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--Venezuelan leader says Castro not dying...President Hugo Chavez said Friday that Fidel Castro is not dying of cancer, saying he had spoken with the ailing Cuban leader by phone and he is eating cautiously and well enough to joke.

--Gaza border shots ‘targeted PM’:  The Palestinian Hamas group says a rival faction has tried to assassinate Prime Minister Ismail Haniya as he crossed back into Gaza from Egypt.

--Why Did They Torture Jose Padilla  By John Grant  What makes this case so insidious is that, according to a psychiatrist who examined him over a 22­hour period, the treatment Padilla received in the South Carolina brig was such that he now "lacks the capacity to assist in his own defense." In other words, a U.S. citizen was secretly worked over for 21 months to the point he is unable to think well enough to engage with his lawyer.

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--Diplomat's suppressed document lays bare the lies behind Iraq war-- The Government's case for going to war in Iraq has been torn apart by the publication of previously suppressed evidence that Tony Blair lied over Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.

--Tribal Leaders Don't Trust Iraq Soldiers : Tribal leaders and some political groups in the strife-ridden Iraqi province of Diyala are turning to terrorists and insurgents for protection rather than trust Iraqi soldiers and police, the commander of U.S. forces in that area said Friday.

--Sadrists want U.S., British embassies in Iraq closed:  The political committee in al­Shaheed al­Sadr's office urged the Iraqi government to close down the U.S. and British embassies in Baghdad and expel the two ambassadors

--Bush to seek $100 bln more war funds­US House report:   Such a large request would mark a rapid escalation in the cost of the Iraq war at a time when public support is plummeting and Bush is looking for new answers to stem violence that threatens to spin out of control.

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--UAE surprised at U.S. warning on Syria, Iran trade : A United Arab Emirates official voiced astonishment on Friday at a threat of U.S. action against the Gulf state for allegedly failing to prevent a flow of technology to Iran and Syria that can be used in homemade bombs.

--War pimp alert: Netanyahu wants Iran president tried for genocide : Likud chair MK Benjamin Netanyahu has summoned about 70 foreign diplomats stationed in Israel to a meeting next Tuesday, at which he will urge them to end their complacency and join Israel in an effort to halt Iran's nuclear program, which he says is aimed at genocide of the Jews.

-- Afghans protest against America : More than 3,000 tribesmen rallied in eastern Afghanistan Thursday against a raid by American troops that killed five innocent people including a teenage girl.

--Israeli Committee against Torture: High Court's ruling could increase killings:  "We are afraid the High Court's ruling could create a dangerous slope in which the harming and killing of innocent citizens will increase." According to the Committee's data, since the start of the second intifada 500 Palestinians have been killed in targeted killings

--OPEC to cut oil output by 500,000 bpd in February:... The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Thursday agreed to reduce overall production in 500,000 bpd, or 2 percent, as of next February 1st, when winter in the northern hemisphere ends, in a move that boosted oil prices

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