "Lions of Islam in ash-Sham [the Levant] to gather and unite" above sectarian issues, saying that "America and its agents" want you to shed your blood… to bring down the criminal Baathist regime and then to set up a regime loyal to them that will guarantee Israel's security".
The message goes on to say that jihad in Syria aims to establish an Islamic caliphate in the country, and then condemns Iran for desiring "Safavid expansion". The Mujahadeen of as-Sham have "exposed the ugly face of Iran…and its heinous crimes", al-Zawahiri says.
In December 2007, the US Embassy in France confronts opposition to genetically-modified crops in Europe. The intervention was prompted by a ban on GM corn produced by the agricultural company Monsanto.
The cable, sent to Washington and US missions in Europe in the name of Ambassador Craig Stapleton is blunt: "In our view, Europe is moving backwards not forwards on this issue with France playing a leading role, along with Austria, Italy and even the Commission....Moving to retaliation will make clear that the current path has real costs to EU interests and could help strengthen European pro-biotech voices."
