Headlines:

• How London's Gold and Silver Prices Are "Fixed"
• America: Extreme Anti-Islam Ads Now Running on San Francisco's Buses
• Russia Police Force Three Muslim Men to Trim their Beards at Gunpoint
• Iran Steps Up Weapons Lifeline to Syria's Assad
• North Korea Army Pledges ‘Merciless' Attack on US and South Korea
  
  

Details:

How London's Gold and Silver Prices Are "Fixed":

London's gold and silver markets face the possibility of a probe alongside other benchmarks into price setting, putting a century-old practice under the spotlight after the Libor rigging scandal that exposed widespread interest rate manipulation by banks. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has engaged in "a couple" of conversations about whether the daily setting of gold and silver prices in London is open to manipulation, Commissioner Scott O'Malia said on Thursday, although he said the situation is "fairly immature in its development. "The Wall Street Journal", citing unnamed sources, reported on Wednesday that the CFTC was examining various aspects of gold and silver price-setting, including whether it is sufficiently transparent. "What was stated in that story was more than I think we're doing," O'Malia told reporters at the annual Futures Industry Association conference in Florida on Thursday. "I think we've had a couple of conversations. We're looking at energy, indexes, prices, how they're set. We'll look at all of the range of index-setting," O'Malia said. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) also declined to comment on whether it was looking into gold and silver price setting, but said on Thursday it is feeding into a wider review of price benchmarks run by the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) - a global umbrella group for markets regulators.

America: Extreme Anti-Islam Ads are Now Running on San Francisco's Buses:

Anti-Islam ads appeared on 10 public buses in San Francisco on Monday, showing "inflammatory quotes by Islamic fundamentalists" accompanied by "an anonymous terrorist," according to Transportation Nation. The ads are paid for by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, whose executive director, Pamela Geller, told the "New York Observer" in December, "I refuse to abridge my free speech so as to appease savages." The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (better known as Muni) says it cannot reject the ads, based on a September court ruling that decided New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority could not do so. The American Freedom Defense Initiative has bought space on San Francisco buses before, to display ads that read "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad."

Russia Police Force Three Muslim Men to Trim their Beards at Gunpoint:

Police officers in Russia forced three men in a Muslim cafe to cut their beards at gunpoint, it has been claimed. During an inspection of a Muslim cafe in the Russian city of Surgut police officers apparently threatened some visitors with automatic weapons and with a lighter. One of the men claims an officer held a lighter to his chin and told him 'cut it off or I will burn it off'. The incident allegedly took place on March 3 in the cafe located near a mosque as the men were eating after evening prayers. One of the men said he was forced to use scissors to cut off his long beard. It is believed there were 15 officers in masks and they arrived in four cars.  According to Red Hot Russia, witnesses saw people in the uniform of riot police (OMON) burst into cafe place and force visitors onto their knees. Afterwards it claims several people were taken to the police station, where the law enforcement officers checked their documents. It is believed there has been an internal investigation launched by the Russian police. Russian news agencies have said the officers were implementing the rules of 'Peter the Great' who ruled the Tsardom of Russia in the late 1600s. He commanded all of his courtiers and officials to cut off their long beards and imposed an annual beard tax on those who refused.

Iran Steps Up Weapons Lifeline To Syria's Assad:

Iran has significantly stepped up military support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in recent months, solidifying its position alongside Russia as the government's lifeline in an increasingly sectarian civil war, Western diplomats said. Iranian weapons continue to pour into Syria from Iraq but also increasingly along other routes, including via Turkey and Lebanon, in violation of a U.N. arms embargo on Iran, Western officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Iraqi and Turkish officials denied the allegations. Iran's acceleration of support for Assad suggests the Syrian war is entering a new phase in which Iran may be trying to end the battlefield stalemate by redoubling its commitment to Assad and offering Syria's increasingly isolated government a crucial lifeline, the envoys said. It also highlights the growing sectarian nature of the conflict, diplomats say, with Iranian arms flowing to the Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah. That group is increasingly active in Syria in support of Assad's forces, envoys say. Alireza Miryousefi, spokesman for Iran's U.N. mission, responded to a request for a comment by saying, "We believe Syria does not need any military help from Iran." Syria's U.N. ambassador, Bashar Ja'afari, had no specific comments on the matter. The Syrian conflict started out two years ago as a pro-democracy movement. Some 70,000 people have been killed and more than 1 million refugees have fled the violence. A Western intelligence report seen by Reuters in September said Iran was using civilian aircraft to fly military personnel and large quantities of weapons across Iraqi airspace to aid Assad. Iraq denied that report but later made a point of inspecting an Iran-bound flight that it said had no arms on board. Much of the weaponry going to Syria now, diplomats say, continues to be shipped to Iran through Iraqi airspace and overland through Iraq, despite Baghdad's repeated promises to put a stop to Iranian arms supplies to Assad in violation of a U.N. arms embargo on Tehran over its nuclear program. "The Iranians really are supporting massively the regime," a senior Western diplomat said this week. "They have been increasing their support for the last three, four months through Iraq's airspace and now trucks. And the Iraqis really are looking the other way."

North Korea Army Pledges ‘Merciless' Attack on US and South Korea:

North Korea has pledged to carry out "merciless retaliation" on the South Korean and American "warmongers" who are holding a joint military exercise. Pyongyang's latest threats have come after a series of similar warnings against the ongoing drill jointly conducted by Washington and Seoul. The Ministry of the People's Armed Forces in Pyongyang has released a statement via the official Korean Central News Agency, saying: "Warmongers would be well advised to keep in mind that the DPRK is no longer restrained. "What is left to be done is an action of justice and merciless retaliation of the army and people of the DPRK."

Abu Hashim