Category Archives: Top 10 News Stories

06/18/11

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* ‘Palestinian state declaration means the end of talks’ Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in a meeting with his EU counterpart Catherine Ashton on Friday that if the Palestinians unilaterally declare statehood, it will bring an end to the Oslo Accords.

* Al-Qaeda: No compromise on Palestine After naming Osama bin Laden’s long-serving number two, Ayman al-Zawahri, Al-Qaeda’s new leader, the terror group said it “will never recognize any legitimacy for the alleged state of Israel.”

* The Egyptian doctor who globalized his caliphate crusade Ayman al-Zawahri is an Egyptian medical doctor from a wealthy family who became involved in militant Islamism.

* Powerful cosmic blast as black hole shreds star Astronomers have spied a star’s swan song as it is shredded by a black hole.

* Syria forces storm border town near Turkey Syrian troops and gunmen loyal to President Bashar Assad stormed a town near the Turkish border on Saturday.

* Conference to offer alternative to 2-state solution A mini-conference next week on the subject of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria is the first step in an effort to present an alternative to the two-state solution.

* Peres warns: Israel in danger of ceasing to exist as Jewish state President Shimon Peres is concerned that Israel might become a binational state, in which case, he warned, it would cease to exist as a Jewish state.

* The Iranian Space Monkey Cometh Iran plans to send a live monkey into space in the summer.

* Turkish ship involved in Gaza flotilla raid pulls out of next convoy The Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) announced on Friday that the Mavi Marmara ship will not participate in the Gaza flotilla.

* This Week in History: First US presidential visit to Israel On June 16, 1974, US President Richard Nixon made the first visit to Israel by a sitting US president.

06/16/11

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* Ayman al-Zawahiri appointed as al-Qaeda leader The long-serving second-in-command of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has been appointed its head following the death of Osama Bin Laden, the militant organization said in a statement.

* Russia, China warn West against Arab interference Russia and China oppose outside interference in the unrest in the Arab world.

* Possible Al-Qaida Hit List Targets Specific Americans An al-Qaida-linked website has posted a potential hit list of targets that include names and photos of several U.S. officials and business leaders.

* Mufti of Lebanon: Palestinians are ‘trash’, not welcome The mufti of Lebanon, Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani, was quoted this week as saying that Palestinians are no longer welcome in his country.

* Photo gallery: Lunar eclipse seen round the world Spectators in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia enjoyed the longest lunar eclipse in over a decade and photographers took stunning photos.

* Circumcision Ban Fight Turns Ugly with Anti-Semitic Comics The controversy on banning circumcision in San Francisco moved on to stereotypic anti-Semitism as a promoter of the ban distributed a technologically modern, but all-too reminiscent of medieval, Nazi and Tsarist Jew-hatred, comic.

* Jordan’s king: Mideast peace prospects in 2011 slim King Abdulla II of Jordan is fairly pessimistic about the chances to see the Israeli-Palestinian peace process come to fruition in 2011.

* China military paper urges steps against U.S. cyber war threat China must boost its cyber-warfare strength to counter a Pentagon push.

* Egypt’s al-Karama party wants to cancel peace treaty with Israel The Egyptian al-Karama party, whose leader plans to run in the upcoming presidential elections, has said the cancellation of the Camp David Accords is its top priority.

* IDF Practices for Next Flotilla The IDF has released video showing some of the preparations for the next flotillas expected to try and break through Israel’s naval blockade.

06/15/11

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* Russia urges Iran to cooperate with IAEA on nuclear program Russia urged Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday to be “more constructive” in his cooperation with global powers on nuclear issues.

* Watch: Syrians burn Iran, Hezbollah flags An online video uploaded by Syrian opposition activists shows protestors setting fire to Iranian and Hezbollah flags during a demonstration held east of Damascus.

* Ahmadinejad joins China, Russia leaders at summit Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday joined the Chinese and Russian leaders in a rare encounter at a summit in Kazakhstan.

* Ashton in bid to save Middle East peace talks EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton has launched a bold initiative to avert a potentially explosive dispute at the UN in September.

* Middle East Christians facing ‘extremist atrocities’ The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned that there are extreme forces at work that have turned the Arab Spring into a “very anxious time” for Christians.

* Sudan: Barack Obama calls for ceasefire US President Barack Obama has called for a ceasefire in Sudan, following an upsurge in fighting in the South Kordofan region.

* Australian dinosaur had UK double A 5cm-wide (2in) fossil may have something big to say about how dinosaurs ranged across the Earth.

* ‘Arab Spring’ bad news for Russian arms industry Russia could lose up to $10 billion in arms sales amid the “Arab Spring” uprisings throughout the Middle East.

* Fleeing Syrians Take Refuge Along Border With Turkey Hundreds of Syrians displaced by a ferocious crackdown on the uprising here fled to the Turkish border by tractor, truck and foot.

* Turkish organization may cancel Gaza flotilla as IDF prepares at sea The Turkish organization IHH (Humanitarian Relief Foundation) is considering the cancelation of the Gaza flotilla.

06/14/11

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* Syria faces US pressure to stop crackdown The US has renewed calls on Syria to halt its crackdown on anti-government protests.

* Eastern Europe new battleground in Mideast rift Warsaw and Prague might seem like unlikely battlegrounds in the Middle East conflict.

* Police Training to Stop Mass Invasion of Arab Protesters Police are conducting a large-scale training exercise in preparation for a possible massive Arab from Judea and Samaria in September.

* Syrian army pursues ‘scorched earth’ campaign Syrian armed forces continued a “scorched earth” campaign near the country’s borders with Turkey and Iraq.

* New Egypt? 7,000 civilians jailed since Mubarak fell Egypt’s military rulers told human rights advocates Monday that at least 7,000 civilians have been sentenced to prison.

* China rebukes US over South China Sea disputes China criticized the U.S. on Tuesday over a senator’s call for multilateral negotiations to resolve festering territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

* Besieged Ghetto? Gaza Water Park Opens Influenced by Arab and leftist propaganda, the world sees Gaza as a ghetto under siege by the cruel Israeli army.

* Antiquities Robbers Caught Red Handed The Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Theft in the Antiquities Authority has staged a successful operation in which Arab antiquities robbers were caught red-handed while digging at an archaeological site.

* Hamas nominates Haniyeh to head government Several days after Fatah nominated Salam Fayyad to head the new Palestinian government, Hamas announced it was pushing for Ismail Haniyeh’s appointment.

* Poland seeks new status in EU arena Poland hopes that its upcoming EU presidency will complete its transformation from a prickly newcomer to an established member of the EU elite.

06/13/11

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* Somalia Interior Minister Killed by Al Qaeda Locals A local Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group has murdered Somalia’s interior minister.

* Hezbollah rise in Lebanon gives Syria, Iran sway Hezbollah and its allies rose to a position of unprecedented dominance in Lebanon’s government on Monday, giving patrons Syria and Iran greater sway in the Middle East.

* Israel Holds Out Olive Branch to Turkey Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, visiting Italy, held out an olive branch on Monday for Turkey following Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s re-election.

* Turkey election: Victorious Erdogan pledges consensus Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to build consensus with opposition parties, after securing a third term in office.

* Lebanon PM: New government to liberate land under occupation of Israeli enemy Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati announces long-delayed new government dominated by allies of Iran-backed Hezbollah, which is likely to cause alarm among Western powers.

* Lithuania gets EU backing for confrontation with Communist past A strong promoter of shedding light on the crimes against humanity committed under the Soviet occupation, Lithuania on Friday managed to get the political backing of the other 26 EU member states for measures aimed at educating the public about all totalitarian regimes in Europe.

* More Israeli-Vatican Talks, Following Vatican Call for PA State Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon heads Monday for the Vatican, leading an Israeli delegation taking part in a plenary session of the Bilateral Permanent Working Commission between Israel and the Vatican.

* Abbas Set to Fire Dahlan in PA Power Struggle Palestinian Authority PA Chairman and Fatah party leader Mahmoud Abbas is tying to fire Mohammed Dahlan, his former Gaza strongman, but the Fatah movement’s Revolutionary Council is resisting and wants Dahlan investigated for corruption.

* Tony Blair reads Quran, Bible daily In interview with Observer Former British PM discusses his intriguing reading habits and why he now has better understanding of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

* Attacks on Christians: Can Egypt Deal with Extremist Mobs? “I didn’t know what was happening,” he says. But before he could consider the possibilities, the mob had pulled him from the truck. “They demanded to know if I was Christian.”

06/11/11

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* ‘Iran to convene nuclear conference targeting Israel’ Iran will convene a nuclear disarmament conference that will focus on the international community’s “policy of overlooking Israel’s nuclear programs.”

* White House waiting for Netanyahu to accept Obama’s peace talk principles There is a chance to avert the UN General Assembly vote in September on the recognition of the Palestinian state.

* Turkey’s parties wind up campaigning on eve of vote Turkish politicians made their last campaign rounds on Saturday on the eve of an election that is expected to see Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan win.

* Iran defense minister: Aggression against us will be met with ‘decisive’ response Iran’s defense minister warned on Saturday that in the event of aggression from any outside forces.

* Thousands flee Syria for Turkey More than 4,000 Syrians have fled to Turkey to escape a crackdown on protests against President Bashar al-Assad.

* US defence chief: Europe may no longer be worth defending Under pressure to cut its military spending, the US is losing patience with Europe’s unwillingness to pay for its own defence.

* Israel seeks Kosovo-type EU split on Palestine The Israeli foreign ministry is targeting Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia in an attempt to split the EU.

* Police Storm Temple Mount After Stones Thrown Israel Police and Border Guard forces were forced to storm the Temple Mount compound Friday after stones were hurled at the end of afternoon prayers.

* CNN poll shows rise in American sympathy for Israel A new poll conducted by American news network CNN has reported that 67 percent of the American public feel sympathy for Israelis and not Palestinians.

* China ratings house says US defaulting A Chinese ratings house has accused the United States of defaulting on its massive debt.

06/10/11

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* Concerns over democracy dominate as Turkey votes The last time Turks voted in a general election in 2007, opponents feared the socially conservative ruling party was turning Turkey into an Iran-style Islamic state.

* Iraq will ask US troops to stay post-2011, says Panetta HumankilarystemIraq will ask the US to keep troops in the country beyond an end-of-2011 pullout deadline, says the nominee to be the next US defence secretary.

* PA: “If I Forget Thee, Oh Jerusalem” First Said by Crusader Continuing its policy of denying Jerusalem’s Jewish heritage the Palestinian Authority publicized the claims of an Arab researcher.

* Fleeing violence, Syrian refugees warn of potential massacre Syrian refugees continued to stream into Turkey Thursday, fleeing an expected revenge attack from the regime against their town of Jisr al-Shughur.

* Hamas Summer Camps Train Next Generation Terrorists Hamas is reporting record turnouts for its summer camps for children in 2011.

* Voyagers ride ‘magnetic bubbles’ Humankind’s most distant emissaries are flying through a turbulent sea of magnetism as they seek to break free of our Solar System.

* Police enter Temple Mount to stop riots Police and Border Guard forces broke into the Temple Mount compound on Friday after stones were hurled at the end of Friday prayers.

* US Senators oppose Israel return to 1967 lines US senators proposed a resolution on Thursday opposing any Israeli withdrawal to 1967 lines.

* ‘Iran caught 10 times trying to send arms to terrorists’ Iran has been caught red-handed in 10 different attempts in recent years to transfer weaponry to terrorists throughout the Middle East.

* ‘Palestinians expressing second thoughts over UN path’ Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas wants to “climb down from the tree” and restart peace talks.

06/09/11

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* Netanyahu: Israel needs to be at forefront of cyber warfare Israel should be a global cyber-power, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Thursday during a conference on cyber warfare at Tel Aviv University.

* US Secret War on Yemen-Based Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula The United States is taking advantage of a power vacuum in Yemen to bomb Al Qaeda terrorist bases.

* Blair calls for elected European leader Former prime minister Tony Blair on Thursday warned the European Union that it must elect a leader or face being left behind by the world’s emerging economies.

* Iran: Israel and U.S. are trying to provoke a regional war Iran blames Israel and the U.S. for trying to provoke a military conflict in the region.

* New US-Russia arms race? Battle lines grow over missile defense Moscow’s previously troubled relations with NATO have improved greatly over the past two years.

* Syria crisis: Refugee surge to Turkey ‘as troops mass’ Growing numbers of Syrians are escaping over the border into Turkey ahead of a feared government assault on the northern town of Jisr al-Shughour.

* Rich, Famous and Powerful Converge at Bilderberg Dominique Strauss-Kahn, naturally, isn’t attending this year, and his likely successor Christine Lagarde is in China.

* The Coming Single World Currency Wow, what confusion in the markets, eh? One day the Dow Industrials are up 100 points or so, the next day it’s down sharply.

* EU softens Syria resolution in bid for UN support EU countries have indicated there will be no military action in Syria and called for protesters not to attack security forces.

* US calls Iran enrichment plan ‘brazen’ defiance Iran’s announcement that it plans to triple its production capacity of higher-grade uranium is a “brazen” example of Tehran’s defiance of international obligations.

06/08/11

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* Iran says it will triple uranium production capacity Iran will shift its production of higher grade uranium to an underground bunker and triple its production capacity.

* PA may delay plans to ask UN for statehood in September The Palestinian Authority may postpone plans to ask the UN in September to recognize a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 lines.

* Qaeda’s Zawahri says U.S. facing Muslim rebellion Al-Qaeda’s second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri said the United States faced a Muslim rebellion following the death of Osama bin Laden.

* Gaddafi vows to fight to the death Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi vowed on Tuesday in a speech broadcast live on state television to fight to the end.

* Israel’s new battlefield: Iranian submarines The recent wave of uprisings across the Arab world provided Iran with numerous strategic and tactical opportunities to expand its status as a regional hegemon.

* Landmark Hitler letter on Jews unveiled in New York A letter by Adolf Hitler – said to be the earliest expression of his ideas on anti-Semitism – has been shown publicly for the first time in New York.

* East Africa faces ‘world’s worst food security crisis’ The world’s worst food security crisis is continuing in the eastern Horn of Africa, a US agency has warned.

* OPEC Talks Break Down, No Deal to Lift Oil Supply OPEC talks broke down in acrimony on Wednesday after Saudi Arabia failed to convince the cartel to lift production, sparking a rebound in global oil prices.

* EU countries push for UN resolution on Syria The UK and France have put forward a draft UN Security Council resolution urging Syria to stop killing protesters.

* France to move forward on Mideast conference French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe says France will move ahead with its proposal to bring Palestinians and Israelis together at a peace conference later this summer despite US reservations.

06/07/11

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* ‘Iran sends submarines for reconnaissance in Red Sea’ Iran has sent submarines to the Red Sea.

* 77% of Israelis oppose going back to pre-’67 lines Seventy-seven percent of Israelis oppose returning to pre-1967 lines even if it would lead to a peace agreement.

* Chag Sameach! Holiday of the Torah Begins Tuesday Night The Jewish holiday of Shavuot is set to begin Tuesday night.

* Nuclear weapons threat not decreasing, study says More than 5,000 nuclear weapons are deployed around the world and nuclear powers continue investing in new weapon systems.

* Japan ‘unprepared’ for Fukushima nuclear disaster Japan was unprepared for a nuclear accident on the scale of the one at the Fukushima plant, the government said in a report to be submitted to the IAEA.

* Syrian newspaper: Naksa Day protests just the start The events on Israel’s Syrian border on “Naksa Day” are just the beginning.

* Operation ‘Opera’ Took Out Saddam’s Reactor: 30 Year Anniversary Thirty years ago Tuesday, on Sunday, June 7, 1981, eight IAF F-16s and and six F-15s took off from the IAF’s Etzion Base in northern Sinai.

* Egypt accepts Muslim Brotherhood as legal party Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood’s political party was declared legal by Cairo Tuesday.

* ‘No western offer will stop Iran’s uranium enrichment’ Iranian President Ahamdinejad says no incentive offered by world powers can convince Tehran to stop enriching uranium.

* Yemeni Leader Was Severely Burned in Attack President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen suffered injuries far more extensive than previously known in an attack on his presidential palace last week.