A Look At the Book

10/09/12

* U.S., Israel ‘Nearing Agreement’ on Joint Iran Strike The United States and Israel have come closer together in recent days.
* Russia to become Iraq’s second-biggest arms supplier Moscow, the main supplier of arms to Iraq under Saddam Hussein, thus becomes the country’s second-biggest arms supplier after the US.
* Merkel pledges support for Greece in Athens visit German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged her country’s continuing support to Greece.
* UAE: Gulf must tackle Muslim Brotherhood threat Gulf Arab countries should work together to stop Islamist group the Muslim Brotherhood plotting to undermine governments in the region, the United Arab Emirates’ foreign minister said.
* Ahmadinejad acknowledges threat of attack, promises ‘crushing’ response Any attack against Iran will precipitate a harsh retaliation, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad promised on Tuesday.
* Erekat: UNGA bid the only way to stop settlements Palestinian Authority chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said Monday that the Palestinian bid for non-member status at the United Nations is the only way to stop the expanding Israeli settlement enterprise in the West Bank.
* North Korea says its missiles can reach US North Korea has said its missiles can hit the US mainland, in an apparent riposte to Washington.
* Turkish president says “worst case” unfolding in Syria Turkish President Abdullah Gul said on Monday the “worst-case scenarios” were now playing out in Syria and Turkey would do everything necessary to protect itself.
* Study: One-Third Of Adults Under 30 Have No Religious Affiliation One-fifth of American adults have no religious affiliation, and this number is increasing rapidly.
* ‘Palestinians have not abandoned armed struggle’ The Palestinians have not abandoned the option of armed struggle against Israel, a top Fatah official in the West Bank said on Monday.

10/08/12

Israeli planes trigger sonic booms over Lebanon in possible response to drone dispatch Hezbollah silent on claims it sent the unmanned aircraft downed over Israel on Saturday.

Eurozone rescue fund launched The eurozone’s new permanent fund to bail out struggling economies and banks has been formally launched at a meeting of finance ministers in Luxembourg.

Call to Separate Jews, Arabs on Temple Mount A movement of Temple Mount organizations is calling to completely separate Jews and Arabs on the site.

Al Qaeda Winter Pakistan-based al Qaeda is secretly setting up sleeper cells and a clandestine network of jihadists to destabilize and take over Libya while hiding under a new cover name to prevent exposure and attacks, according to an internal Pentagon report obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

‘Israeli death toll no less than 10,000 if it attacks Iran’ Former chief of IRGC Mohsen Rezaei says in the event of an Israeli military strike against Iran, it will deal a “mortal blow” as deterrent power; adds Israel only speaks of war to “win concessions” from next US president.

Israel to Host 2015 Int’l Space Conference Israel has become one of the world’s aeronautic space powers – and in 2015, will step up to host an international space conference.

‘Iran withdraws elite Qods Force brigade from Syria’ ‘The Sunday Times’ reports Iran has withdrawn 275 members of elite brigade from Syria in face of domestic economic crisis.

Afghanistan’s government ‘could collapse’ after 2014 – report A new report on Afghanistan warns that the departure of Nato forces in 2014 could be followed by the government’s collapse and even civil war, unless steps are taken now.

Catholic leaders gather to counter decline of faith Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday opened a meeting of Roman Catholic Church leaders from around the world to debate how to counter rising secularism on the 50th anniversary of the momentous Second Vatican Council.

U.S. Army Officers in Israel to Prepare for Joint Drill U.S. army officers have begun arriving in Israel ahead of joint military maneuvers between the countries’ armed forces.

10/06/12

* Friday prayers end in riots on Temple Mount Riots broke out on the Temple Mount on Friday afternoon as hundreds of Muslim worshipers threw stones at police officers.

* IDF shoots down drone that penetrated deep into Israel The IDF shot down a foreign drone that had penetrated deep into Israeli airspace on Saturday afternoon.

* WSJ: Unrest in Tehran altering Israel’s stance The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the protests in Iran linked to the country’s weakening currency are causing Israeli officials to reconsider the likelihood of a strike against Iranian nuclear targets in the coming months.

* Iran denies offering new plan on nuclear impasse Iran denied on Saturday a US media report that it had offered a “nine-step plan” aimed at solving its stand-off with the West over its disputed nuclear program.

* London council set to remove ‘anti-Semitic’ mural showing Jewish bankers A mural painted on a wall in East London depicting Jewish bankers apparently exploiting black men is set to be removed following complaints that it has anti-Semitic undertones.

* Turkey ‘responds to fresh Syrian mortar fire’ Turkey has fired into Syria for a fourth day after a Syrian mortar landed near a Turkish village.

* Number Of Gay And Bisexual TV Characters At Highest-Ever Level The number of gay and bisexual characters on scripted broadcast network TV is at its highest-ever level in the season ahead, according to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

* Jordanians demand constitutional reform in mass rally More than 10,000 Jordanians demanded widespread constitutional reforms on Friday.

* Security and Defense: Fighting with faith The office of Lt.-Col. Amichai Segal at battalion headquarters in the middle of the northern West Bank, is surrounded by rocky, hilly agricultural country.

* ‘Controversial anti-Islam ads set for Washington DC’ A federal judge ordered the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Agency to begin displaying controversial anti-jihad advertisements beginning Monday in Washington DC.

10/05/12

* Friday prayers end in riots on Temple Mount Riots broke out on the Temple Mount on Friday afternoon as hundreds of Muslim worshipers threw stones at police officers.

* Gates: No blank check from US to Israel on Iran Former US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stated on Thursday that Washington must make it clear to Israeli leaders that the US must not permit Israel to harm American interests.

* ‘Netanyahu’s mind made up on calling early election’ Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has already made a final decision to seek a February 12 election rather than try to pass the 2013 state budget.

* Revolt of the Spooks Weeks before the presidential election, President Barack Obama’s administration faces mounting opposition from within the ranks of U.S. intelligence agencies over what career officers say is a “cover up” of intelligence information about terrorism in North Africa.

* Video, Photos: Thousands March in Jerusalem Thousands of people from around the world marched in Jerusalem on Thursday to express support for the State of Israel.

* US Rejected Iranian Compromise Iran offered a “nine-step plan” to defuse tensions over its unsupervised nuclear program.

* Kissinger: Iran Strike is an American Decision Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said on Thursday that a decision to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities should be an American decision.

* Jordan’s Islamists rally for elections boycott Thousands of Jordanians rallied on Friday to call for a boycott of upcoming legislative elections.