Category Archives: Top 10 News Stories

03/01/12

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* Russia, China join Security Council statement on Syria crisis The United Nations Security Council urged Syria to halt a humanitarian crisis taking place in the country.

* 2 US troops killed in Afghanistan following Koran burning Two American soldiers were killed Thursday in a shooting by an Afghan soldier and a literacy teacher at a joint base in southern Afghanistan.

* Female terrorist hosts talk show on Hamas TV Ahlam Tamimi, who drove the Sbarro bomber in 2001 and was released in the Gilad Schalit deal, hosting a show on prisoners.

* Russia upgrades radar station in Syria to aid Iran Russia has upgraded a surveillance station it maintains in Syrian territory in order to provide Iran early warning of an Israeli attack.

* U.S. has military plan should Iran conflict erupt, says air force chief U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz said Wednesday that Washington has prepared military options to strike Iran’s nuclear sites should conflict erupt.

* Putting the Mideast energy risk in perspective The Middle East and North Africa (MENA), usually at the forefront of concerns about political stability, poses relatively little risk to the world’s energy supplies from domestic instability.

* Turkey’s Erdogan to visit Iran following nuclear summit Turkish Prime Minister will visit Iran next month to discuss the results of preceding nuclear security summit in South Korea.

* Iran elections: The most important ever, says Khamenei Iran’s Islamic regime is using every tool to convince Iranians to vote tomorrow in parliamentary elections.

* For Vladimir Putin, winning Russia’s presidency may be the easy part he Russian election has been engineered for a Vladimir Putin victory.

* ‘Missiles on Israel preferable to nuclear Iran’ Former top Israeli official predicts Iran’s reaction to Israeli strike will cause thousands of casualties, but ’40 rockets are better than nuclear Iran’.

02/29/12

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* Israel’s security situation worst in decades The Arab revolts and an emboldened Iran have created the most precarious security situation for Israel since the end of the Cold War.

* Hezbollah: Israeli attack on Iran would set Middle East ablaze An Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program would set the Middle East ablaze, possibly drag in the United States.

* Palestine’s UN upgrade coming back on EU agenda The EU should get ready for Palestine’s renewed push to upgrade its UN status and stop calling for “illusory” peace talks with Israel.

* Top Al Qaeda Commander, Wanted for 9/11, Caught in Cairo Egyptian security officials have caught senior international Al Qaeda terrorist Saif al-Adel.

* WikiLeaks: Russia Gave Israel Codes for Iran’s Missiles Russia gave Israel codes for breaking Iran’s missile defense system in return for codes of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) Israel sold to Georgia.

* US Fears Terror Attacks by Iran if Israel Strikes An Israeli strike on Iran would probably prompt Iranian-backed terrorist attacks.

* Syria official vows Homs quarter to be ‘cleaned’ within hours Syrian troops advanced Wednesday on a key rebel-held area in the central city of Homs.

* Netanyahu: Nuclear Iran Would Choke World Economy Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday warned a nuclear-armed Iran would exercise de facto control the major Gulf oil producers and “choke” the global economy.

* ADL: Farrakhan’s Hate Speech ‘Textbook Example’ of Anti-Semitism Minister Louis Farrakhan, the racist leader of the Nation of Islam, once again echoed the anti-Semitic propaganda of which he has been widely accused.

* North Korea agrees to nuclear moratorium North Korea has agreed to suspend uranium enrichment, as well as nuclear and long-range missile tests, following talks with the US.

02/28/12

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* Israel won’t warn U.S. before Iran strike Israeli officials say they won’t warn the U.S. if they decide to launch a pre-emptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.

* Hizbullah’s Demands, Schools Teach ‘Resistance’ Hizbullah and its allies have ‘taken advantage’ of their role in the government in order to force public schools and the Lebanese University to dedicate a one-hour session for teaching the history of ‘Resistance’.

* Rep. West Warns of ‘Holocaust’ Rep. Allen West, a Republican from the state of Florida, warned that Israel could become the site of a “second Holocaust” if the United States does not take further actions.

* Arab MKs: Harming al-Aqsa will lead to global jihad Right wing Knesset Members on Sunday attacked Arab-Israeli lawmakers for taking part in the International Conference for Defense of Jerusalem.

* Al Qaida in Iraq: ‘No way out of’ coming civil war with Shi’ites Al Qaida in Iraq has taken responsibility for a series of strikes against Shi’ite targets.

* Louis Farrakhan warns of racial hatred that could lead to attempts to kill President Obama In a fiery lecture to thousands of followers of the Nation of Islam on Sunday in Chicago, Minister Louis Farrakhan warned that racial hatred could lead to attempts to assassinate President Barack Obama.

* Kenyan airstrikes drive al-Shabab terrorists from Somalia strongholds After months of delay often bogged down in muddy fields, Kenyan troops are finding their footing to become a valuable asset in the fight against al-Shabab terrorists in Somalia.

* Van Rompuy: National parliaments are EU institutions Tasked with approving bail-outs, national budgets and labour market policies which can affect the stability of the eurozone, national parliaments are similar to European institutions.

* Internet radicalizes U.S. Muslims quickly Young American Muslims can become radicalized online very quickly and with few warning signs, becoming potential terrorists before federal agencies can identify them.

* War games: Tel Aviv missile drill Security officials are taking the threat of long-range rockets being fired at central Israel from the Gaza Strip seriously.

02/27/12

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* Afghan Taliban set off car bomb at Jalalabad airport A Taliban suicide car bomber has killed at least nine people and wounded 10 others in an attack at Jalalabad airport in eastern Afghanistan.
* Iran’s Gamble – The Proliferation Sprint How long would it take for Iran to enrich enough uranium for a strategically useful nuclear weapon – and are there obstacles in its path?
* Rivlin to Russia: Stop Iran developing nukes Mofaz tells Russian counterpart to prevent weapons from being sent to Syria, says nuclear Iran dangerous for whole world.
* US officers should hang over Koran incident Al Arabiya: Iranian commander says White House should be burned; Afghan ministry worker suspected of killing US officers.
* Abbas urges Arabs to fight Judaization of Jerusalem At Int’l Conference for the Defense of Jerusalem in Qatar, PA president calls on Arabs and Muslims to flock to Jerusalem.
* Israel has destroyed Iran nuclear infrastructure WikiLeaks begins releasing cache of 5 million emails from US intel firm; email cites Israeli agent casting doubt on Iran attack.
* Putin assassination plot foiled: Russian officials Ukrainian security services have thwarted a plot to kill Russian PM Vladimir Putin, Russian officials say.
* How likely is an asteroid strike? A report suggests that there should be 91 deaths every year from asteroid strikes, but what are the chances of that actually happening?
* Film gives inside look at neo-Nazi music scene ‘Blut muss Fliessen’ (Blood Must Flow) examines role of music in violent far-right subculture.
* War games: Tel Aviv missile drill Senior officials to take part in drill simulating explosion of two rockets in central Israel

02/25/12

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* Iran military official: Only burning White House can make up for burning Koran The Muslim world should not accept an apology issued by U.S. President Barack Obama over the burning of Korans in an American base in Afghanistan, a top Iranian military commander said.

* Iran defense minister: Attack will lead to Israel’s collapse Iran’s defense minister says an Israeli attack will lead to Israel’s collapse.

* Nato pulls out of Afghan ministries after Kabul attack Nato has withdrawn all its personnel from Afghan ministries after two senior US officers were shot dead in the interior ministry building in Kabul.

* ‘Chaotic’ meeting exposes divisions on Syria A first meeting of the Friends of Syria group has highlighted divisions inside the coalition and among Syrian opposition leaders.

* State Department quietly warning region on Syrian WMDs The State Department has begun coordinating with Syria’s neighbors to prepare for the handling of President Bashar al-Assad’s extensive weapons of mass destruction if and when his regime collapses.

* Greek bail-out threatened by Germany-IMF stand-off Greece’s second bail-out still faces hurdles as Germany and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) wait to see who moves first on financial commitments related to the deal.

* Syria crisis: Red Cross resumes Homs evacuation bid The Red Cross says it is resuming its attempts to rescue more Syrians trapped by shelling in the city of Homs.

* Hamas ditches Assad, backs Syria revolt Leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas turned publicly against their long-time ally President Bashar Assad of Syria.

* Fayyad: World’s inaction allows Israel to kill Palestinians, expand settlements StalevdencyawsInaction by the international community emboldens Israel to kill unarmed Palestinian protesters, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said.

* Arabs Riot Over ‘Temple Mount Takeover’ Arabs rioted for a second day Saturday, at a funeral for an Arab who was allegedly killed by IDF fire.

02/24/12

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* Expert Warns of Waqf’s Dangerous Plans for Temple Mount Archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar warned on Thursday about the plans of the Muslim religious authority, the Waqf, for the Temple Mount.

* ‘March to Jerusalem’ to Amass 1 Million Arabs to Border Deja Vu? Another “March to Jerusalem” aims at rallying one million people to march on Israel’s borders from surrounding countries.

* Danon peddles bill to annex Judea and Samaria Former Yesha leader Naftali Bennett urges Likud to make annexation of Area C an election platform.

* Police Quell Muslim Riot on Temple Mount Dozens of riot police were deployed to quell a Muslim riot on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday.

* Afghanistan Koran protests claim more lives Thousands of enraged Afghans have taken to the streets for a fourth day, after US soldiers inadvertently set fire to copies of the Koran.

* Syria unrest: Opposition seeks arms pledge The main Syrian opposition group has asked for rebel fighters to be allowed to import weapons.

* Jew-hate prevents peace Has the world gone upside down? Again and again we hear US President Barack Obama and numerous other leaders call on Israel to make sacrifices to help facilitate a two-state solution with the Palestinians.

* Security and Defense: Taking a ‘bridge loan’ Most security officials agree the IDF can successfully hit Iran’s nuclear program. But how close is Israel to attacking?

* Senators Back Netanyahu in Pentagon Row US Senator John McCain backed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu this week in a growing divergence of views with Washington on how to confront Iran’s nuclear program.

* J’lem construction frozen ahead of PM’s US visit Days before he takes off for Washington DC, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to ensure that there are no causes for embarrassment when he is sitting with Obama in the Oval Office.

02/23/12

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* ‘Highest level of Syrian gov’t ordering atrocities’ Syrian forces have shot dead unarmed women and children.

* Barack Obama apology to Afghanistan over Koran burning In a letter to President Hamid Karzai, Mr Obama expressed his “deep regret” and said the incident earlier this week was a genuine mistake.

* Peres on Iran: When We Say ‘All Options,’ We Mean It President Shimon Peres addressed the Iranian threat Thursday in a speech before the annual Jerusalem meeting of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

* Taliban to Afghans: Kill foreigners over Quran burnings The Taliban urged Afghans Thursday to target foreign military bases and kill Westerners in retaliation for burnings of copies of the Quran at NATO’s main base.

* DIA director: China preparing for space warfare Army Lt. Gen. Ronald L. Burgess, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, disclosed new details of China’s space weapons programs last week.

* Putin tells stadium rally ‘battle’ is on for Russia A crowd of thousands has heard Vladimir Putin deliver a strongly patriotic speech at a Moscow stadium as he bids for re-election as president of Russia.

* ‘Hamas will demand key positions in unity gov’t’ Hamas will demand that members of its organization fill key roles in the unity government with Fatah.

* Russia warns Israel not to attack Iran Russia warned Israel on Wednesday that attacking Iran would be a disastrous and played down the failure of a UN nuclear agency mission to Tehran.

* Official Palestinian Authority TV Glorifies Terror Official Palestinian Authority TV has twice recently broadcast a song that glorifies the use of terrorism to achieve statehood.

* El Al Map’ Returns’ Israel to 1948 Armistice Lines A brochure distributed to Russian tourists by El Al ‘turns back the clock,’ showing Israel without Judea, Samaria and the Golan.

02/22/12

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* ‘Iran missiles may be able to hit US in 2-3 years’ Iran may develop inter-continental missiles that can reach the east coast of the United States in two to three years.

* The Decline of the American Superpower? “It is unfortunate that the United States considers Israel a strategic liability, rather than a strategic asset,” noted Israeli think tank director Daniel Rothschild said.

* Russia boosts arms sales to Syria despite world pressure The biggest importer of arms to Syria, Russia sold Damascus nearly $1 billion worth of arms including missile systems last year.

* Dozens killed in Syria as top military officer defects with hundreds of soldiers A senior Syrian military officer has defected from the forces of President Bashar Assad’s regime.

* Prosor: Western Africa is Hizbullah’s Power Base Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations told the Security Council on Tuesday that western Africa has become Hizbullah’s “powerbase.”

* US troops now in 4 African countries to fight LRA U.S. troops helping in the fight against a brutal rebel group called the Lord’s Resistance Army are now deployed in four Central African countries.

* Karzai urges calm as six die in Afghan Koran protests The U.S. embassy said its staff were in “lockdown” and travel had been suspended as thousands of people expressed fury over the burning.

* China’s arming of Iran poses threat to U.S. Navy in Gulf China is helping Iran render the U.S. naval presence in the Gulf increasingly costly and dangerous.

* Abbas, Mashaal in Cairo to form unity government Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday began a three-day visit to Cairo.

* Tunisia, Egypt Islamists signal bigger religion role After months of reassuring secularist critics, Islamist politicians in Tunisia and Egypt have begun to lay down markers about how Muslim their states should be.

02/21/12

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* Despite warnings, quiet at the Temple Mount The Temple Mount was relatively quiet on Tuesday, despite preparations for clashes between right-wing Jewish activists and Muslim worshippers at the Al Aqsa Mosque.

* Analysis: Undermining Israel Following failed efforts to argue and persuade, the Americans seem to be taking a new approach – trying to undermine Israel’s confidence in its military capabilities.

* Iran warns of preemptive strike if threatened Iran would take preemptive action against its enemies if it felt its national interests were endangered.

* Egyptian Official: War with Israel, US in Three Months Egyptian Presidential Candidate Tawfiq Okasha declared last week that the Egyptian Army will engage in armed warfare against Israel.

* Eurozone agrees to Greek bail-out, but doubts remain After a 14-hour meeting eurozone finance ministers and bankers have agreed on a second bail-out package for Greece.

* Nato apologises for Afghan Koran ‘burning’ Announcing an inquiry, US Gen John R Allen said any “improper disposal” of religious materials was inadvertent.

* Gush Katif Dinner Commemorates Unilateral Disaster In 2005, under the government of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Israel withdrew from 21 communities in the Gaza Strip.

* Masked Syrian Rebels Raise Rifles Armed and masked rebels are organizing as Assad extended his crackdown on his political opponents on Tuesday.

* Archaeologists bringing Jerusalem’s ancient Roman city back to life If you look at a map of the Old City of Jerusalem, you’ll notice something odd.

* Ancient plants back to life after 30,000 frozen years Scientists in Russia have grown plants from fruit stored away in permafrost by squirrels over 30,000 years ago.

02/20/12

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* Netanyahu to meet Obama at White House in March Washington announces first meeting of leaders since September after PM meets Obama’s National Security Advisor Tom Donilon in J’lem, amid heightened US concern over Israeli attack on Iran.
* Syrians sense war in Damascus while Assad tries to score points Syrians report electricity shortages in Homs and Damascus, as Syrian President Bashar Assad tries minimizing pressure by a referendum on changes to the constitution that do not satisfy the opposition.
* Ex-Netanyahu Chief of Staff: Let Israel Attack “How can Israel not attack Iran?” asks former Netanyahu aide Bennett on Fox News. Iran is an “octopus of terror.”
* British FM joins appeal to Israel: Don’t hit Iran PM avoids subject in speech to American Jewish leaders in Jerusalem after meeting with US National Security Adviser Donilon.
* Peace talks wait to see if Hamas, Fatah unite Diplomatic source: PA documents demand 98.1% of West Bank territory, describe internal security plans.
* Eurozone Greek bailout talks begin in Brussels Eurozone finance ministers are holding talks in Brussels aimed at securing a second vital bailout for Greece.
* Iranian warships dock at Syrian port after crossing Suez Canal Press TV reports the arrival of two Iranian warships at the Syrian city of Tartous; crossing of the Suez Canal is the second in a year by Iranian warships.
* Iran to hold military drills to protect nuclear sites Iran has announced it will hold military exercises to boost protection of its nuclear sites.
* Abbas meets Hamas officials, seeks to speed unity PA president briefs Hamas representatives on reconciliation accord; Abbas tells China official Israel to blame for failed talks.
* US Army War College Prof: Iran A Menace to Region Iran is a “menace” to the entire Middle East and must not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, a US war College professor warns.