Category Archives: Top 10 News Stories

06/27/12

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* Turkey won’t strike back at Syria, for now In the case of its downed fighter jet, Turkey’s bark has proved mightier than its bite.

* Iraq PM calls for early elections Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has called for early elections.

* We may have confused Turkish jet for an Israeli one, Syrian minister claims Syrian soldiers who shot down a Turkish military jet on Friday may have confused it for an Israeli plane.

* Turkey deploys tanks on Syrian border; Assad says country in a ‘real state of war’ Syrian President Bashar Assad said on Tuesday his country was in a real state of war and gave no sign of a softer approach towards a pro-democracy revolt.

* The Bear at the Door Russian strategic nuclear bombers threatened U.S. airspace near Alaska earlier this month and F-15 jets responded by intercepting the aircraft taking part in large-scale arctic war games.

* Israelis divided on US role in peace process Israelis are divided over whether US involvement in the Middle East peace process has had a positive or negative impact.

* Iran’s media ‘optimistic’ about relations with Egypt Even as Egyptian president-elect Mohammed Morsy moved to deny that he had told an Iranian news outlet he planned to rethink a peace treaty with Israel and rekindle ties with Tehran.

* Gunmen ‘kill seven’ at Syrian pro-Assad Ikhbariya TV Gunmen have attacked a Syrian pro-government TV channel, killing seven people.

* Liberman on Iran VP: Hitler also said crazy things Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman on Wednesday condemned Iranian first Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi for a speech he gave at a UN conference in Tehran.

* Russian media reports: S-300 sale to Syria cancelled Russia has suspended the sale of the advanced S-300 surface-to-air missile system to Syria.

06/26/12

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* Turkey PM Erdogan issues Syria border warning PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan told parliament that if Syrian troops approached Turkey’s borders, they would be seen as a military threat.

* Syrian rebels clash with elite troops outside Damascus Syria’s elite Republican Guard forces clashed with rebels just outside Damascus Tuesday in some of the most intense fighting.

* Putin Warns Attack on Iran Will Backfire Visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin warned President Shimon Peres Monday that attacking Iran could backfire.

* EU hopes for ‘big leap’ with fiscal, political union plan EU officials have drawn up a far-reaching plan that would eventually turn the eurozone into an outright fiscal union.

* Africa’s Islamist militants ‘co-ordinate efforts’ Three of Africa’s largest militant Islamist groups are trying to co-ordinate their efforts.

* EU builds situation room for Arab League in Cairo Catherine Ashton’s foreign service has built a situation room for the Arab League in Cairo to help handle future crises.

* MI5 fighting ‘astonishing’ level of cyber-attacks MI5 is battling “astonishing” levels of cyber-attacks on UK industry, the intelligence agency’s chief has said.

* NATO says downing of Turkish jet ‘unacceptable,’ but no action in offing NATO’s North Atlantic Council condemned Tuesday Syria’s downing of a Turkish jet on Friday, but did not recommend military action for the act.

* Putin praises Abbas for his ‘responsible’ position in negotiations with Israel Visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin praised his Palestinian counterpart Tuesday for what he said was a “responsible” position in negotiations with Israel.

* Iraq gives media 45 days to comply with regulations Iraq’s interior ministry has given dozens of media outlets 45 days to comply with Communications and Media Commission (CMC) regulations over licences, or they will face “legal procedures.”

6/25/12

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* Morsy says he’ll ‘review’ peace treaty with Israel In interview with Iranian media, Egyptian President-elect says he wants to restore ties with the Islamic Republic.

* Putin in Israel to Boost Power in Mideast Putin visits Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan in an effort to improve his image, blackened by support for Syria and Iran.

* Turkey calls emergency Nato talks on Syria Turkey has invoked the softer article four of the Nato treaty after Syria shot down one of its warplanes on Friday (22 June).

* Syria official says Damascus did not know downed warplane was Turkish Washington Post cites spokesperson of Syrian Foreign Ministry as refuting Turkey’s account of the incident, which heightened tensions between the one-time allies.

* “Waqf Trying to Drive Jews from Temple Mount” Waqf officials told a Jew to take off his kippah in effort to make Jews uncomfortable on the Temple Mount, sources say.

* White House congratulates Egypt’s Morsi The White House congratulated Egypt’s president-elect Mohamed Morsi on his victory in that country’s presidential election, calling it a “milestone” in the country’s transition to democracy.

* ‘Warning! Your Salad May Be Turning You Into An Infidel!’ An Egyptian Salafist group warned that eating tomatoes are “forbidden because they are Christian.”

* Mixed messages from Israel as Islamist wins Egypt presidency Netanyahu says he respects result and urges cooperation; senior official says Israel’s prediction that Arab Spring would become ‘Islamic Winter’ was correct; Morsi promises to respect Egypt’s international accords.

* Barak: We will monitor peace treaty with Egypt After Morsy says he’ll review peace accords, Barak says Israel will closely watch security developments,

* Will Egypt’s new leader Islamize largest Arab state? Experts are divided on whether Morsy’s election will mean danger for Israel. 

06/23/12

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* MK: End Muslim Occupation on Temple Mount MK Aryeh Eldad (Ichud Leumi) called Thursday to end Muslim control over visits to the Temple Mount.

* Gul: Turkey can’t ignore that Syria shot down jet Turkish President Abdullah Gul said on Saturday it was not possible to ignore the fact that Syria had shot down a Turkish fighter jet.

* Iran general: Military strike would be end of Israel If Israel wants to act illogically, “it is they who will be destroyed,” Iran’s deputy chief of staff says.

* Egypt presidential poll results ‘due on Sunday’ The delayed results of Egypt’s presidential run-off will be announced on Sunday.

* Lavrov: Don’t Threaten Iran Over its Nuclear Program Russia’s foreign minister said on Friday that Iran should not face threats over its nuclear program.

* Another ‘make-or-break’ EU summit next WEEK The EU’s pre-summer-break summit looms large on next week’s agenda, as the crisis, which wrecked Greece.

* Saudi Arabia plans to fund Syria rebel army Saudi officials are preparing to pay the salaries of the Free Syria Army as a means of encouraging mass defections from the military.

* Gaza terrorists fire 23 rockets at Sderot area, hitting school and factory Gaza-based terrorists fired 23 rockets into southern Israel on Saturday.

* Laser treatment for Earth-bound asteroids A study suggests our best chance of defending the planet from asteroids is to equip spacecraft with solar-powered lasers.

* Palestinians push UNESCO to make Bethlehem’s Nativity church a World Heritage site The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is becoming the church of contention.

06/22/12

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* Expert: ‘Flame’ can sabotage computers, attack Iran The powerful Flame computer virus is not only capable of espionage but it can also sabotage computer systems.

* Putin wants to show he is key player in region Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose support for Syrian President Bashar Assad is straining his ties with the West.

* Gaza’s global jihadis Jihadi groups are said to be operating in the Strip without any consideration for Hamas’s interest.

* Muslim Brotherhood candidate urges prompt release of Egypt’s election results The Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate for president has urged Egyptian authorities to release the results of the weekend’s election as soon as possible.

* Turkish military jet ‘downed by Syria’ near border The Turkish military earlier said it had lost contact with an F-4 Phantom over the Mediterranean Sea on Friday morning.

* Erekat: Israel must choose – peace or settlements Israel must choose between peace and settlements and release Palestinian prisoners.

* ‘Iran, Israel would back down from all-out war’ Rising tensions between Israel and Iran are just a bluff and Iran’s bigger concern is the deepening instability in the Arab world.

* Egypt anti-military protesters fill Tahrir Square Last weekend, the military dissolved parliament, claiming legislative power.

* Eurozone four leaders agree economic growth package Leaders of the eurozone’s four biggest nations have agreed in principle to measures to boost growth equal to 1% of the currency area’s economic output.

* IMF piles pressure on Germany to help struggling eurozone banks directly The head of the International Monetary Fund has piled pressure on Germany by recommending a series of crisis-fighting measures.

06/21/12

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* Jewish Visitor to Temple Mount Told to Remove Kippah During a visit to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Wednesday morning, a Jewish student was told by Islamic Waqf officials to take off his kippah.

* MK: End Muslim Occupation on Temple Mount MK Aryeh Eldad (Ichud Leumi) called Thursday to end Muslim control over visits to the Temple Mount.

* Syrian fighter pilot defects to Jordan A Syrian fighter plane has landed at a military air base in the north of Jordan and the pilot has been granted political asylum, officials say.

* ‘Nuclear Iran would trigger Middle East arms race’ Ehud Barak pessimistic over ongoing P5+1-Iran talks, says Israel can’t wait “years,” praises US for commitment to Israel.

* Blair to Israelis: Your security is our security Quartet Middle East envoy Tony Blair on Thursday asked the Israeli public to trust that the international community is doing everything in its power to ensure that Israel remains safe.

* US government to seize $1m Mongolian Tyrannosaurus bataar A New York court has issued a warrant forcing an auction house to return the fossil to modern-day Mongolia, where it was discovered about seven years ago.

* Mofaz: Peace talks with PA soon to be renewed Premier Shaul Mofaz said Thursday morning that he believed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks would be renewed soon without preconditions.

* Netanyahu: Defeating Islamism will Take Decades Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spelled out his long term vision for the coming century in his speech to the President’s Conference.

* Gaza Rocket Attacks on Southern Israel ‘Resume’ Palestinian Authority terrorists launched another rocket attack on southern Israel Thursday afternoon.

* Tensions grow in Egypt as presidential vote results delayed Political tensions in Egypt soared on Thursday, as Egyptians reacted with disbelief and anger to news that election officials had delayed declaring the winner of the presidential runoff elections.

06/20/12

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* Mubarak health drama adds to Egypt uncertainty Exactly what ails the 84-year-old, who ruled for 30 years till last year, is unclear but two security sources and one of his defense lawyers described his condition as “almost stable”.

* Greece Swears In New Government Greece’s conservative New Democracy party leader Antonis Samaras was sworn in as prime minister Wednesday.

* Iran hijacked US drone, says Iranian engineer In an exclusive interview, an engineer working to unlock the secrets of the captured RQ-170 Sentinel.

* U.S., Israel Developed Flame Together The United States and Israel jointly developed the sophisticated Flame computer virus that collected critical intelligence in preparation for cyber-sabotage attacks aimed at slowing Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon.

* Obama: China, Russia not on board for Assad ouster Russia and China have not agreed to any plan for the removal of President Bashar Assad from power but do recognize the danger of an all-out civil war in Syria.

* Ulpana residents agree to voluntary evacuation Outpost residents say agreement preventing forced evacuation comes after PMO pledges to build 300 homes in Beit El settlement.

* Ousted Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak ‘health worsens’ Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been moved from prison to an army hospital in the capital, Cairo, where he remains in a critical condition.

* Is that really just a fly? Swarms of cyborg insect drones are the future of military surveillance The kinds of drones making the headlines daily are the heavily armed CIA and U.S. Army vehicles which routinely strike targets in Pakistan – killing terrorists and innocents alike.

* Merkel under pressure to move on Spain and Italy With borrowing costs in Spain and Italy at unprecedented highs, German Chancellor Angela Merkel came under increased pressure.

* ‘Gun control caused the Holocaust’ Joe the Plumber, the Republican congressional candidate formally known as Samuel Wurzelbacher, has put out a video in which he suggests that gun control laws were responsible for the Holocaust and genocide of six million Jews.

06/19/12

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* ‘Iran, Russia, China, Syria plan ‘largest’ war game’ Iranian media outlets reported on Tuesday that Iran, Russia, China and Syria are to conduct joint military exercises in Syria next month.

* Big powers seek progress on day two of Iran talks Russia said it expected a “reasonable outcome” on Tuesday from talks between world powers and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear program.

* G20 summit: Leaders alarmed over eurozone crisis World leaders meeting at a G20 summit in Mexico have urged Europe to take all necessary measures to overcome the eurozone debt crisis.

* US plans significant military presence in Kuwait The United States is planning a significant military presence of 13,500 troops in Kuwait to give it the flexibility to respond to sudden conflicts in the region.

* General Warns: Terror to Move East As Israel completes work on the Sinai border fence, the defense establishment must look to the eastern border as the next threat.

* Ship ‘carrying attack helicopters to Syria’ halted off Scotland heads for Russia The UK has made moves to stop a cargo vessel allegedly carrying refurbished Russian-made attack helicopters from completing its journey to Syria.

* Pakistan Supreme Court bars PM Gilani from office Pakistan’s top court has disqualified Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani from holding office, two months after convicting him of contempt of court.

* Muslim Brotherhood urges marches against Egypt military Over the weekend, the generals issued two decrees dissolving the Islamist-dominated parliament and claiming all legislative power for themselves.

* NASA Voyager 1 spacecraft nears interstellar space NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has encountered a new environment more than 11 billion miles from Earth.

* EU to G20: We will not take ‘economic lessons’ The EU is not prepared to take economic lessons from its G20 partners, the president of the European Commission said.

6/18/12

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* IDF tanks move closer to Egypt border Military issues unusual order, deploys Armored force closer to border following terror attack on civilian crews building fence.

* Russia to send ships and marines to Syria Two Russian navy ships are completing preparations to sail to Syria with a unit of marines on a mission to protect Russian citizens and the nation’s base there, a news report said Monday.

* Hamas supporters in Gaza cheer Egypt’s Brotherhood victory Distributing sweets and praising God, Gazans rejoice over Islamist win in Egyptian presidential election.

* Antonis Samaras begins urgent Greece coalition talks The leader of the party that narrowly won Greece’s election has begun urgent talks to form a coalition, saying he wants to forge a “national consensus”.

* Egypt’s army vows to hand power to elected president Egypt’s ruling military council has vowed to hand over power to an elected president by the end of June.

* Egypt is like Gaza except Israel can’t respond Ultimately, senior defense officials admit that Israel can’t deal with the terror threat on its own and needs the Egyptian government to work to regain control and weed out the terrorists.

* Kurds could hold key in Syria Largest Syrian opposition group names Kurd as new leader, but Syrian Kurds remain hesitant to rebel.

* Extremists’ guide to ‘struggle against Ulpana evacuation’ Booklet distributed in Beit El settlement instructs right-wingers to block roads, infiltrate IDF bases and commit ‘price tag’ acts to prevent imminent evacuation of five homes, turn area into ‘one of most turbulent in West Bank.

* ‘Peace process clinically dead, Israel responsible’ Abbas says PA fulfilled all obligations, accuses Israel of working to destroy 2-state solution through settlement policy.

* Greek election aftermath to dominate this WEEK With Greek voters having given a majority to pro-bailout parties on Sunday (17 June), the EU’s immediate agenda is likely to centre on offering some sort of sweetner to any future coalition government. 

6/16/12

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* Egyptians choose new president amid political chaos Egyptians voted Saturday in the nation’s first free presidential election, a runoff that pits a conservative Islamist against a former prime minister who served in the regime toppled last year.

* Saudi heir apparent Prince Nayef dead Crown Prince Nayef, the long-serving interior minister who led Saudi Arabia’s crackdown against al-Qaeda’s branch in the country and then rose to become next in line to the throne, has died. He was in his late 70s.

* Baghdad car bombings target Shia pilgrims Two separate car bomb attacks targeting Shia Muslim pilgrims in Baghdad have killed at least 32 people, Iraqi officials say.

* U.N. suspends peace mission in Syria due to uptick in violence The United Nations said Saturday it has suspended its monitoring mission in Syria due to intensifying violence, sending a strong indication that prospects for peace are failing.

* Campaigning ends ahead of crucial Greek elections Campaigning in Greece has ended ahead of a crucial election on Sunday which could determine its future in the eurozone.

* Panetta urges quick and peaceful transition to democracy in Egypt US Defense Secretary asks head of ruling military council to promptly hold legislative elections.

* China launches space mission with first woman astronaut China has launched its latest manned space mission – whose crew includes its first female astronaut, Liu Yang

* Eurozone approaching its moment of truth After more than two years of uncertainty, instability and slow growth, decisions taken over the next few months could determine the economic future of the whole European continent for the next decade and beyond.

* Ahmadinejad: I will retire from politics in 2013 Iranian president tells German newspaper that “eight years is enough,” he will quit when second term ends and return to academia.

* Remnants of Grad rocket found in southern Israel Rocket shell found in Arava region; IDF probe finds that rocket appears to be Grad; no injuries or damages.