01 Sep 10
Argentina police arrest 'Lord of Death killer'
Marcelo Antelo was captured after a shootout in the capital, Buenos Aires.
The 22-year-old had apparently promised to kill one person a week in return for protection and prosperity.
San La Muerte is said to have a large following in the country's prisons and shanty towns.
Hurricane Earl churns towards US east coast
Hurricane Earl is heading for the US east coast after causing power cuts and heavy rain across the eastern Caribbean.
The category-four storm is generating sustained winds of 215km/h (135mph).
A hurricane watch has been issued for most of the North Carolina coastline just ahead of the Labor Day weekend.
Obama hails end to US combat operations in Iraq
President Obama has hailed the end of US combat operations in Iraq, saying the US has paid a "a huge price" to "put Iraq's future in its people's hands".
In a speech delivered in a rare Oval Office address, he said he was "awed" by the sacrifice of the US military.
But he said America's "most urgent task" was now to "restore our economy".
'2nd Lebanon War defeat was result of distance from God'
Israel was defeated in the Second Lebanon War in 2006 because people had distanced themselves from God, according to Interior Minister and Shas head Eli Yishai.
Speaking at a Tel Aviv synagogue on Tuesday, Yishai explained that Israel experienced miracles during the Six-Day War in 1967, but in 2006 Israel suffered defeat due to distance from God.
31 Aug 10
Ashton unable to attend Mideast peace talks
French FM Bernard Kouchner said Friday the EU should be at the table when the Israeli and Palestinian leaders resume direct peace talks in Washington. Ashton said she understood his position but she would be in China. For Ashton and the EU as a whole,"the focus is on a successful outcome of the talks, particularly the first round and the focus should not be on the choreography or who goes to Washington or not."
"Also it must be made clear we are only at the start of the process, many more talks will have to take place before we can reach, as hoped, a solution, "The EU will "still have plenty more opportunities to contribute to the process and will be called upon to help support the talks."
Christians dine with Muslims in a show of interfaith support
Together, the Christians and the Muslims walked at dusk from the Islamic school to the Islamic Center of Orlando. Together, they ate figs and chickpeas and fruit salad to end the fasting of Ramadan. Together, they lined up in rows inside the mosque and prayed.
"This is what we should see all over the nation," said Raza Ali, 62, a member of the mosque. "We have to be together. We should fight together those who go to the extremes."
The interfaith gathering Monday night of Christians and Muslims, along with some Jewish friends of the mosque, was a show of support, unity and faith at a time when the nation seems drawn to polarizing extremes over religion and terrorism.
Contactless payment on the rise in Canada
The Canadian contactless payments market is set to take off as large stores rapidly adopt the new technology, and smaller merchants threaten to make the jump as well, according to itbusiness.ca.
Ontario’s Technology Strategies International predicts Canadian stores will see $5.6 billion in contactless transactions by 2014.
MasterCard first rolled out PayPass in 2005 in select Canadian markets, and by fall 2008, PayPass was being used by a slew of Canadian financial institutions.
Famine threatens flood-hit Pakistan
ONE MONTH after the disaster began, flood waters were threatening to engulf two more towns in southern Pakistan yesterday, as the United Nations warned tens of thousands of children are now at risk of death from malnutrition.The floods are Pakistan's worst-ever natural disaster in terms of the amount of damage and the number of people affected, with more than six million forced from their homes, about a million of them in the past few days as the water flows south.
So far the disaster has claimed about 1,600 lives, inflicted billions of pounds of damage to homes, infrastructure and the vital agriculture sector and stirred anger against the Islamabad government, which has struggled to cope.
UN votes to keep peacekeepers on Israel-Lebanon border until 2011
The UN Security Council decided unanimously Monday to keep its peacekeeping operation in southern Lebanon another year because of the unstable situation along the border with Israel.
Netanyahu joins social networking era with Facebook, Twitter accounts
"Social media channels are today vital to Israeli public relations, government transparency and keeping the public informed," the prime minster's bureau said in a statement.
Netanyahu cancels final inner cabinet meeting before direct talks begin
The meeting between of Netanyahu's inner cabinet, known as the 'Forum of Seven,' was scheduled to take place at 9:30 A.M., and was reportedly called off by the PM early Monday morning. The reason for the cancellation is unknown.
Netanyahu heads to Washington as settlement building casts shadow over peace talks
Ahead of historic talks, prime minister refuses to reassure Palestinians by extending West Bank settlement freeze, due to expire late September.
Iran driving wedge between Western allies
Like the Chinese did earlier, Turkish officials now have confirmed they will not follow unilateral U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran over its continued nuclear enrichment program, creating a potentially serious division among Western alliance allies.
Immigrating out of fear
In last half year, faced with rising anti-Semitism, increasing number of Turkish Jews immigrating to Israel. Recent attempts made by Istanbul mayor to quell fears have not mitigated concerns.
Putin says 2012 polls important to him
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said the 2012 Russian presidential elections are of greater concern to him than to anybody else, in an interview with Kommersant newspaper.
ABC provokes mosque protestors
"They were trying to get some of the protestors to react to their harassment so they could film it and just show some protestor being angry," the TVC executive director contends. "It was a total setup. It was so insensitive, and...frankly, it was evil."
Will Hurricane Earl be a guest in the the White House?
The latest run of one of the forecast models we are looking at shows this hurricane to become possibly very strong as it approaches the Mid Atlantic US from Virginia to New York to Boston around Thursday September 2 and Friday September 3. This is the time of the US-forced Israel-Palestinian "peace" meeting to be held in Washington D.C.
Syria Tying Knot with Hizbullah and Lebanon in Case of War
Syrian President Bashar Assad put his cards on the table while hosting Lebanese Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri on Sunday night and urged a joint Syrian-Lebanese-Hizbullah front against Israel.
Two Terror Suspects Nabbed After Flight from US
Two suspected terrorists have been arrested in Amsterdam by Dutch police at the request of the United States government after their arrival from Chicago on a United Airlines flight.
Afghan withdrawal won't be a "hand-off": Petraeus
The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan from next July will begin with a general "thinning out" of forces rather than any large-scale drawdown, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces said on Tuesday.
Critics say U.S. President Barack Obama's strategy to begin pulling out troops has backfired, sending a signal to the Taliban that the United States was preparing to wind down at a time when U.S. and NATO forces were suffering record casualties.
Putin slams West for deceiving Russia
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused western countries of using unfair political methods including deceit and breaking promises to obstruct the process of "resetting" relations between Russia and the West.
..."At time of the withdrawal from East Europe, the NATO secretary general promised the USSR it could be confident that NATO would not expand over its current boundaries," Putin said.
US pay law branded ‘logistical nightmare’
US companies face a “logistical nightmare” from a new rule forcing them to disclose the ratio between their chief executive’s pay package and that of the typical employee, lawyers have warned.
The mandatory disclosure will provide ammunition for activists seeking to target perceived examples of excessive pay and perks. The law taps into public anger at the increasing disparity between the faltering incomes of middle America and the largely recession-proof multimillion-dollar remuneration of the typical corporate chief.
Education secretary urged his employees to attend Sharpton's rally
President Obama's top education official urged government employees to attend a rally that the Rev. Al Sharpton organized to counter a larger conservative event on the Mall.
"ED staff are invited to join Secretary Arne Duncan, the Reverend Al Sharpton, and other leaders on Saturday, Aug. 28, for the 'Reclaim the Dream' rally and march," began an internal e-mail sent to more than 4,000 employees of the Department of Education on Wednesday.
US may give Israel arms in exchange for concessions
Israel is looking into the possibility that it will receive an arms package as compensation from the United States in the event that it reaches a peace agreement with the Palestinians that entails significant concessions, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
Israel’s argument is that there is a need to compensate for security assets that would be lost under a deal that would necessitate a withdrawal from almost all of the West Bank.
Netanyahu, negotiating team take off for peace talks in US
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his negotiating team took off for Washington on Tuesday morning, ahead of the relaunch of peace talks with the Palestinians.
The prime minister will meet with US President Barack Obama on Wednesday, before attending a dinner hosted by Obama with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Jordanian King Abdullah and Quartet envoy Tony Blair. He is expected to hold separate talks with each of the other leaders as well.
30 Aug 10
PA Minister Threatens War over Jerusalem
The Palestinian Authority religious affairs minster, a week before peace talks in Washington, warned of war if Jerusalem is not “returned” to “its owners. And we are its owners." Unless Jerusalem "becomes the capital of the Palestinian people, there is no peace," he warned. "The term 'war' will not be erased from the lexicon...as long as Jerusalem is occupied.
“If Jerusalem is dishonored, if Jerusalem is disgraced, if [Jerusalem] is lost, it may leave the door open to all possibilities of struggle, all possibilities of war.
"Jerusalem is not just a city. Al-Aqsa is not just a mosque. Jerusalem is the key to peace.
Report: Israel Plans to Strike in Syria
The Alrai daily newspaper in Kuwait reported on Saturday that Israel is planning to attack Hizbullah weapons storage and production facilities in Syria. According to unnamed Western sources who were quoted in the report, the IDF has strengthened its troop presence in the Golan Heights and Galilee panhandle. European sources told the paper that Israel had sent unmanned aerial vehicles over Syria and Lebanon, which they see as a sign that a military operation in the area is in the works.
Russia honors commitments to Syria
Moscow is fully compliant in its agreements with Syria in the sphere of the military and technological co-operation, Russian presidential aide Sergey Prikhodko said.“Some Israeli media have recently disseminated information distorting Russia’s position on honoring its commitments to Syria, including in the area of military-technological co-operation,” he told journalists on August 28.
“I would like to emphasize that the Russian Federation is fully honoring its earlier agreements with Syria,” Prikhodko was quoted by Interfax as saying.
Religions should unite against radicalism
Abu Dhabi: Imam Faisal Abdul Rauof, a central figure in plans to build a Muslim community centre in Lower Manhattan, New York, near the site of the September 11, 2001 attacks, urged followers of all faiths to join hands against radicalism, which he says exists in all religions.
"We are all in this together ... there is a common threat: Radicalism, which exists in all religions," Abdul Rauof told WAM in an interview in Abu Dhabi.
"The real battlefront is not between Muslims and non-Muslims. The real battlefront is between moderates and extremists."
Israeli waters may hold large oil reserves
The Israeli partners in a U.S.-led consortium developing a natural gas field off the Mediterranean coast say that up to 4.2 billion barrels of oil may lie under the seafloor in Israeli waters.
If confirmed, the find would mark the first significant oil reserves for Israel.
