Barack Obama wants another shot at closing America’s most shameful prison;  A jailed former prime minister in Europe is recognized as a Political Prisoner;  And an attacking bear is no match for a pair of pruning shears.

US President Barack Obama wants to take another try at closing the Guantanamo Military Prison, currently detaining 166 terrorism suspects without trial.  At a Tuesday news conference at the White House, Mr. Obama said, “It is inefficient, it hurts us in terms of our international standing, it lessens co-operation with our allies on counter-terrorism efforts, it is a recruitment tool for extremists, it needs to be closed.”  He also pointed to a number of successful terrorism prosecutions in the civilian justice system.

Meanwhile, the inmate hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay has reached its twelfth week.  At least 100 of the 166 detainees are on a hunger strike to protest their status and conditions.   21 are being fed via nasal tubes.  Many of the inmates have been held without legal recourse for 11 years.

The European Court of Human Rights has for the first time recognized that the former Prime Minister of Ukraine is a Political Prisoner.  The court said Ukraine's pre-trial detention of ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in 2011 was "arbitrary and unlawful" and her right to a legal review was violated, European judges have ruled.  She was eventually jailed for seven years for abuse of office over a gas deal.  Tuesday's verdict does not overturn her prison sentence; the court will revisit that in a later decision.

At least 13 people were killed in a powerful explosion in Damascus, Syria.  The car bomb was detonated in a busy business district, shattering windows on area buildings and leaving cars torn apart.  No rebel group has taken responsibility, and the attack doesn’t appear to display the hallmarks of any of the rebel factions.  Some critics suspect the Bashar al-Assad government of staging a series of bombings in order to portray the 2-year old civil war as a battle against terrorism.

The leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon is hinting his forces would intervene in Syria as needed to support the government of Bashar al-Assad.  The group has Iran’s backing and its fighters are Shia Muslims.  Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah is primarily concerned with protecting a Shia mosque south of Damascus.  The destruction of a similar mosque in Iraq in 2006 led to years of fighting between Shia and Sunni.

South Korean prosecutors raided the headquarters of the national spy agency.  They’re investigating opposition accusations that the National Intelligence Service used its agents and hired bloggers to influence the President Election in December.  The raid follows several days of questioning of high-level intelligence officials.

A man bested a bear in Northern Japan, armed only with his trusty pruning shears.  53-year old Takashi Okabe was out picking wild vegetables in rural Hokkaido along with his son and a friend when the 2-meter tall bear attacked.  He got smacked by the bear pretty good, and suffered cuts across his face and chest.  But he managed to stab it with the comparatively tiny shears, and the bear beat the retreat.  The group managed to call for help and was rescued, but wardens could not find the bruin after its escape.