30 Aug 10
'Hizbullah and Syrian army to join forces against Israel'
Lebanese guerilla group Hizbullah and the Syrian military have reportedly agreed to cooperate on any future conflicts with Israel, according to Kuwaiti newspaper a-Rai.
Sources told the newspaper that Hizbullah and Syria now have joint headquarters from which they can coordinate any joint operations, to be jointly commanded by officers from the two groups.
The operations would include air, land and sea and plans reportedly include strategies for attacks on Israel as well as defense in the event of an Israeli attack.
Don't agree with Obama? Get ready for IRS probe
The Internal Revenue Service has delayed approval of tax-exempt status for a private organization and is reviewing its educational work, telling a lawyer for the foundation that it must be examined by Washington because its activities may "contradict the administration's public policies."
Obama says not worried by Muslim 'rumors'
Asked about persistent accusations that he wasn't born in US, president responds, 'I can't spend all my time with my birth certificate plastered on my forehead'
Wallis-Soros ties surfacing
The leader of the "progressive Christian" Sojourners movement has accepted funding from leftist atheist billionaire George Soros.
Recession taking toll on homeless shelters
Due to the rising demands of the economy, the Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles will begin charging for services starting next month. But another local shelter is trusting God to provide for its needs as it struggles to meet the increasing demand.
Growing Hurricane Earl threatens north Caribbean
Hurricane Earl lashed northern Leeward Islands with heavy rain and strong winds Monday after strengthening into a Category 2 storm. Hotels were shut tightly overnight as tourists sought shelter inside their rooms. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Earl could become a major hurricane Monday night or early Tuesday.
Combating homosexual promotion in schools
"Enter key terms in the search function like 'lesbian,' 'gay,' 'sexual orientation' and 'gender identity'...and if you start pulling up a lot of books with homosexual themes, that's a real red flag to you because technically, the library should reflect the school curriculum," Cushman explains. "It's also a place teachers can go to pull out resources for use in the classroom."
Gaddafi and Berlusconi to share Ramadan fast-breaking meal
Rome - Libyan leader Moammer Gaddafi was scheduled to share an evening Ramadan fast-breaking with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlsuconi on Monday, during the second day of his visit to Rome.
Exclusive: Bolton's View on a Nuclear Middle East
Former US Ambassador in the UN John Bolton says that Iran already has an “insurance policy” against Israeli attack, and that Obama’s “contain Iran” policy is doomed to failure. He also feels that the only solution for Israel and the Palestinian Authority is what he calls the "three-state solution."
Danger: Third Quake in Six Weeks in Nuclear Iran
A third earthquake in less than six weeks has hit Iran, killing at least three people and injuring 21. The 5.9-magnitude quake hit the city of Damghan in northern Iran, 175 miles east of Tehran, late Friday night. Fifteen villages were reportedly damaged.
Left-Wing Campaign: PA Wants Peace
A new left-wing public relations campaign seeks to persuade the Israeli public that the Palestinian Authority truly wants peace – despite all indications to the contrary.
ECO won’t abide by sanctions on Iran
The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) will not follow sanctions against Iran, the organization’s secretary general said here on Sunday.
IRNA News Agency quoted Mohammad Yahya Maroofi as saying that, “the sanctions can’t affect Iran’s economy and the nation will continue its improvement alongside other ECO member states.”
Luxury booms while bargain retail suffers
Personal spending in the US is diverging into two distinct categories as strong growth at high-end stores contrasts with continuing difficulties for mass-market, low-price retailers.
At high-end stores such as Neiman Marcus and Tiffany, shoppers are demonstrating confidence and spending with vigour. At the other end of the retail spectrum, consumers are cautious amid economic uncertainties, denting the earnings of groups such as Walmart.
Russia opens China pipeline for Siberian oil
Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, on Sunday opened a new pipeline to export east Siberian oil to China that will help Russia reorientate its oil trade towards the east.
The pipeline, running 67km from Skovorodino in east Siberia to China’s north-eastern frontier, is an offshoot of a new oil export route Russia is building to the Pacific Ocean, providing a strategic window on the fast-growing energy markets of Asia.
Syrian president urges Lebanon to support Hizbullah
Lebanese Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus early on Monday, to discuss Syrian-Lebanese ties and to consolidate "coordination between the two countries in all fields," Syria's state-run news agency SANA reported Monday.
Hariri has visited Damascus repeatedly this year in a sign of Syria's renewed influence over Lebanon in the years since Damascus withdrew its military in 2005, ending a nearly three-decade hold on Lebanon.
29 Aug 10
Arab League chief: Peace talks will likely be unsuccessful
Arab League chief Amr Moussa said on Sunday he had little hope that direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which are due to start on Thursday, will be successful. He also said that he would not seek re-election as secretary general of the Arab League after his second mandate expires in March.
Netanyahu: We can reach a peace that will last for generations
As he prepared to fly to Washington to renew peace talks with the Palestinians, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel had the chance to secure a stable peace that could endure for generations.
"I am convinced that if the Palestinian leadership takes the negotiations as seriously as we do, we can reach a stable agreement - not just a deal for a tactical ceasefire between wars," Netanyahu told ministers at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.
Russia Will Boost Oil Exports to China With New Pipeline From East Siberia
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin opened the Russian section of an oil pipeline that will boost oil exports to China from East Siberia.
“This is an important project because we are beginning to diversify the delivery of our energy resources,” Putin said.
“The China-Pacific pipeline is the most important energy project in Russia since the opening of the gas pipeline to Europe,” said Chris Weafer, chief strategist at UralSib Financial Corp., in e-mailed comments today. “It means that Russia’s strategic importance to China has increased considerably.”
Long lost Jesus icon in Kremlin restored to view
Medvedev, speaking from under an umbrella on the day that marks the Virgin Mary's being taken into heaven, said the "Saviour Smolensky" icon, which is 2.2 by 1.5 m (yards) wide and depicts Jesus holding open the New Testament, with Russian saints below him, will provide moral support to Russia.
"Now that we've got the icon back, our country secures an additional defense," he said after Kirill, struggling to keep his cap on his head in a strong wind, anointed the icon.
The official presence at the event is another sign of the growing influence of the Russian Orthodox Church, opposed by rights groups and some other religious confessions.
EPA Surrenders to NRA on Gun Control Issue
In a swift and unexpected decision, the Environmental Protection Agency today rejected a petition from environmental groups to ban the use of lead in bullets and shotgun shells, claiming it doesn't have jurisdiction to weigh on the controversial Second Amendment issue. The decision came just hours after the Drudge Report posted stories from Washington Whispers and the Weekly Standard about how gun groups were fighting the lead bullet ban.
Beck: Help us restore traditional American values
Conservative commentator Glenn Beck and tea party champion Sarah Palin appealed Saturday to a vast, predominantly white crowd on the National Mall to help restore traditional American values and honor Martin Luther King's message. Civil rights leaders who accused the group of hijacking King's legacy held their own rally and march.
While Beck billed his event as nonpolitical, conservative activists said their show of strength was a clear sign that they can swing elections because much of the country is angry with what many voters call an out-of-touch Washington.
'US asks Syria not to impede talks'
The United States and other western nations are pressuring Syria not to negatively influence upcoming peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, Israel Radio reported on Saturday, citing a report from London-based Arabic language daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi.
The western powers also implored Damascus to prevent Syria-based Palestinian factions inimical to the peace negotiations, mainly Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, from sabotaging the talks.
'Israel ready to destroy LAF in 4 hours'
The US warned Lebanon that if it did not prevent any recurrence of the border-fire incident that occurred earlier this month, the IDF would destroy the Lebanese Armed Forces within four hours, Israel Radio cited a report by Lebanese newspaper A-Liwaa on Friday.
According to the report, Frederick Hoff, assistant to US Middle East Peace Envoy George Mitchell, told Lebanese Army chief of staff Jean Kahwaji that Israel was ready to implement a plan to destroy within four hours all Lebanese military infrastructure,
Egypt intercepts shipment of missiles
Egyptian authorities intercepted a shipment of at least 190 anti-aircraft missiles in Sinai probably destined for Gaza on Saturday, Palestinian news Agency Ma'an reported.
According to the report, the Egyptian police raided several storage areas in the area and discovered the secret cache hidden in a remote region in the center of the peninsula.
Long-dormant Indonesian volcano erupts
A volcano in western Indonesia spewed hot lava and sand high into the sky early Sunday in its first eruption in 400 years.
Government volcanologist Surono, who uses only one name, said Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra province started rumbling a few days ago and the minor morning eruption has mostly stopped.
It sent sand and ash up to a mile (1.5 kilometers) high but lava only moved near the crater. It caused no major damage "but only dust covered plants and trees," he said.
28 Aug 10
PM offers bi-weekly meeting with Abbas
Netanyahu briefs his advisors on suggestion he made to Americans: He will lead peace negotiations with Palestinian president himself, discuss fundamental issues with Abbas every fortnight, while parties' teams discuss details
US wants agreement now, peace later
The Yedioth Ahronoth daily has learned that the Americans will pressure the parties to sign a framework agreement for a permanent settlement within one year, but that the agreement itself would be implemented within 10 years.
Kremlin denies plans to halt missile sales to Syria (update 1)
Russia stands by its international obligations and has no plans to stop an arms deal with Syria, a Kremlin aide said on Saturday.
Sergei Prikhodko said recent reports in some Israel media outlets misrepresented Russia's position on cooperation with Syria.
The Haaretz daily reported on Friday that Israel was working to "thwart a Russian arms deal with Syria" and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had asked his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to stop the sale of advanced P-800 Yakhont supersonic cruise missiles.
Turkey vows to continue Iran projects
The Turkish official made the comments during an interview with NTV broadcaster on Thursday, Reuters reported.
Earlier in August, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz had said Ankara would support Turkish firms in exporting gasoline to Iran despite US unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
“If the preference of the private sector is to sell these (petroleum) products to Iran, we will help them,” he said. “There is no demand for Turkey to halt the trade of these products with Iran.” -indicating a shift in its energy policy to give priority to its energy-rich neighbors in the Middle East over conditions set by its traditional Western allies.
Mass gay kiss-off to highlight gap in EU law
An Italian MP is planning to ask gay couples to hold a day of mass-scale public kissing in September in a fight against petty homophobia. But a draft EU law combatting the same problem is likely to stay off the agenda for years.
-The directive in question is currently being discussed by EU diplomats in a working group in the EU Council, but the Belgian EU presidency has signaled to the European Commission that there is not enough support for legislative action.
Opposition to the bill, which also covers discrimination against disabled people, is linked to the economy rather than Christian Democrat values.
