The link with David Wilkerson's urgent word has moved here
March 10, 2010
Arab states will respond to Israel's recent decision to expand an east Jerusalem settlement, Qatar's prime minister said on Wednesday. story
Ten years after the euro, it’s still all about Germany, which isn’t the way it was supposed to be. story
Greece is a financial basket case, begging for international help. Is America heading down that same road? story
King Abdullah II of Jordan will discuss prospects for convening an international Middle East conference within the framework of a working visit to Moscow on March 10-11, 2010. The Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said that Russia played a vital role in achieving durable and comprehensive peace in the region. He noted that the King of Jordan sought to maintain permanent high-level dialogue with Russia. story
Recipients of the subsidies for food purchases climbed 23 percent from a year earlier and rose 2.1 percent from November, the U. S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday in a statement on its Web site. The number receiving the benefit has set records for 13 straight months. story
March 9, 2010
A senior official in the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office on Tuesday denied Turkey's announcement that Israel had accepted its offer to resume its role as mediator in peace negotiations with Syria. story
Ankara declines Jerusalem's proposal to assist search and rescue operations following 6.0-magnitude earthquake which hit country's east. story
Defense Minister Ehud Barak addressed the Iranian nuclear threat and said, "The State of Israel is the strongest country in the region. However, we must recognize opportunities and not be confused by challenges." story
Four to eight weeks remain to test the option of diplomatic engagement as means of stopping Iran’s nuclear program before sanctions will likely be imposed, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told an audience of foreign military officers and government officials in Herzliya on Monday. story
A colonel in the People's Liberation Army has written in a new book: "If the United States can light a fire in China's backyard, we can also light a fire in their backyard." story
The International Criminal Court on Monday unveiled the design for its new headquarters, a sprawling campus of six buildings on the outskirts of The Hague. story
March 8, 2010
The only action that can stop Iran from building nuclear weapons is an Israeli strike on Tehran's nuclear facilities, argued John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. under the Bush administration. story
March 7, 2010
President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday "achieving peace and stability necessitates compelling Israel to withdraw from the occupied Arab land and to return Arab rights." President al-Assad's remarks came during a meeting with Head of Foreign Policy Committee of the Parliament of Denmark Eva Kjer Hansen. story
If the Iranians are to be believed, they have launched production of their first cruise missile, the short-range Nasr 1 (Victory 1), which was claimed by Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi Sunday, March 7 to be capable of destroying warships of up to 3,000 tons when launched from the ground or sea vessels. story
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday continued his verbal assault on Israel, according to Saudi paper Al Wattan, which quoted him as saying that that al Aksa Mosque, the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb “were not and never will be Jewish sites, but Islamic sites.” story
Plans for a European Monetary Fund emerged over the weekend as the ongoing debt crisis in Greece forces European politicians to rethink the euro area's institutional architecture. story
March 5, 2010
An Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities would be quietly supported by a wide coalition of Islamic nations, including a number of extremist states, Deputy Minister of the Negev and Galilee Ayoub Kara said Saturday. story
Iran is building a new rocket launch site with North Korean assistance, Israel Radio quoted IHS Jane’s as reporting overnight Friday. The new launcher, constructed near an existing rocket base in the Semnan province east of Teheran, is visible in satellite imagery, according to the report. story
Through the use of commercial satellite imagery from DigitalGlobe and GeoEye, IHS Jane’s has revealed that a new launch pad is being constructed at Iran’s Semnan space centre that could ultimately launch Tehran’s next-generation Simorgh rocket. story
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday called the September 11 attacks on the United States a "big fabrication" that was used to justify the U.S. war on terrorism, the official IRNA news agency reported. story
German response to Greece's emergency is another humiliation in an increasingly nasty war between Europe's North and South. story
n a statement on Thursday, Deputy Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Yakovenko said that Israel's non-abidance by the UN Resolution 1701 is manifested in its continued violation of the Lebanese airspace and refusal to withdraw from al-Ghajar town. story
President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday urged Russia's armed forces to speed up the upgrading of their aging military arsenal as the country tries to build a modernized army. story
March 3, 2010
In a disturbing news article today, the YNetNews agency is reporting that Syria is providing Hezbollah with advanced weapons that they would not give them in the past. The YNetNews article reports: Syria is crossing previous red lines in supplying Hezbollah with weapons, handing over arms that it never before dared transfer to the Lebanese terror group, the head of the IDF's research division of Military Intelligence says. "Syria is handing over to Hezbollah components that it would not dare hand over before," Yossi Baidatz told the Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee Tuesday. story
Arab foreign ministers have agreed to back the resumption of indirect Palestinian-Israeli talks, which could see fresh negotiations soon.
The move was quickly welcomed by the Israelis and comes after months of separate negotiations between the US and both sides. story
Though Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced that he “knows nothing” about reports of Syria’s “willingness” to accept the Golan in stages, Golan residents are taking no chances. Uri Heitner of the Golan Residents Committee says Israelis must be aware of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s true intentions: “It’s enough to see him walking arm in arm with [Iranian leader Mahmoud] Ahmedinajad and talking about a ‘new Middle East without Jews’ to know what he really wants. The State of Israel must realize that the choice is simple: Either we keep our sovereignty in the Golan, or we give it up to the axis of evil.” story
Baidatz warns of Iranian enrichment
Iran has stepped up its nuclear enrichment process, which advanced in 2009 “beyond where we would have wanted it to be,” Brig.-Gen. Yossi Baidatz, head of Military Intelligence’s Research Division, told MKs during a Tuesday meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. story
Egypt is concerned Israel could be in a conflict in the very near future with Syria or the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, a senior Egyptian security official told WND. story
Economic terrorism is becoming the preferred tactic of radical Islamic thinkers and terror organizations, an 11-year study of public Islamist discourse has found. story
Dubai's police chief plans to seek the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the head of Israel's spy agency over the killing of a Hamas leader in the emirate, Al Jazeera television reported. story
IT sounds like something from a sci-fi film, but one in four Germans would be happy to have a microchip implanted in their body if they derived concrete benefits from it. The survey, conducted by German IT industry lobby group BITKOM, was intended to show how the division between real life and the virtual world is increasingly coming down. story
Even as many Americans still struggle to recover from the country's worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, another crisis – one that will be even worse than the current one – is looming, according to a new report from a group of leading economists, financiers, and former federal regulators. story
March 2, 2010
According to top British researcher Syrian foreign minister declared his country's willingness to achieve peace with Israel based on new outline. story
Al-Hayat newspaper says US secretary of state conveys message to Lebanese parliament speaker saying Washington cannot stop Israel from striking in Lebanon as long as arms smuggling to Hezbollah continues. story
Iran’s senior nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalil, says that Palestinian Authority resistance is the key to freedom for Muslims and the demise of western dominance. Jalil also is the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC). story
Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak warned that Hizballah and its 45,000 rockets - including "some which many sovereign countries do not have" - are directed by Iranian and Syrian civilian and military officials already present in Lebanon. story
Iran further consolidated its anti-US coalition and honed its hard edge against Israel this week with two important defense treaties signed with Syria (covering Lebanon) and Qatar, home to the biggest US air base outside America. These treaties opened doors for Iranian troops to be stationed in all three countries. According to debkafile's military sources, they are already present in Syria and Lebanon. story
February 28, 2010
An Israeli delegation that traveled to Beijing last week presented detailed intelligence on Iran's nuclear program in an attempt to persuade China that Tehran seeks atomic weapons, a senior diplomatic source told Haaretz. story
In a rant that reeked of old-fashioned anti-Semitism, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday that the "Zionist regime" was seeking to control the world. story
There is something provocative in Syria's behavior over the last few weeks. Compared with Iran, the messages coming out of Damascus are still moderate. But the Syrians certainly seem attracted by the Iranian strategy of baiting the West. story
Israel has begun distributing new gas masks to its 7 million citizens to offer protection against a possible chemical attack. story
Israel's eastern neighbor makes a call for action: King Abdullah of Jordan said Sunday that the international community must take immediate measures to protect the holy sites in east Jerusalem from unilateral moves on Israel's part. story
China should build the world's strongest military and move swiftly to topple the United States as the global "champion," a senior Chinese PLA officer says in a new book reflecting swelling nationalist ambitions. story
February 26, 2010
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund, suggested Friday the organization might one day be called on to provide countries with a global reserve currency that would serve as an alternative to the U.S. dollar. story
When Iran was caught last September building a secret, underground nuclear enrichment plant at a military base near the city of Qum, the country’s leaders insisted they had no other choice. With its nuclear facilities under constant threat of attack, they said, only a fool would leave them out in the open. story
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday evening joined Syrian President Bashar Assad for dinner in Damascus. The meal was also attended by other Syrian officials. There was no official statement about the issues discussed during the event. story
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Syria’s President Bashar Assad on Thursday together unleashed vicious rhetoric against Israel, with Ahmadinejad declaring that the “criminal” state of Israel is doomed, and Assad charging that Israel “is capable of aggression at any point.” story
The Palestinian Authority has warned that it may abandon its support of the 1993 Oslo Accords, which outlines a two-state solution to the conflict with Israel, and instead pursue the creation of a binational state between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea, according to a document drafted by the PA's veteran chief negotiator. story
General Staff Headquarters exercise drilled regional commands, branches and functional directorates in the North and along the border with Gaza. story
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad visited Hebron on Friday and prayed at the Cave of the Patriarchs on Friday afternoon, criticizing Israel's decision to add the site and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem to the list of Jewish heritage sites marked for renovation and preservation. story
The organization, The National Body for the Protection of Permanent Rights, aims to preserve the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and the diaspora, including those living in refugee camps. story
Russia will have to respond as it is concerned by NATO's active eastward expansion and the U.S. plans to deploy elements of a missile defense system in Europe, Russia's top military officer said on Wednesday. story
February 25, 2010
Recent meetings between the Obama administration and the Palestinian Authority revealed the White House is on board a Palestinian threat to unilaterally ask the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state outside of negotiations with Israel, a senior PA negotiator told WND. story
Ahmadinejad made the comments during his visit in Syria, where he met with President Bashar Assad, opening a two-day visit that follows U.S. efforts to break up Syria's 30-year alliance with Tehran. story
"A peace deal with Syria could have been signed 30 years ago, as was done with Egypt. It was not us who delayed a deal, it was the Syrians," said Peres. "Syria believed that time would stand by its side." story
Greece has greatly damaged its chances of an EU bail-out by lashing out at Germany over war-time atrocities and accusing Italy of cooking its books to hide public debt. story
While some say a new Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency logo appears to have striking similarities to President Obama's campaign logo and an Islamic crescent, the government agency called that notion a "ridiculous" idea thought up by "people who are just different." story
Evidence is mounting that Chinese sales of US Treasury bonds over recent months are intended as a warning shot to Washington over escalating political disputes rather than being part of a routine portfolio shift as thought at first. story
More than $600 billion of high-yield bonds and loans are due to be repaid between 2012 and 2014, New York-based analysts Oleg Melentyev and Mike Cho wrote in a note to clients. Almost 90 percent of loans outstanding mature in the next five years, compared with an average of 36 percent between 2005 and 2009, according to the report. story
The European Union's high court ruled Thursday that products that Israeli companies make in the West Bank are subject to import duties in the EU because they are not covered by trade agreements the bloc has with Israel or the Palestinian Authority. story
February 23, 2010
Does a Christian Phalange leader in Lebanon know something that Israeli newspaper readers do not know? In a statement published in Lebanon, Dr. Samir Ja'ja claims that Hezbullah may involve his country in a war in the near future. He also warned that the Lebanese home front is far less prepared than its Israeli counterpart for war and therefore the civilian population in his country will bear the brunt of any future round of fighting. story
Iran to 'hide nuclear plants inside mountains'
Iran said on Monday it is considering plans to build two new uranium enrichment plants concealed inside mountains to avert air strikes, drawing condemnation from the United States. story
A member of Lebanon's parliament has called on the country's military to expand its defensive capability through extensive cooperation with Iran and Syria. story
Turkish prime minister says pre-emptive strike on Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities would lead to 'disaster in entire region, would have unforeseeable consequences I would not even want to imagine'. story
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s decision to include Jewish landmarks in the West Bank in the government’s new list of heritage sites is a “severe provocation” that could lead to a new cycle of violence, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said in speech to the Belgian parliament Tuesday. story
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Tuesday called on Palestinians in the West Bank to "rise up" against Israel over a plan to restore two contested holy sites in the territory. story
The British economy will never be the same again and boardrooms are refusing to accept the reality: that is the stark warning that came from a panel of experts today. story
The number of "problem" U.S. banks jumped 27 percent during the fourth quarter of 2009 to 702, the highest level since 1993 and a sign the industry's recovery is still shaky, regulators reported on Tuesday. story
Ballooning debt is likely to force several countries to default and the U.S. to cut spending, according to Harvard University Professor Kenneth Rogoff, who in 2008 predicted the failure of big American banks. story
Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s longtime business partner in Berkshire Hathaway, warns in a new column that the U.S. economic empire is crumbling before our eyes, thanks to federal debt and poor planning. story
Middle East peace talks must be restarted to avoid a “catastrophe,” French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared Monday, adding that he and visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has discussed a new initiative for the region. story
February 21, 2010
Israel's air force on Sunday introduced a fleet of huge pilotless planes that can remain in the air for a full day and could fly as far as the Persian Gulf, putting rival Iran within its range. story
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos have launched an initiative to officially recognize a sovereign Palestinian state in 18 months, even if negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians have not concluded. story
February 20, 2010
Syrian Prime Minister Naji al-Otari on Saturday warned Israel that any new Mideast war would be catastrophic for the region and beyond. story
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is playing a very dangerous game. His years of defiance in the face of international pressure to come clean about Iran's nuclear ambitions is coming to a head. story
In a telephone conversation with the Hezbollah secretary general, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, "In the event of recurrence of [the past] mistakes the Zionist regime [of Israel] must be finished off." He went on to say that "the Iranian nation will stand side by side of the nations of the region and Lebanon in this regard." story
Russia intends to fulfill a contract to supply S-300 air defense missile systems to Iran, Interfax news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Friday. story
A senior Hamas official warned Western nations on Friday not to allow Israeli agents to operate from within their territories. story
We have been warning for more than a year that the U.S. government soon will be confronted by a liquidity crisis and be forced to devalue the U.S. dollar by 50 percent or more. story
States' pension woes only have grown worse in the past year, a new study by the Pew Center for the States finds. This problem can't be laid at the door of the recession. story
The image of banks locking their doors to keep customers from making withdrawals during a bank run is what immediately came to mind when we heard that Citigroup was telling customers it has the right to prevent any withdrawals from checking accounts for seven days. story
February 19, 2010
The Foreign Ministry on Friday urged the international community to impose effective sanctions on Iran as soon as possible. The statement was issued following a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency stating that Iran may currently be working on ways to turn enriched uranium into a nuclear warhead. story
Iranian state TV is reporting that the country has launched its first domestically built destroyer, calling it a major technological leap for its naval industries. story
Arab League chief Amr Mussa said on Thursday that Arab countries would stand by Lebanon if it were attacked by Israel, adding that the situation between the two countries is tense. story
Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Tuesday the powerful Shi'a guerrilla group would hit Israel's Ben Gurion airport if the Jewish state struck Beirut's international airport in any future war. story
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday said that if Israel launches a new war against Hizbullah, the terror group should retaliate strongly enough to "close their case once and for all." story
The chief of Russia's General Staff, Nikolai Makarov, has warned the US against striking Iran over the country's nuclear program. story
February 18, 2010
The UN nuclear agency on Thursday expressed concern for the first time that Iran may currently be working on ways to turn enriched uranium into a nuclear warhead, instead of having stopped several years ago. story
Peres warns of nuclear Mideast
If the world does not unite to stop Iran’s nuclear program, the upshot will be a nuclear Middle East, where ongoing conflicts will be accompanied by nuclear bombs, President Shimon Peres warned on Wednesday during a meeting with Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger. story
Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday reiterated his view that Jerusalem must enter peace talks with Damascus in the near future, prefacing his message with a warning to Syria not to make a military gamble against Israel. story
The lower house of the French parliament has approved a draft bill that will allow the state unprecedented control over the Internet. Although the government says it will improve security for ordinary citizens, civil rights activists are warning of a "new level" of censorship and surveillance. story
Amid growing tensions between the two countries, Chinese officials express unease about the ability of the United States to finance its swelling debt. story
The E.U. doesn't have the power to bail out failing states. story
Economists Predict Cutbacks, Tax Increases That 'Aren't Even Imaginable'. story
South Carolina Rep. Mike Pitts has introduced legislation that would mandate that gold and silver coins replace federal currency as legal tender in his state. story
February 17, 2010
Following his meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and local Jewish community leaders on Monday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu went out to eat with his wife Sara at a Moscow restaurant and coincidentally ran into Greek Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs George Papandreou. story
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday assured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it would hold off on its contract to sell an advanced air defense system to Iran. story
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that Iran's arch-foe Israel was mulling starting a war "next spring or summer" but has yet to make a final decision. story
A warship and a destroyer belonging to the Iranian naval fleet have berthed at Qatar's Doha port upon an invitation by Qatari Naval officials. story
Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh on Thursday emphasized the urgency to set a specific time frame to fulfill the two-state solution, which leads to the creation of an independent Palestinian state. story
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef dedicates his weekly sermon to Purim laws, says 'in every generation we have Hamans. Now we have a new Haman in Persia, threatening us with his nukes'. story
French President Nicolas Sarkozy last week approved the first sale of a Mistral-class assault ship to a foreign nation—Russia. Paris is also considering Moscow's request for three more of these powerful vessels to be built under license in Russia. It's the Kremlin's first major warship purchase from the West since before World War I and the first major weapons sale to Russia by a NATO member. story
The European Commission has said it is seeking answers following allegations that Wall Street investment banks helped Greece hide the extent of its debt. story
Foreign demand for US Treasury securities fell by a record amount in December as China purged some of its holdings of government debt, the US Treasury department said on Tuesday. story
U.S. military experts say the "most likely flashpoint" in Eurasia has become the Caucasus, a strategic location that is grabbing intelligence attention because of the prospect of a border war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a conflict that not only could draw in Russia but also Islamic interests there, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. story
February 15, 2010
Israel does not need American permission to strike Iran, said Shabtai Shavit, former chief of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, in an exclusive interview with Aaron Klein, WND's Jerusalem bureau chief. story
It's bad enough that Greece's debt problems have rattled global financial markets. In the world's largest economic and military power, there's a far more serious debt dilemma. story
February 14, 2010
Lebanon says its army has opened fire on four Israeli warplanes that flew into Lebanese airspace. The Lebanese army said in a statement that its units used anti-aircraft fire Sunday to force the Israeli warplanes out of Lebanese airspace. story
Israel girds for Iran battle
US military chief arriving in Israel Sunday, will discuss implications of Iran sanctions, other options with senior IDF officials; meanwhile, PM Netanyahu heading to Moscow in effort to boost Russian support for sanctions. story
The European single currency is facing an 'inevitable break-up' a leading French bank claimed yesterday. Strategists at Paris-based Société Générale said that any bailout of the stricken Greek economy would only provide 'sticking plasters' to cover the deep- seated flaws in the eurozone bloc. story
During press briefing in Tel Aviv, US army chief hints strike on Iran possible if nuclear talks fail, but adds, 'We are not there yet'. story
Israel Pushing Iran Sanctions
February 12, 2010
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday that Iran had produced its first batch of uranium enriched to a higher level than before, raising fears it may be moving closer to the ability to produce material for a nuclear weapon. story
Osama Bin Laden's Son Warns His Successors Will Be Worse
Osama bin Laden's son has a chilling warning for those who are hunting his father with drones, secret agents and missile strikes. From Omar bin Laden's up-close look at the next generation of mujahideen and al Qaeda training camps he says the worst may lie ahead, that if his father is killed America may face a broader and more violent enemy, with nothing to keep them in check. story
A U.S. high-powered airborne laser weapon shot down a ballistic missile in the first successful test of a futuristic directed energy weapon, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said on Friday. story
Iran’s regime thwarted the opposition’s hopes of turning the 31st anniversary celebrations of the Islamic revolution into another massive protest today. story
The Virgina House of Delegates on Wednesday approved a measure that could protect Virginia residents from overbearing employers, and possibly the apocalypse. story
All those folks calling for a Treasury selloff are seeing their prediction come true. The latest note from Waverley Advisors tells the story. story
First it was Greece. Then came Portugal and Spain, with Ireland and Italy not far behind. The financial crisis has driven up public debt in Europe's common currency zone to such heights that many economists fear the euro could collapse. SPIEGEL ONLINE takes a look at the five greatest risks to the future of the euro zone. story
German chancellor refuses to rescue Greece's ailing economy amid Berlin's domestic austerity. story
Germany's foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, backed the idea of a permanent European army Saturday. While speaking to the Munich Security Conference, Westerwelle said a parliamentary run army would help the EU in its role as a "global player". story
Russia's military policies are aimed at avoiding an arms race and military conflicts, but they should also correspond to real threats which the country faces, Russia's security chief Nikolai Patrushev said in an interview with the Russian government daily. story
We said in early December that the Euro breakup would be the story of 2010, and just over a month in that prediction has shown to be right on. It's even overshadowing (by far) concerns over a China bubble, or at least a China slowdown. story
The problems facing Greece are just the beginning. The countries belonging to Europe's common currency zone are drifting further and further apart, and national bankruptcies are a distinct possibility. Brussels is faced with a number of choices, none of them good. story
February 11, 2010
Syria has been contemplating launching low-grade attacks against Jewish communities in the Golan Heights to pressure Israel into negotiations aimed at relinquishing the strategic territory, a senior Israeli security official told WND. story
China's military stepped up pressure on the United States on Monday by calling for a government sell-off of U.S. debt securities in retaliation for recent arms sales to Taiwan. story
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Thursday that the Islamic republic has produced its first package of highly enriched uranium just two days after beginning the process, and proclaimed that Iran was now a nuclear state. story
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Syrian President Bashar Assad that Israel "must be resisted" and finished off "once and for all" if it launches a military operation in the Middle East, Reuters cited an Iranian report on Thursday. story
February 10, 2010
Evidence has reached debkafile's counter-terror sources that the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800 which crashed after takeoff from Beirut on January 25, killing all 92 aboard, was blown up in mid-air. This was an al-Qaeda operation timed for one month to the day after its failed attempt to destroy an American Northwest airliner bound for Detroit. story
Senior White House officials said the Obama administration is planning to target Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the next round of sanctions meant to curb Tehran's nuclear program, according to a report Wednesday in the New York Times. story
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said that the Iranian nation’s unity will surprise the hegemonistic powers on the 31st anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution. story
Germany is preparing to drop its vehement opposition to a rescue package for Greece, fearing that a rapid escalation of the debt crisis in Southern Europe could endanger German banks and damage the euro. story
In BBC interview, Hariri says Israel making a huge mistake by 'threatening' Lebanon, Syria. 'We will stand against Israel. We will stand with our own people,' he says. story
The new President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, is using the financial crisis sweeping the eurozone to launch an audacious grab for power over national budgets, leaked documents reveal. story
Increasing evidence suggests Moscow's activities in the Far East may be a cover for a containment policy toward China, and that could raise the tension between the two powers despite their united stand on other issues, including Iran, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. story
February 9, 2010
While in Israel, Italy's president of the Council of Ministers, Silvio Berlusconi, proved once again that Italy is one of Israel's most committed allies by suggesting that he would like to see Israel invited to join the European Union. story
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for immediate and crippling sanctions against Iran on Tuesday, on the day it began making higher-grade nuclear fuel. story
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Monday declared that the land-for-peace formula for ending the Middle East conflict has failed and that the time has come to either trade peace for peace, or for Israel to defeat its enemies. story
One of the top leaders of the Yemen-based branch of Al Qaeda urged fellow Muslims in an audio recording posted to the Internet this week to rise up in holy war against all Christians and Jews found in the Arabian Peninsula. story
Most people in American are led to believe by the media that the Palestinian Arabs and the wider Arab world don't like Israel, but don't have any real problem with the US outside of its relations to the Jewish state. story
Social Security's annual surplus nearly evaporated in 2009 for the first time in 25 years as the recession led hundreds of thousands of workers to retire or claim disability. story
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said the U.S. is in no danger of losing its Aaa debt rating even though the Obama administration has predicted a $1.6 trillion budget deficit in 2010. story
February 8, 2010
Iranian media cited Khamenei as telling the head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement on Sunday that Israel's destruction is imminent according to the will of Allah, and that the support of America and certain European nations could do nothing to thwart the Jewish state's downfall. story
Iran says to unveil air defense equal to Russia system
Iran will soon unveil a domestically-made air defence system with at least the same capability as Russia's S-300 anti-aircraft hardware, an Iranian air force commander was quoted as saying on Monday. story
Iran has begun making 'advanced' unmanned drones capable of carrying out 'assaults with high precision'. story
Iran will begin enriching uranium to 20 percent from Tuesday, the Islamic republic's atomic chief announced on Sunday just hours after being told to do so by hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. story
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that Iran is set to deliver a "punch" that will stun world powers during this week's 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution. story
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Monday he hopes to bring Israel into the European Union, at the start of a three-day visit to the Jewish state. Berlusconi brought eight top ministers for a joint cabinet meeting with their Israeli counterparts. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, cabinet ministers and a military honour guard welcomed the Italian delegation. story
The secret transfer of the mobile surface-to-surface Syrian-made Fateh-110 (range 250km) missile to Hizballah sparked the prediction Friday, Feb. 5 from an unnamed US official that cross-border arms smuggling from Syria into Lebanon outside state control was "very dangerous" and "paved the way to war similar to Israel-Hizballah conflict of 2006. story
DEBKAfile Iranian and military sources report the war threats from Damascus this week were backed by massive Iranian airlifts for boosting Syria's missile arsenal. Fresh supplies also reached the Lebanese Hizballah and Hamas in Gaza. Wednesday, Feb. 3, Syrian president Bashar Assad accused Israel of seeking war, while his foreign minister Walid Moallem boasted: "You know that war at this time will come to your cities." story
February 7, 2010
Two Israeli missile boats pass through Egypt's Suez Canal en route to Red Sea, according to Arab media reports; Cairo adopts strict security measures to ensure ships' safety. Egyptian sources estimate vessels headed to Persian Gulf. story
Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has ordered his country's atomic agency to begin the production of higher enriched uranium. story
The inevitable coming of the sovereign debt panic finally engulfed Europe this week as the derisively (or perhaps affectionately) named PIGS spilled their slop on the continent. But Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Spain are hardly worthy of so much attention. In truth, they are little more than the currently favored proxies among the leveraged speculator community (cough) for the larger problem of all sovereign debt. story
February 6, 2010
Syria's official newspaper Tishreen said Saturday that while Damascus is ready to make peace with Israel, it is also prepared for war.
Issuing fierce criticism of apparent threats from Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, a Tishreen editorial said, "The path to destruction could lead to the moment that Israel will comply with its leaders, who have villainy flowing through their veins." story
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told his ruling party on Friday it must pay more attention to ordinary voters, just days after one of the biggest opposition protests in a decade. story
Lebanese sources tell Saudi paper Shiite group fears heightened tensions between Jerusalem and Damascus may lead to Israeli strike. story
A wall of booby-trapped mines has been laid by the Taliban to protect their last strongholds in central Helmand as they prepare to hold off a major allied assault, British commanders have disclosed. story
China's reckless use of antibiotics in the health system and agricultural production is unleashing an explosion of drug resistant superbugs that endanger global health, according to leading scientists. story
Fears of another crisis spiral for the world economy deepened Friday after the Portuguese parliament defeated a government austerity plan, triggering renewed concern that the financial crisis in that country and in Greece could spread through the eurozone and spill across its borders. story
‘What is panic, and what is legitimate? We don’t know at this point’. story
A record 38.2 million Americans were enrolled in the food stamp program at latest count, up 246,000 from the previous month and the latest in record-high monthly tallies that began in December 2008. story
February 3, 2010
Syrian President Bashar Assad said on Wednesday that Israel is not serious about its intentions to make peace with Damascus as evidenced by "its conduct which is leading the region to war." story
In a rare speech to an Israeli audience, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Tuesday that Israel must show the Palestinians that it is beginning to roll back the occupation, and that the way to do that is primarily by stopping both settlement construction and IDF incursions into Palestinian areas. story
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized French President Nicolas Sarkozy of his opposition to Turkey's bid to join the European Union (EU) in his interview with Euronews channel on Sunday. story
In a special interview with Ynet, deputy head of Chinese Embassy in Israel presents her outlook on crisis with Washington, Middle East and Google affair. In respect to Iran, Zhang Xiao'an says sanctions won't help. story
February 2, 2010
US intelligence finds 5,000 Hizballah training to seize Galilee towns
(click map to enlarge)
Jones was not talking out of the top of his head, but on the strength of solid US intelligence gathered over months on detailed war plans Iran, Syria, Hizballah and Hamas have drawn up to send five Hizballah brigades sweeping across the border to seize five sectors of Galilee, while also organizing a massive Israeli-Arab uprising against the Jewish state. Hamas would open a second front in the south and in the east. Syria is expected to step in at some stage. story
Netanyahu risks Muslim wrath over Jerusalem holy site
Will Netanyahu use a court decision to forgo a plan to alter the Mughrabi Gate? King Abdullah of Jordan is distancing himself from Israel's prime minister because of the violation of the status quo in East Jerusalem. The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is waiting in the corner for the slightest provocation against Islamic holy places by the Israeli government. The only trouble Benjamin Netanyahu is still missing is that of the Mughrabi Gate, at the entrance to the Temple Mount/Noble Sanctuary compound. story
In the absence of a peace deal with Syria, Israel could find itself at war with its neighbor to the north, Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned on Monday. Speaking at an annual gathering of top IDF officers, Barak said that it was crucial to open negotiations as soon as possible and while the other side – Syria – perceived Israel as being strong. story
Despite Netanyahu's support of Palestinian state, Likud MKs show up for first meeting of new Knesset lobby whose main objective is to fight PM's policy. story
Two large explosive charges contained in a barrel was discovered on beaches of Ashkelon, Ashdod. story
February 1, 2010
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week traveled to to Poland to commemorate the 65th anniversary of liberation of Auschwitz. Speaking on the actual site of the Nazi death camp, the Prime Minister warned the world of new genocidal threats against the Jewish people and the importance of acting early enough to prevent such threats from coming to pass. In a stunning and remarkable moment, Netanyahu also declared to the people of Europe and the world that the prophecies of Ezekiel 37 have been fulfilled. story
'Iran will deliver telling blow to global powers on Feb. 11'
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the nation will deliver a harsh blow to the "global arrogance" on this year's anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. story
Two top Iranian opposition leaders have called on supporters to protest on February 11, the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, an opposition Web site reported. story
Tension between the US and Iran heightened dramatically today with the disclosure that Barack Obama is deploying a missile shield to protect American allies in the Gulf from attack by Tehran. story
Under intense American pressure, Israel has silently agreed to allow the Palestinian Authority to open official institutions in eastern sections of Jerusalem, a senior official in PA President Mahmoud Abbas' office told WND. story
"Stated another way, even if TARP saved our financial system from driving off a cliff back in 2008, absent meaningful reform, we are still driving on the same winding mountain road, but this time in a faster car," said the report. story
January 31, 2010
Palestinian source says American envoy received message that Jewish state would agree to place additional West Bank areas under Palestinian control in bid to convince PA chairman to resume peace talks. story
CIA director Leon Panetta traveled to Israel last week for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and Mossad chief Meir Dagan, U.S. news site Politico reported on Saturday. The main subject of conversation was Iran, as well as "relations" in general, the website said, quoting an unnamed former official in the Israel government. story
Turkish prime minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan has engineered a fresh assault on the already crisis-laden relationship between Turkey and Israel by putting up members of his ruling AK Islamic party to reveal that Israel ran a secret signals intelligence station from Turkish military headquarters in Ankara for covert surveillance on Iran and Syria. story
Libyan defense minister Younis Jaber arrived in Moscow Tuesday, Jan. 26 to sign a $2 billion military acquisitions deal that makes his country the first in the Middle East to obtain the top-of-the-line S-300 PMU-2 interceptors. story
Greece and EU close ranks, say no bailout
Greek and European Union officials closed ranks on Friday, insisting there was no chance of a Greek default or an EU bailout and that Athens would do whatever it takes to cut its burgeoning deficit. story
New York University Professor Nouriel Roubini, who anticipated the financial crisis, called the fourth quarter surge in U.S. economic growth “very dismal and poor” because it relied on temporary factors. story
Switzerland's justice minister warned in an interview on Sunday that top bank UBS could collapse if sensitive talks with the United States over a high-profile tax fraud investigation fall through. story
January 30, 2010
Claims it instead will focus on being 'defense and deterrence power'. story
Russia urged China to dump its Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bonds in 2008 in a bid to force a bailout of the largest U.S. mortgage-finance companies, former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said. story
CHINA yesterday moved swiftly to punish America for agreeing to sell Taiwan more than £4 billion worth of arms. Furious over what it called an "odious" deal, the Communist regime in Beijing immediately suspended military exchanges with the US and ratcheted up its rhetoric. story
Russia showed off its first stealth fighter jet yesterday, immediately proclaiming it a challenger to American military dominance of the skies. story
In a speech during a conference marking 30 years to the Islamic Revolution, Ahamdinejad reportedly implied that Iran is the top power in the Middle East. "Now the question is who has the last say in the Middle East? Well, of course, the answer is clear to every one," Ahamdinejad said. story
The United States has begun beefing up its approach to defending its Persian Gulf allies against potential Iranian missile strikes, officials say. The defenses are being stepped up in advance of possible increased sanctions against Iran. story
National Security Adviser James Jones said Friday that the US and Israel have a very close working relationship regarding Iran’s nuclear program and called his Israeli interlocutors “very responsible” in their approach. story
January 28, 2010
Iran's supreme leader predicted the destruction of Israel in comments posted on his Web site on Wednesday, in some of his strongest remarks in years about the Jewish state. story
Any future strike at Hizbullah that does not take into account its status as a client of Syria, is unlikely to land a decisive blow. story
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday said that the Palestinians would not accept Abu Dis, a town between Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim that is currently controlled by the PA, as the capital of their future state, but would insist on receiving control over east Jerusalem. story
Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said, "Israel knows that if it attacks Iran, Iranian missiles will turn it into scorched land."
Larijani, who is currently visiting Kuwait, called Gulf States not to allow the US to use the military bases on their territory to attack Iran.
Israel is expected to invest hundreds of millions in developing small satellites that can be launched from an airplane, enabling the Israel Air Force and Intelligence Corps the ability to gather information on specific targets on short notice, IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Ido Nehoshtan said Wednesday. story
On January 26, Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar held a meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The event took place on the 65th anniversary of the Soviet Red Army’s liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp. The conversation touched on the struggle against revisionism of the history of the Second World War, as well as the construction of the Museum of Jewish History. story
January 25, 2010
Pan-Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported on Monday that Syria has begun calling up reserve military forces in anticipation of a full-scale war with Israel. story
Syrian President Bashar Assad met Sunday afternoon in Tripoli with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Official Syrian news agency SANA reported that the two leaders stressed during the meeting that Arab countries must overcome their differences in order to promote their shared interests. story
The world must stop new attempts to destroy the State of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem on Monday. "There is evil in the world, and it doesn't stop, it's spreads," the premier said at the opening of an exhibition which includes the original blueprints of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp. story
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu promised to build in the settlement cities of Ariel and Ma'aleh Adumim, as well as in Gush Etzion, only hours after US special envoy George Mitchell left Israel without showing any tangible signs that he had moved Israel or the Palestinians closer to the negotiating table. story
New intelligence acquired by Germany's BND and reportedly under review in Germany, Israel, the US and the UN in Vienna conclusively shows that Iran's nuclear program has an advanced military offshoot which answers to the country's defense establishment, Der Spiegel reported Monday. story
The West has long been suspicous of Iran's nuclear program. SPIEGEL has obtained new documents on secret tests and leadership structures that call into question Tehran's claims to be exclusively interested in the peaceful use of the technology. story
In the last three days, the governments of eleven countries have scrambled to elevate their preparedness levels for Islamist terror, or enforced extraordinarily stringent security measures. Another six governments have pursued these steps without fanfare. story
Late last year, it became fashionable to predict the dollar's demise. This year, however, shaky state finances within the European common currency zone have many worried about the future of the euro. Even the EU thinks the monetary union could be in danger. story
According to the Labor and Treasury Departments, draft federal regulations will be published for public comment as soon as next week which would "promote" the conversion of 401(k) and IRA accounts to annuities. Make no mistake here: Obama is after your retirement money. The "annuities" will "invest" not in the familiar packages of bond and stock mutual funds but in the Treasury debt! story
January 23, 2010
Hamas will not recognise Israel despite fresh pressures to do so and will give priority to building resistance, the movement's leader Khaled Meshaal said on Friday. story
Russia will continue contacts with radical Palestinian group Hamas as part of efforts to revive Middle East talks, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday. story
Israel is not interested in war with Lebanon, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in a statement Saturday, seemingly in response to a Likud minister's comment that another conflict with Hizbullah was "inevitable." story
French President Nicolas Sarkozy assessed that Israel "would not stand by while Iran develops nuclear weapons," Al Hayat quoted sources close to the French leader on Saturday. story
January 22, 2010
"The Saudis are confident they have a nuclear option via Pakistan," said the security official. "The Pakistani nukes are also Saudi nukes." story
Syria's foremost Muslim leader declared on Tuesday that Islam commands its followers to protect Judaism, according to Army Radio. story
Hamas has accepted Israel's right to exist and would be prepared to nullify its charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel, Aziz Dwaik, Hamas's most senior representative in the West Bank, said on Wednesday. story
January 21, 2010
A newly released Rand Corporation report proposes the federal government create a rapid deployment "Stabilization Police Force" that would be tasked with "shaping an environment before a conflict" and restoring order in times of war, natural disaster or national emergency. story
Move by Turkey gives Putin way to keep treaty organization at arm's length. story
Russia will start up the reactor at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant this year, the chief of Russia's state nuclear corporation told reporters on Thursday. story
Russia’s central bank announced on Wednesday that it had started buying Canadian dollars and securities in a bid to diversify its foreign exchange reserves. story
Next week, or the week after, Barack Obama may well see intelligence reports of tank battalions moving south and west along Israeli highways, and whole infantry brigades setting up camp in the western Negev. story
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is working to end the possibility of a two-state solution by insisting on a continued Israeli presence along a future Palestinian state's borders, chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat told Israel Radio on Thursday. story
January 20, 2010
In an interview with Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai published on Sunday, a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that “if Syria supplies Hezbollah with surface-to-air missiles (SA-2), war will break out and Tel Aviv will directly strike Damascus.” story
American analysts revising national intelligence estimate stating that Tehran halted its nuclear program in 2003, say it is resuming research. story
Iranian exile Mahmoud Karimi Hakak said during a conference in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem that "Khamenei and Ahmadinejad pray five times a day that Israel or the United States would attack its nuclear facilities. It would be a mistake that would unify the public." story
Iranian defense minister warns his country could strike back at war vessels deployed in Persian Gulf. 'The Westerners know well that existence of warships serves as best operational targets for Iran should they undertake military action,' Ahmad Vahidi says. story
French President Nicolas Sarkozy promised Lebanese President Michel Suleiman that he would help "rein in Israel," according to a report Wednesday in the London-based Arabic-language daily Asharq Al-Awsat. story
Iran will unveil three new satellites in February, a report said Wednesday, amid Western concerns that Tehran is using its nuclear and space industries to develop atomic and ballistic weapons. story
Iran has signed a one-billion-euro (1.44-billion-dollar) deal with a German firm to build 100 gas turbo-compressors, an industry official said in newspapers on Wednesday. story
Fears of a euro break-up have reached the point where the European Central Bank feels compelled to issue a legal analysis of what would happen if a country tried to leave monetary union. story
January 17, 2010
A recent discovery — in October of 2009 — has been suppressed by the main stream media but has been circulating among the “big money” brokers and financial kingpins and is just now being revealed to the public. It involves the gold in Fort Knox — the US Treasury gold — that is the equity of our national wealth. In short, millions (with an “m”) of gold bars are fake! story
Report: Contactless payment could wipe out chip and PIN
David Birch of Consult Hyperion, a private consultancy based in the UK, told the Times that the increasing popularity of contactless payment could mean the eventual end of chip and PIN debit cards, just as the popularity of debit cards phased out personal checks in the last century. story
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas urged Washington on Sunday to declare an "endgame" to resolve the decades-old Middle East conflict if Israel does not agree to halt settlement growth. story
January 16, 2010
Mohammad Hassan Rahimian: The economic siege and everything they have done against us... "The plotting of evil will hem in only its authors." The outcome was the opposite. Before the war, we had no military equipment. We have manufactured missiles that allow us, when necessary, to replace (sic) Israel in its entirety with a big holocaust". video
Turkey is determined to sign a contract on strategic cooperation with Russia, Turkish PM Erdogan told Sabah commenting on the results of his Moscow visit. Erdogan told that Russia and Turkey are on the eve of setting strategic cooperation. story
Russia will finish the fundamental renovation at its naval logistics base in the Syrian port of Tartus by 2011, said the Navy's General Staff on Wednesday. story
January 16, 2010
Political directors from the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany will meet behind closed doors to assess Tehran's response to their offer in October to exchange uranium for nuclear fuel and to consider possible next steps. story
Hezbollah leader slams Israeli 'threats,' vows to defeat IDF in case of renewed hostilities on Lebanese border; Israel in trouble, Nasrallah says, promises 'great victory' in case of war. story
For centuries Jews, Christians and Muslims came to Al-Kifl, a small town south of Baghdad, to visit the tomb of the Prophet Ezekiel and pray. story
The U.S. government is facing a staggering amount of unfunded liabilities in 2010, around $3.5 trillion. As I described in my commentary on the Greenspan/Guidotti rule, the only way the government can make the interest payments on this debt (a good deal of which has been acquired in the past 12 months) is by printing money. story
The Obama administration appears to have come up with a novel way of financing trillion-dollar budget deficits – demanding IRA and 401(k) holders buy trillions of dollars in Treasury bonds. story
The World Health Organization (WHO) is considering a plan to ask governments to impose a global consumer tax on such things as Internet activity or everyday financial transactions like paying bills online. story
January 14, 2010
The Federal Reserve should answer to the government and dollars should be good as gold.
Congressman Ron Paul of Texas will be Steve Forbes' guest Monday on Intelligent Investing discussing his new book End The Fed and his attempt, with Congressman Alan Grayson, to secure the right of the Government Accountability Office to audit the Federal Reserve. story
I have felt rather lonely after suggesting in my New Year Predictions that Japan is dangerously close to blowing up on its sovereign debts, with consequences that will be felt across the world. story
Greece and Portugal are likely to suffer a "slow death", as higher debt costs cause the economy to "bleed" economic potential, Moody's credit ratings agency has warned. story
The Israel Defense Forces' Medical Corps held a drill Wednesday to simulate a mass casualty biological weapons' attack in Tel Aviv metropolitan area. story
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan this week warned Lebanese leaders that Israel may be planning an attack on its northern neighbor, Lebanese sources told the London-based Arabic language daily A-Sharq al-Awsat on Thursday. story
Syrian President Bashar Assad is reportedly scheduled to visit the Saudi capital Riyadh, where he is to meet with Saudi King Abdullah. The meeting is rumored to be a prelude to a three way summit also to involve Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The current round of talks is the latest stage in Syria's return from the cold in terms of its reintegration - on its own terms and with no concessions made - into the mainstream of Arab diplomacy. story
January 13, 2010
The Rand Corporation was asked by the US Army to prepare a report recommending whether or not the US Needed a National Stability Police force. Basically a call for American "Brown Shirts" Rand's answer was a resounding yes. story
Israel and the Palestinian Authority are negotiating indirectly via the U.S., Jordan and Egypt to outline a future Palestinian state that would encompass Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Middle East security and diplomatic officials told WND. story
Iran and Russia should switch to their national currencies in joint oil and gas projects, an Iranian oil official suggested on Wednesday as part of bilateral talks on a long-term plan of energy cooperation. story
The minute hand of the famous Doomsday Clock will be moved at 3pm tomorrow afternoon, for the first time in two years. story
January 12, 2010
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Tuesday that Israel would never cede control of united Jerusalem nor retreat to the 1967 borders, according to a bureau statement.
Deputy foreign minister reprimands ambassador for Turkish TV show depicting Mossad agents as baby snatchers, tells reporters he wants it to be seen that ambassador 'is seated below him'. story
Turkey lashes out at Israel
In joint press conference with Lebanese counterpart, PM Erdogan calls on Israel to 'stop violating Lebanese airspace, territorial waters.' On airstrikes in Gaza: What's Israel's excuse this time? story
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus. The two discussed the situation in the West Bank, and Mottaki spoke of the ongoing crimes of the Zionist regime, referring to the closures and daily oppression of the residents. story
Israel's ambassador to Washington, Michael Oren, deemed U.S. special Mideast envoy George Mitchell's vision of peace within two years an "unrealistic goal". Oren told The Washington Post in remarks published Monday that Mitchell's timetable "is unrealistic and might prove counterproductive." story
December was the worst month for US unemployment since the Great Recession began. story
January 11, 2010
The U.S. has a contingency plan for dealing with Iran’s nuclear program if diplomacy and sanctions fail, General David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in the region, said in an interview to be aired today on CNN. story
For some time now, Syrian President Bashar Assad has skillfully developed a new regional strategy. Compensating for Syria's military and economic deficiencies, this strategy has succeeded not only in lifting Damascus's regional isolation, but also in creating fresh options. Two cases in point are Assad's improving ties with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, and his new alliance with Saad Hariri, Lebanon's prime minister. story
The U.S. Army will double the value of emergency military equipment it stockpiles on Israeli soil, and Israel will be allowed to use the U.S. ordnance in the event of a military emergency, according to a report in Monday's issue of the U.S. weekly Defense News. story
The IDF is prepared for the possibility that in a future conflict with Hamas it will be ordered by the government to take over the Philadelphi Corridor in the southern Gaza Strip, which is lined with hundreds of weapons smuggling tunnels, defense officials said on Sunday. story
Herman Van Rompuy on Thursday (7 January) delivered his first official speech as president of the EU council at a party gathering of Bavarian conservatives, just days after the group caused a stir in Turkey with a paper underlining its opposition to the country's membership of the EU. story
January 10, 2010
A major expansion in the role played by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is giving the elite force new economic and political clout, but it could also complicate efforts by the United States and its allies to put pressure on the Iranian regime, according to U.S. officials and outside analysts. story
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday opened the weekly cabinet meeting with a warning for terrorists and those who incite to violence against Israel, vowing to respond decisively and strongly to any attack. story
Just over a year after IDF Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, former OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Yom Tov Samia on Sunday predicted that another war with Hamas was practically inevitable and would take place in the near future. story
Saudi Arabia was putting its weight behind intra-Palestinian reconciliation, and is working to bring Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to meet with Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal in Syria, Channel 2 reported Saturday evening. story
The barrier is meant to keep out “intruders and terrorists,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in the statement, including “illegal workers who try to enter Israel by way of its southern border.” story
"It is clear that no policy would materialize in the Middle East region in absence of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he was quoted by the state news agency as saying. story
Finance minister responds to Mideast envoy George Mitchell's threat to freeze loan guarantees if Jewish state fails to make progress in peace process, says 'we are doing very well without them.' Education Minister Sa'ar: Israel will act in accordance with its interests. story
James S. Chanos built one of the largest fortunes on Wall Street by foreseeing the collapse of Enron and other highflying companies whose stories were too good to be true. Now Mr. Chanos, a wealthy hedge fund investor, is working to bust the myth of the biggest conglomerate of all: China Inc. story
January 8, 2010
On eve of visit to region, American special envoy threatens Israel with sanctions if it fails to advance peace talks, two-state solution. Secretary of State Clinton says working to restart negotiations 'without preconditions'. story
The US does not want to see confrontation with Iran but is still preparing its military for that possibility, America's top uniformed officer said Thursday. story
Hamas in the Gaza Strip will likely find itself increasingly under assault in the coming months both politically and military, including the possibility of another large-scale Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to informed Middle East security officials. story
"Iran and Syria have a joint mission to create a new world order on the basis of justice, humanity and belief in God," Ahmadinejad told visiting Syrian Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Abrash. story
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed continued defiance to the threat of further sanctions on his country on Saturday, saying the Islamic Republic will not be deterred from pursuing its nuclear program. story
In a sign of the growing confidence of the Chinese military, Admiral Yin Zhuo said that the country may set up a base in the Gulf of Aden in order to support missions against Somali pirates. story
January 5, 2010
The nascent Mediterranean Union is "very close" to naming its first secretary general, who will be from an Arab country, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said Tuesday. story
The latest US proposal for Middle East peace envisions a Palestinian state within two years, according to Egyptian officials cited in a report Monday – a goal immediately dismissed by Israel as unrealistic. story
It is interesting that the man who cast aside the US Constitution like a rag, and imposes his own laws without consent, has agreed to allow an international police authority to overrule the US government. Barack Obama signed an Executive Order giving express permission for Interpol to supersede the laws and police authorities of the USA. story
January 3, 2010
Saudi Arabia said on Saturday said Israel was the world's "spoilt child" and got away with what Riyadh said were violations of international law and war crimes without punishment. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal also urged countries to adopt "a firm and serious stance to put an end to the policy of settlements in occupied Palestinian territories and in Jerusalem." story
The London-based Globe and Mail reports that Jordan has asked Canada to seize Israel's 2,000-year-old Dead Sea scrolls that are currently on display in Toronto. The scrolls are on display until until Sunday at the Royal Ontario Museum. story
The European Commission (EC) itself has warned that the finances of half of the Eurozone's sixteen economies are at risk of becoming 'unsustainable', essentially bankrupt. story
The California Legislative Analyst’s Office recently reported that the State faces a $21 billion shortfall in the current as well as the next fiscal year. That’s a problem, a really big problem. My young son would say it was a ginormous problem. In fact, it may be an insurmountable problem. story
January 2, 2010
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas later this month in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, government sources said Thursday. story
A new-look leadership structure designed to streamline the European Union begins in earnest on Friday when Spain assumes the rotating presidency alongside the bloc's first president, Herman Van Rompuy. story
Iran is warning it will produce nuclear fuel on its own if there is no deal to have the West deliver the fuel in exchange for Tehran's enriched uranium by the end of January. story
