Tuesday, November 30, 2010

My Way News - PM says Palestinians ready for statehood by August
My Way News reports: "Palestinians will be ready for statehood by August, as promised in a two-year action plan, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said in an interview Tuesday, dismissing a host of steep obstacles to independence."
My Way News - US says Iran got missile boost from North Korea
My Way News reports: "A U.S. intelligence assessment concludes that Iran has received advanced North Korean missiles capable of targeting Western European capitals and giving the Islamic Republic's arsenal a significantly farther reach than previously disclosed."
My Way News - EU: Iran agrees to Dec 6-7 nuclear talks
My Way News reports: "Iran has agreed to discuss its nuclear program at a meeting next week in Geneva, the European Union announced Tuesday. Saeed Jalili, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, will meet with EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton on Dec. 6 and 7 - the first talks in a year after negotiations bogged down."

Comment: It appears to me that Iran has suddenly realized that not only is the West determined to deal with the Iranian nuclear threat, but Iran's neighbors have been secretly encouraging the U.S. to attack them. Suddenly, negotiations don't look so bad.

Monday, November 29, 2010

My Way News - East Jerusalem housing gets preliminary OK
My Way News reports: "Israel gave preliminary approval Monday for 130 new apartments in disputed east Jerusalem, the area the Palestinians want as the capital of their hoped-for state. Monday's decision by Jerusalem city authorities comes as peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians are at a standstill over building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem."
My Way News - Pakistani court delays pardon for Christian
My Way News reports: "A lawyer says a Pakistani court has barred the country's president from pardoning a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy before it rules on her appeal. Attorney Allah Bakhsha Leghari says the chief justice of the Lahore High Court, Khawaja Sharif, issued the order Monday."

My Way News - Turkey gives orphanage to Ecumenical Patriarchate
My Way News reports: "The spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians was given back the deed to a historic building on Monday in a move hailed as a symbolic but important victory for the formerly dominant church in Turkey [...] Turkey, which is overwhelmingly Muslim and officially secular, has long been criticized by the EU and human rights groups for its dealings with its religious minorities, including the confiscation of property."

Comment:
Some bad news followed by some good news on the persecution front.
My Way News - Scientists trick cells into switching identities
My Way News reports: "Scientists are reporting early success at transforming one kind of specialized cell into another, a feat of biological alchemy that doctors may someday perform inside a patient's body to restore health."
CNN.com - Leaked cables point to vital, volatile U.S. relationship with Turkey
CNN reports: "Dozens of diplomatic cables released by the website WikiLeaks reveal a complex and often difficult relationship between the United States and Turkey in recent years, with persistent anxieties among U.S. officials that long-time Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is prodding the country in a more Islamist direction."
My Way News - Israel says Arabs agree on Iran threat
My Way News reports: "Israel's prime minister said Monday that newly leaked U.S. diplomatic memos provide clear proof that the Arab world agrees with his country's assessment that Iran is the chief danger to the Middle East."

CNN.com - WikiLeaks documents shed light on U.S.-Israel talks over Iran
CNN reports: "Diplomatic cables obtained by the website WikiLeaks show a continuous dialogue between Israel and the United States about the threat posed by Iran, with the Israeli defense minister and other Israeli officials suggesting that 2010 would be a critical year."

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

BBC News - Border clash prompts South Korean missile warning
BBC News reports: "South Korea says it will retaliate with missile strikes against the North if faced with 'further provocations', after an exchange of fire in which two South Korean marines were killed. President Lee Myung-bak was responding to the shelling of an inhabited island close to a disputed maritime border. The South returned fire in one of the worst clashes since the Korean War."

Monday, November 22, 2010

CNN.com - Official: Pakistani Christian woman falsely accused of blasphemy
CNN reports: "A preliminary investigation shows that a Pakistani Christian woman has been falsely accused of insulting the Prophet Mohammed, a government official said Monday."

Comment: That's very good news, praying they release her soon.
My Way News - Israel begins work on Egypt border fence
My Way News reports: "Israel began work Monday on a border fence along its frontier with Egypt that is meant to keep out Islamic militants and African migrants, the Defense Ministry said. Bulldozers were dispatched to three points along the 150-mile (250-kilometer) boundary and Israeli TV showed them clearing patches of land and digging trenches near Egyptian border posts."

Comment: Israel is still building walls...we are still far away from the fulfillment of the prophecy about Israel becoming a land of un-walled villages.
My Way News - Reichstag security tightened over terror concerns
My Way News reports: "Germany closed down the famous glass and steel dome and rooftop terrace of the Reichstag parliament building to visitors Monday over concerns of a possible terror attack. The building, which attracts thousands of tourists daily for its stunning panoramic views of the city, will be shut until further notice, parliamentary spokeswoman Birgit Landskron said."
My Way News - AP Exclusive: Troubles stop Iran nuke enrichment
My Way News reports: "Iran's nuclear program has suffered a recent setback, with major technical problems forcing the temporary shutdown of thousands of centrifuges enriching uranium, diplomats told The Associated Press on Monday [...] suspicions focused on the Stuxnet worm, the computer virus thought to be aimed at Iran's nuclear program, which experts last week identified as being calibrated to destroy centrifuges by sending them spinning out of control."

My Way News - Iran strategy in nuclear talks: Stand its ground
My Way News reports: "In one of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's first major policy speeches back in 2005, he laid out some bedrock principles: Iran will never halt uranium enrichment and the West needs to deal with the Islamic Republic on equal footing. Jump ahead to today, and Iran's stance remains unchanged as it and world powers prepare to resume talks on Tehran's nuclear program on Dec. 5."
My Way News - Leaking Siberian ice raises a tricky climate issue
My Way News reports: "Gas locked inside Siberia's frozen soil and under its lakes has been seeping out since the end of the last ice age 10,000 years ago. But in the past few decades, as the Earth has warmed, the icy ground has begun thawing more rapidly, accelerating the release of methane - a greenhouse gas 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide - at a perilous rate [...] 1.5 trillion tons of carbon, locked inside icebound earth since the age of mammoths, is a climate time bomb waiting to explode if released into the atmosphere."

My Way News - As world warms, negotiators give talks another try
My Way News reports: "The last time the world warmed, 120,000 years ago, the Cancun coastline was swamped by a 7-foot (2.1-meter) rise in sea level in a few decades. A week from now at that Mexican resort, frustrated negotiators will try again to head off a new global deluge [...] The core failure has been in finding a consensus formula for mandatory reductions in countries' emissions of carbon dioxide and other global warming gases, byproducts of power plants, other industries, agriculture and automobiles."

Comment: People have been brainwashed into thinking that human activity is the cause of global warming. Perhaps the first report, and others like it, will remind them that there are plenty of other natural sources of greenhouse gases. Does this mean we no longer need to cut back on emissions? No, of course not, to do damage when we don't have to would be irresponsible. But let's not expect that human restraint will have an appreciable impact on the overall system of natural heating and cooling which takes place over geologic time.
My Way News - Scientist: NKorea has 'stunning' new nuke facility
My Way News reports: "North Korea's claim of a new, highly sophisticated uranium enrichment facility could be a ploy to win concessions in nuclear talks or an attempt to bolster leader Kim Jong Il's apparent heir [...] Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said uranium enrichment activities would violate U.N. resolutions and agreements by North Korea over its nuclear program."

My Way News - Pentagon: New facility speeds N. Korean nuke ability
My Way News reports: "A newly revealed North Korean nuclear facility could speed up that unpredictable nation's ability to make and deliver viable nuclear weapons, the Pentagon's top leaders said Sunday."
Haaretz - NATO planning 'integral' role in enforcing Mideast peace deal
Haaretz reports: "NATO will play an integral role in enforcing a Middle East peace deal, but will not play a direct role in reaching that agreement, the alliance's secretary general told Haaretz this weekend. 'If a Middle East peace agreement is reached, an international military force will be needed to monitor and implement it,' Anders Fogh Rasmussen said."

Haaretz - Former Obama aide: Palestinians receptive to gradual peace deal
Haaretz reports: "Jones went further on the issue on a possible gradualism, saying if the PA 'are willing to agree to this reasonable gradualism in terms of how you get to the final status and that is somehow guaranteed, that it's not something that it's going to take 30 years or 20 years or even maybe even 10 years, whatever that number is -I have a feeling it's no more than 10, but somewhere between 0 and 10.'"

Comment: Seven years sound like a good period of time for a gradual implementation, don't you think? And, of course, NATO will be in hand to keep the peace (not like the UN's ineffectual efforts to keep weapons from Hezbollah in Lebanon).
WND - Experts: Mystery contrail was from Chinese missile
World Net Daily reports: "Although the U.S. Defense Department and North American Aerospace Defense Command have speculated publicly that the unidentified contrail of a projectile soaring into the skies off the California coast – and recorded by a KCBS television crew – came from a jet and posed no security threat to the U.S. [...] Two governmental military experts with extensive experience working with missiles and computer security systems have examined the television video and conclude the mysterious contrail originating some 30 miles off the coast near Los Angeles did not come from a jet – but rather, they say the exhaust and the billowing plume emanated from a single source nozzle of a missile, probably made in China."

Saturday, November 20, 2010

My Way News - Pakistani family seeks pardon for Christian woman
My Way News reports: "The case against Asia Bibi - which started with a spat over a sip of water - has renewed calls for reform of Pakistan's blasphemy law, which critics say have been used to settle grudges, persecute minorities and fan religious extremism."

Comment: Praying for Asia Bibi's release and for all the believers in Pakistan.
My Way News - Israel says US has provided written guarantee
My Way News reports: "The U.S. has given Israel a written guarantee that it won't pressure the Jewish state for additional settlement freezes if it accepts a limited 90 day construction moratorium to revive Mideast peace talks, a top Israeli official said Saturday."
My Way News - Hezbollah says its arms needed to resist Israel
My Way News reports: "Hezbollah's weapons are still necessary to defend the country despite Israel's decision to pull out of a disputed border village, a senior official with the group said Saturday [...] Backed by Iran and Syria, the well equipped group is the strongest armed force in the country and fired some 4,000 rockets into Israel during the 34-day war in 2006."

Friday, November 19, 2010

Reuters - Pentagon says aware of China Internet rerouting
Reuters reports: "The Defense Department is aware that Internet traffic was rerouted briefly through China earlier this year, a Pentagon spokesman said on Friday, referring to what a congressionally appointed panel has described as a hijack."
My Way News - Obama: NATO to erect missile shield for Europe
My Way News reports: "President Barack Obama won NATO summit agreement Friday to build a missile shield over Europe, an ambitious commitment to protect against Iranian attack while demonstrating the alliance's continuing relevance - but at the risk of further aggravating Russia."

Comment: I have mixed feelings about this. If the U.S. believes that Europe is safe behind a missile shield then is it possible that a permissive attitude toward the Iranian nuclear program could develop? Many people assume (especially in Israel) that it's simply unacceptable for Iran to have even one nuclear missile. But, if Europe and Israel are protected by shields, then what's the harm of removing the "attack Iran" option from the table and allowing Iran to have a small nuclear arsenal? I don't agree with this idea and I'm not suggesting that it's likely, I'm just saying that allied acceptance of a missile shield is not necessarily the great advance that it appears to be, not if it leads to appeasement.
My Way News - Satellite appears to show NKorea nuke building
My Way News reports: "North Korea vowed in March to build a light-water reactor using its own nuclear fuel, and two American experts who recently visited the North have reportedly said that construction has begun [...] North Korea is pursuing an arsenal of atomic weapons, so all its nuclear projects are of intense interest to its neighbors and to the United States. It carried out nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, drawing international condemnation and U.N. sanctions."
My Way News - Israel condemns Web list of Gaza soldiers
My Way News reports: "Israel's military on Friday condemned the publication of names and photographs of 200 Israeli soldiers on a website that called them 'war criminals.' Militants in Gaza, meanwhile, fired rockets at southern Israel, causing no casualties, but sparking retaliatory Israeli air strikes that wounded five."
My Way News - Officials find 2,000 fetuses at Bangkok temple
My Way News reports: "On the grounds of a Buddhist temple, dozens of white plastic bags lay in carefully arranged rows. Each sack was knotted at the top and contained the remains of a fetus. Thai authorities found about 2,000 remains in the temple's mortuary, where they had been hidden for a year - apparently to conceal illegal abortions."

Comment: That is a very graphic reminder of the evil of abortion.
My Way News - China church ordains bishop over Vatican objection
My Way News reports: "The Vatican said Thursday it was 'disturbed by reports' that a number of bishops loyal to the pope were being forced by government officials to attend the ordination [...] Recent estimates by scholars and church activists put the number of Chinese Catholics loyal to the pope as high as 60 million - three times the size of the official church."
BBC News - Antimatter atom trapped for first time, say scientists
BBC News reports: "Antimatter atoms have been trapped for the first time, scientists say. Researchers at Cern, home of the Large Hadron Collider, have held 38 antihydrogen atoms in place, each for a fraction of a second."

Comment: Great! When can we expect warp drives?
My Way News - NATO: 2 leaders of al-Qaida linked network seized
My Way News reports: "Two leaders of the al-Qaida linked Haqqani insurgent network were apprehended in overnight raids in eastern and northern Afghanistan - part of the international military coalition's stepped up campaign to kill and capture militant bosses, NATO said Friday."

My Way News - Pakistani officials: US missiles kill 4 in vehicle: "Suspected U.S. missiles destroyed a moving vehicle near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan on Friday, killing four alleged militants [...] The attack by unmanned drones is the second in a week to hit North Waziristan as the U.S. intensifies its search-and-destroy missions in the strongholds of Taliban and al-Qaida-linked fighters who plot attacks on NATO troops across the border in Afghanistan."

Comment: Nice to see some victories emerge from this long war.
My Way News - Namibia suspicious package was a security test
My Way News reports: "A suspicious package found in a Namibian airport near bags bound for Munich was a device designed to test security and didn't contain explosives, officials said Friday. One aviation official said the test was conducted by Namibian police."
WSJ.com - Leon de Winter: Never Again?
The Wall Street Journal reports: "'A New Shoa: The Untold Story of Israel's Victims of Terrorism,' is a hard read [...] it would destroy the prevailing narrative that the Mideast conflict is about land and Palestinian suffering. It isn't. It is about that old sickness, Jew-hatred."

Comment: This is a review of a book that looks to be well worth a read. The book appears to put Palestinian aggression into historical context and refutes the notion that if only they were given some land for a state, all would be well.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

My Way News - Iran says it tested new air defense missile system
My Way News reports: "Iran has successfully tested a newly developed air defense missile system during the country's biggest ever air defense drill, the country's military announced Thursday [...] Iran has been looking to upgrade its air defenses, especially as Israel has refused to rule out an airstrike over concerns by the United States and its European allies that Tehran is developing nuclear weapons."
My Way News - Israel says no building freeze in Jerusalem
My Way News reports: "Israel insisted Thursday it would keep building homes in disputed east Jerusalem, threatening to hold up a U.S.-proposed settlement construction moratorium designed to renew deadlocked Mideast peacemaking."
My Way News - Palestinian militants threaten Israel in Hebrew
My Way News reports: "Palestinian militants inspired by al-Qaida posted a Hebrew-language threat on a radical Islamic website Thursday, vowing revenge for the deaths of two Gaza militants in an Israeli airstrike."
My Way News - NATO fine-tunes Afghan exit strategy at summit
My Way News reports: "NATO is expected to set a 2014 target for handing over security to Afghans at a summit that starts here Friday, as the alliance's appetite for the conflict dwindles after nine years of fighting, growing European war angst, and renewed criticism by Afghan President Hamid Karzai [...] Allied casualties in Afghanistan have reached record levels of about 650 dead so far this year, and the Taliban have spread into parts of the country where they were not active before."

My Way News - UK's Cameron: 2015 Afghanistan deadline is final
My Way News reports: "Prime Minister David Cameron insisted Thursday that British troops will quit their combat role in Afghanistan by 2015, whatever the security conditions or progress made in tackling insurgents."
My Way News - Stuxnet virus could target many industries
My Way News reports: "A malicious computer attack that appears to target Iran's nuclear plants can be modified to wreak havoc on industrial control systems around the world, and represents the most dire cyberthreat known to industry, government officials and experts said Wednesday."
CNN.com - Hong Kong diagnoses first human bird flu case in 7 years
CNN reports: "The first human case of bird flu in seven years has been diagnosed in Hong Kong, health officials said Thursday, urging the public to take precautions."

My Way News - UN: Drug-resistant malaria spreading in Asia
My Way News reports: "The World Health Organization says countries are not doing enough to detect drug-resistant malaria, which is spreading in Southeast Asia. The U.N. health agency says there is evidence that type of malaria has now spread from Thailand's western border with Myanmar to its southeastern Cambodian border."

My Way News - Cholera protesters attack cars in Haiti capital
My Way News reports: "Anti-U.N. violence spread to Haiti's capital Thursday as protesters blocked roads and attacked foreigners' cars over suspicions that peacekeepers introduced a cholera epidemic that has killed more than 1,100 people."

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

CNN.com - U.S. motorcycle missionaries attacked in Haiti
CNN reports: "The Christian Motorcyclists Association came to Haiti to distribute motorcycles to pastors. Instead, angry Haitians, some of them on motorbikes, ended up attacking the 11 American missionaries when they tried to flee this city aboard a big, yellow bus."
My Way News - Israel pullout stirs fear in Lebanon border hamlet
My Way News reports: "Israel agreed Wednesday to pull its troops from the northern half of a village that straddles the border with Lebanon, defusing a long-standing political dispute but frightening villagers who don't want their community divided."
My Way News - Iran says foreign planes violated its airspace
My Way News reports: "Iran said Wednesday that unidentified foreign planes violated its airspace six times as the country kicked off its biggest ever air defense drill but that the intruders were intercepted and forced back by Iranian jets."
My Way News - Despite US effort, Syrian Mideast role on the rise
My Way News reports: "Syria has bounced back from years of international isolation and is wielding its influence in crises around the Middle East, shrugging off U.S. attempts to pull it away from its alliances with Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah."
My Way News - Heavy rain and gales spark floods in SW England
My Way News reports: "Heavy rain and gales sparked floods and landslides in southwest England Wednesday, disrupting travel and trapping people in their homes. Police said they are dealing with a 'major incident,' with flooding in several areas of the coastal county of Cornwall."
My Way News - Pope urges freedom for Pakistani Christian
My Way News reports: "Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday urged the release of a Christian woman in Pakistan facing the death sentence on a charge of blasphemy. Benedict told his weekly public audience that Christians in Pakistan 'are often victims of violence and discrimination.'"
My Way News - Death toll from Indonesia's volcano climbs to 275
My Way News reports: "The number of people killed by a series of eruptions at Indonesia's most volatile volcano in recent weeks has risen to 275. The National Disaster Management Agency said Thursday that the toll climbed after more than a dozen victims succumbed to their injuries - mostly severe burns."
My Way News - Hong Kong officials meet after bird flu confirmed
My Way News reports: "Hong Kong has confirmed its first case of human bird flu in seven years. Health Secretary York Chow said late Wednesday that a 59-year-old woman had tested positive for H5N1 bird flu after returning to Hong Kong from the Chinese mainland, and is in serious condition in a local hospital."
My Way News - NATO: Combat role in Afghanistan could pass 2014
My Way News reports: "NATO may keep fighting in Afghanistan past its 2014 target date for shifting authority to Afghan forces, the alliance's top civilian in the country said Wednesday."
My Way News - Obama bestows science, technology medals
My Way News reports: "From super glue to microchips to digital cameras, President Barack Obama on Wednesday celebrated the brains behind these inventions and other breakthroughs as examples of 'the promise of science.' [...] The medals represent the government's highest honor for scientists, engineers and inventors."
WSJ.com - Crisis of Democracy Faces Euro Zone
The Wall Street Journal reports: "In reality, the political end of the European project is now being completed, having been parked because it was too difficult a subject when the single currency was founded. So Ireland is not just 'linked' to another currency—its independence is no more than notional. In return for its bailout it will lose control over its corporate tax rates, if not this time then a little further down the line. There will be extraordinary oversight not just of budgets but all manner of other aspects of euro-zone countries' economies. That goes well beyond a pooling of sovereignty. If it walks like a government, and it talks like a government, then it probably is a government."

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Reuters - Iran starts biggest air defense war games
Reuters reports: "Iran began what it said was its biggest ever air defense drill on Tuesday to test its ability to deter air strikes, which the United States and Israel have not ruled out to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons."
My Way News - Gunmen kill 2 Christians in northern Iraq
My Way News reports: "Gunmen burst into a home in northern Iraq and killed two Christian men as they sat in their living room, continuing a string of attacks again spreading fear through the dwindling religious minority."

My Way News - Muslims torch Christian homes in southern Egypt
My Way News reports: "Muslims set fire overnight to at least 10 houses belonging to Coptic Christians in a village in southern Egypt over rumors that a Christian resident had an affair with a Muslim girl, security officials said Tuesday."

Comment: Such a great religion of peace, right? I'm wondering where the outrage is? Funny how silly drawings of a Muslim prophet inspire riots and protests all over the world while Christians are murdered and burned out of their homes and the world looks the other way.
My Way News - Lebanon PM: Army to get assistance from Russia
My Way News reports: "Russia will provide the Lebanese army with free helicopters, tanks and munitions in a deal that will boost the country's poorly equipped military, officials said Tuesday. The announcement comes at a time when military assistance to Lebanon is under scrutiny after U.S. lawmakers demanded assurances that American aid will not fall into the hands of Hezbollah."
My Way News - Official: Iran, West agree on timing of nuke talks
My Way News reports: "Iran's foreign ministry spokesman says the country has agreed with the West on the timing of talks about Tehran's nuclear program. Ramin Mehmanparast's announcement Tuesday follows a letter to Iran last week in which EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, suggested the meeting be held in Vienna or Switzerland on Dec. 5."

My Way News - Iran kicks off 5-day air defense war games
My Way News reports: "Iran kicked off five-days of air defense war games Tuesday to display the country's capabilities in protecting its nuclear facilities from possible attack, state television reported."
My Way News - Leading cell phone carriers in mobile payments bid
My Way News reports: "Three of the country's leading cell phone carriers have formed a joint venture aimed at allowing people to make purchases with their mobile phones. And they say the technology they plan to introduce could eventually do away with any need for cash, credit cards or even metro passes - it will all be done with a wave of a cellphone."

Monday, November 15, 2010

My Way News - Netanyahu tries to shore up support for US plan
My Way News reports: "Despite seemingly premature congratulations from President Barack Obama, Israel's prime minister was scrambling Monday to secure enough Cabinet votes to pass a U.S. proposal to halt West Bank settlement construction for 90 days, aimed at restarting peace talks with the Palestinians."
My Way News - Israeli official: Hamas rockets can reach Tel Aviv
My Way News reports: "A senior Israeli intelligence official warned Sunday that Hamas rulers in the Gaza Strip have rockets that can travel 80 kilometers (50 miles) - a longer range than previously reported, which would put the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv within range of its launchers."
My Way News - Report: Iran to hold air defense war games: "Iran is scheduled to begin five days of nationwide air defense war games later this week, state television reported Sunday [...] Iran's armed forces conduct several war games every year and frequently unveil new weapons and military systems during those exercises."

My Way News - Iran: Arms seized in Nigeria a 'misunderstanding'
My Way News reports: "Iran's foreign minister said Monday that the issue of an alleged Iranian arms shipment intercepted in Nigeria was a 'misunderstanding' that has been settled. Nigeria says the artillery rockets and other weapons, found at a Lagos port last month in shipping containers labeled as building supplies, originated in Iran and may have been destined for Nigerian politicians intending violence if they lose in upcoming elections."
My Way News - Isle rows at APEC highlight China's growing might
My Way News reports: "Though not on the formal agenda of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, the summit wrapped up Sunday after a flurry of bilateral meetings that were dominated by territorial disputes among the region's most powerful players - China, Russia and Japan. None appeared to be willing to budge."
My Way News - Karzai remarks raise questions about Afghan war
My Way News reports: "President Hamid Karzai has interfered in corruption cases and even threatened to join the Taliban if foreigners didn't stop meddling. Now he is demanding that the U.S.-led coalition begin reducing its military operations and stop what the military believes is its most successful tactic - night raids against suspected Taliban commanders."

My Way News - Taliban leader: Insurgents waging war of attrition
My Way News reports: "Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar said Monday that the insurgents' strategy aims to increase operations nationwide and battle the U.S.-led coalition in a war of attrition. But in a sign that NATO's campaign against the Taliban may be hurting the militants far more than they have acknowledged, Mullah Omar also appealed for funding from Muslims around the world."
My Way News - Cholera protesters barricade Haiti city, assail UN
My Way News reports: "Protesters who hold U.N. soldiers from Nepal responsible for a deadly outbreak of cholera that has killed nearly 1,000 people barricaded Haiti's second-largest city on Monday, burning cars and stoning a peacekeeping base."
AFP - Stalled Mideast talks delay Mediterranean summit
AFP reports: "A Mediterranean Union summit planned for November 21 in Barcelona has been postponed again because the Middle East peace talks are 'deadlocked', the Spanish government said Monday [...] Launched at a Paris summit in July 2008, the 43-nation Mediterranean Union groups all 27 EU member states with countries in North Africa, the Balkans, the Arab world as well as Israel in a bid to foster cooperation in one of the world's most volatile regions."
Reuters - Facebook takes on Google and Yahoo in Web messages
Reuters reports: "Facebook rolled out an all-in-one messaging service that for the first time allows its half-billion members to communicate with people outside the social network, intensifying a battle with Google Inc and Yahoo Inc for users' Internet time."

Saturday, November 13, 2010

My Way News - Diplomats: US offered incentives for freeze
My Way News reports: "The U.S. has offered Israel an incentive package to reinstate a moratorium on West Bank settlement building in an effort to revive stalled peace talks [...] the deal stipulates that Israel would stop settlement construction for 90 days in the West Bank. The moratorium would not apply to east Jerusalem. The U.S. will not ask Israel to extend the new moratorium when it expires [...] the incentive package includes U.S. commitments to fight international resolutions critical of Israel. In addition [...] the U.S. Administration will ask congress to supply 20 F35 stealth fighter jets to Israel in a $3 billion deal."
My Way News - Japan, China leaders meet amid tensions, protests
My Way News reports: "The leaders of Japan and China met on the sidelines of a Pacific Rim summit for their first formal talks since a territorial dispute erupted two months ago that badly strained ties between the Asian neighbors."
My Way News - Japan's PM: APEC to move forward on freer trade
My Way News reports: "Asian-Pacific leaders have ended a summit with pledges to press ahead with moves toward freer trade, with an eventual goal of a region-wide free trade zone. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Sunday that the 21 members had vowed to work for sustainable, better quality growth."
My Way News - Small quake shakes Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic
My Way News reports: "A 5.6-magnitude earthquake has shaken buildings in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic but caused no damage. The quake happened early Saturday in the Mona Passage between the U.S. Caribbean territory and the island of Hispaniola, which the Dominican Republic shares with Haiti."
My Way News - AP source: WH moves to break impasse on arms pact
My Way News reports: "In a bid to win approval of a nuclear arms control treaty with Russia before newly energized Republicans increase their clout in the Senate, the Obama administration is offering [...] a boost of $4.1 billion in funding between 2012-2016 for the nuclear weapons complex that will go to maintaining and modernizing the arsenal and the laboratories that oversee that effort."
Reuters - Israel's Netanyahu unveils U.S. plan for new talks
Reuters reports: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed senior ministers a U.S. plan for resuming peace talks with Palestinians, including a 90-day settlement freeze, a diplomatic source told reporters Saturday."
Telegraph - Christian woman sentenced to death in Pakistan 'for blasphemy'
The Telegraph reports: "A Christian woman has been sentenced to hang in Pakistan after being convicted of defaming the Prophet Mohammed [...] Asia Bibi, a 45-year-old mother-of-five, denies blasphemy and told investigators that she was being persecuted for her faith in a country where Christians face routine harassment and discrimination."

Friday, November 12, 2010

My Way News - Spike in dengue has Brazil on alert for epidemic
My Way News reports: "The country saw a dramatic spike in the number of fatal cases this year: 592 were recorded from January through October, an increase of 90 percent over the 312 dengue deaths recorded during the same period last year, according to figures released Thursday by the Ministry of Health."
My Way News - Iraqis injured in church attack airlifted to Rome
My Way News reports: "Twenty-six Iraqis who were injured in a militant attack on one of Baghdad's main Catholic churches arrived in Rome for treatment Friday, airlifted by the Italian military at the request of the Vatican."
My Way News - Toll from volatile Indonesian volcano rises to 240
My Way News reports: "The death toll in a series of eruptions from an Indonesian volcano has hit 240. The figure has continued to rise since a massive blast on Nov. 5 - the largest in a century - as rescuers have pulled more bodies from smoldering villages, people have died from their wounds and officials have counted deaths indirectly caused by the volcano."
My Way News - Iran arms-smuggling case roils Nigeria
My Way News reports: "Nigeria will take actions against Iran if an investigation shows it violated international law and U.N. sanctions in an arms smuggling case, Nigeria's foreign minister said Friday [...] By shipping arms to the country, Iran may be attempting to 'tweak' Western powers by showing it can influence affairs in a country vital to U.S. oil supplies, said David Bender, a Washington-based analyst who studies Iran for the Eurasia Group."
My Way News - After G-20 rancor, Pac Rim leaders push free trade
My Way News reports: "Leaders from 21 Pacific Rim economies converged on Japan on Saturday for an annual summit to push for free trade, hoping for a show of unity after rancor over currencies soured the Group of 20 meeting a day before."

My Way News - G-20 refuses to back US push on China's currency
My Way News reports: "Leaders of 20 major economies on Friday refused to back a U.S. push to make China boost its currency's value, keeping alive a dispute that raises fears of a global trade war amid criticism that cheap Chinese exports are costing American jobs [...] The dispute is threatening to resurrect destructive protectionist policies like those that worsened the Great Depression in the 1930s. The biggest fear is that trade barriers will send the global economy back into recession."

My Way News - G-20 fallout: Trade barriers, tensions could rise
My Way News reports: "The world's most important economies are going home to look after themselves - leaving their summit without any meaningful agreement, finding it ever harder to cooperate and more likely to erect trade barriers to protect their own interests."

Comment: I'm reminded of that Santayana quote about those who fail to learn from history being condemned to repeat past mistakes. It appears that world leaders, bright as they may be, are about to repeat the same protectionist mistakes that contributed to the Great Depression.
My Way News - US team tours Africa to boost bioterror safety
My Way News reports: "The U.S. officials and experts like Noel Stott of South Africa's Institute for Security Studies say it's possible that terrorists could try to use biological weapons, but Stott noted that no such attacks have occurred in Africa yet. Terrorists would need scientific know-how to handle sensitive pathogens without infecting themselves and to turn them into weapons."

Thursday, November 11, 2010

JPost.com - Israeli-Arab tensions could cancel top level Med meeting
The Jerusalem Post reports: "Tension between Israel and neighboring Arab states has likely lead to the cancelation of a meeting of leaders from European and Arab Mediterranean states in Barcelona scheduled for the 21st of this month, according to diplomatic sources. A statement about the delay of the Union for the Mediterranean Conference had not been issued by press time."

Comment: What really impresses me about the Mediterranean Union is not how unlikely it is as a political or economic cooperation zone, but how closely its borders mirror the borders of the ancient Roman Empire. Food for thought.
My Way News - Palestinian leader: Peace better than settlements
My Way News reports: "The Palestinian president on Thursday appealed to Israelis to choose peace over settlements, saying that opportunities for a peace deal must not be wasted."
My Way News - Lebanon's Hezbollah: We won't accept arrests
My Way News reports: "The leader of Hezbollah said Thursday his militant group will 'cut the hand' of anyone who tries to arrest its members for the death of a former Lebanese prime minister, an explicit warning that comes amid escalating fears of violence in the country."
My Way News - Israel tells its citizens to leave Egyptian Sinai
My Way News reports: "Israel's government on Thursday told its citizens to immediately leave Egypt's Sinai desert because of a kidnapping threat from the Army of Islam, after Egyptian security rounded up suspected militants and confiscated explosives."
My Way News - Bomb rocks Pakistan's largest city killing 15
My Way News reports: "Militants attacked a police compound in the heart of Pakistan's largest city on Thursday with a hail of gunfire and a massive car bomb, leveling the building and killing at least 15 people, authorities and witnesses said."
VOA - G20 Divided on Key Economic Issues
The Voice of America reports: "Leaders of the world's 20 largest economies have gathered in the South Korean capital. They are hoping to reach consensus on how to avert a so-called currency war and set guidelines for reducing trade imbalances. But even the summit's host is acknowledging how difficult agreement may be."

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

My Way News - Iraq's Christians terrorized by wave of bombings
My Way News reports: "Suspected Sunni militants took aim again at Baghdad's dwindling Christian community, setting off a dozen roadside bombs Wednesday [...] Five people were killed and 20 were wounded in the bombings and mortar attacks that targeted Christians across the city, police and hospital officials said."
My Way News - Iran won't talk about limiting nuclear program
My Way News reports: "Iran's president said Wednesday that his country wants to discuss cooperation to resolve global issues and to promote peace and security at nuclear talks with world powers, but won't talk about what it insists is its right to continue nuclear activities [...] The U.S. and its allies suspect Iran's nuclear program is aimed at producing weapons, though Iran denies this and says it only wants to generate power."

My Way News - Iran building its own anti-aircraft missile system
My Way News reports: "Iran is building its own advanced anti-aircraft missile system, after Russia wouldn't sell it one, a top commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard said Wednesday. Gen. Mohammad Hasan Mansourian said Iran will soon test its own version of the S-300 missile system, which is still being developed at military industrial sites, the official IRNA news agency reported."

Comment: In other words, they are happy to talk and even cooperate on almost any other issue than the nuclear issue. Great. I wonder if the situation will change if they keep the sanctions going for another year or two or three?
My Way News - Japan may form new unit to watch China navy
My Way News reports: "Japan's military may form a new unit to monitor Chinese naval operations, a move to counter what many Japanese strategists see as an increasingly aggressive stance by Beijing in the East China Sea [...] Tokyo is deeply concerned over the growth of the Chinese navy and its posture in the East China Sea, where the two countries have conflicting territorial claims."
My Way News - Afghanistan: 10 killed, including 3 NATO troops
My Way News reports: "A suicide car bomb exploded in the middle of a bazaar killing two people, in a string of attacks across Afghanistan that left 10 dead, including three NATO service members and five Afghan policemen, officials said Wednesday."

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Reuters - G20 officials fight over currencies and imbalances
Reuters reports: "An all-day G20 planning session grew so intense that officials had to leave the door open to keep the room from overheating, underscoring deep tensions over global economic rebalancing one day before the start of a summit."
My Way News - Surge of cholera feared in Haiti's crowded capital
My Way News reports: "Health workers feared a surge of cholera cases in the shantytowns and muddy tent camps of Haiti's capital as suspected cases piled up Tuesday and a laboratory confirmed cases that originated in the overcrowded city."
My Way News - Pentagon can't explain 'missile' off California
My Way News reports: "The Pentagon said Tuesday it did not know what created a vapor trail that crossed the skies off the Southern California coast and resembled a missile launch."
My Way News - Thinning ozone could be leaving whales sunburned
My Way News reports: "A study of whales in the Gulf of California over the past few years shows that the sea-going mammals carry blisters and other damage typically associated with the skin damage that humans suffer from exposure to the ultraviolet radiation."
My Way News - Vigil honors teen stomped to death in party brawl
My Way News reports: "A fight broke out, and authorities say a woman hit a guy, who investigators say decided not to retaliate against her because she was a woman. But he vowed to strike back against the next man who passed by. That's when Tillman happened on the crowd. Four teenagers swiftly stomped, kicked and punched him to death while dozens of bystanders watched, authorities said."

Comment: Savages. What more can be said?

Monday, November 08, 2010

My Way News - Israel moves ahead with new east Jerusalem housing
My Way News reports: "The Israeli government is moving ahead with plans to build nearly 1,300 apartments in disputed east Jerusalem, an official said Monday, drawing a harsh U.S. response just as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is there for meetings with American leaders."
My Way News - Car bombs in Iraqi Shiite cities kill 21
My Way News reports: "Car bombs struck three Shiite cities in southern Iraq on Monday, killing more than 20 people in an apparent move to derail progress toward forming a new government as political leaders tried to break the eight-month deadlock."
Reuters - Obama backs India's quest for U.N. permanent seat
Reuters reports: "President Barack Obama endorsed on Monday India's long-held demand for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, a reflection of the Asian country's growing global weight and its challenge to rival China."

NYTimes.com - Change Will Not Come Easily to the Security Council
The New York Times reports: "The idea of overhauling the Security Council, even by the slow standards of the United Nations, has been under negotiation for about 18 years with no end in sight [...] But basically the five permanent members have veto power over any proposed overhaul of the council and do little to move it forward."

Comment:
It's an interesting situation, there is a consensus that the present system for global governance and proto-global government is broken and needs to change but those who must approve the change will always be reluctant to do so. I've always felt that the U.N. Security Council could be a fulfillment of the Ten Kings prophecy in the future, but I'm more and more convinced that the ten will come from some other body or alliance that may not even exist at this point.
My Way News - Many flee Indonesia volcano amid fears of eruption
My Way News reports: "Trains, buses and rented autos were crammed with Indonesians leaving a bustling, ash-choked city of 400,000 at the foot of Mount Merapi, which roared again Monday with explosions of volcanic gas and debris."
My Way News - SKorean military on high alert ahead of G-20
My Way News reports: "It's been 60 years since the war began between the communist North and the U.S.-backed South, and there's still no peace on the Korean peninsula. An armistice signed in 1953 maintains the fragile truce monitored by the troops on both sides of the world's most heavily fortified border."

Saturday, November 06, 2010

My Way News - Yemen orders US-born cleric found 'dead or alive'
My Way News reports: "A Yemeni judge ordered police Saturday to find a radical U.S.-born cleric 'dead or alive' after the al-Qaida-linked preacher failed to appear at his trial for his role in the killing of foreigners."
My Way News - Moderate earthquake injures 100 in western Iran
My Way News reports: "Iranian state TV is reporting that a magnitude-4.9 earthquake has injured 100 people in western Iran. The quake struck at 7:22 a.m. local time (0308GMT) Saturday in the town of Dorood, causing damage to residential buildings."
BBC News - Church leader urges Iraqi Christians to quit country
BBC News reports: "A senior Iraqi Christian is to call on believers to quit the country, after gunmen targeted a church in Baghdad. Archbishop Athanasios Dawood, who is based in the UK, will make his appeal during a service at the Syrian Orthodox Church in London. [...] Christians - as ethnic Assyrians - have lived in Iraq since the 1st Century, but following the fall of Saddam Hussein, they have become isolated and the Baghdad government has proved unwilling or unable to protect them."
My Way News - Drug cartels disrupt basic services in Mexico
My Way News reports: "With killings and disappearances to assert their authority, Mexico's drug cartels are beginning to interfere with everyday government activities in pockets of the country, keeping workers off their turf and interrupting some of the most basic services."
My Way News - `Staff of life' wavers under weight of humanity
My Way News reports: "Yields are not keeping up with a world growing hungrier. Crops are stunted in a world grown warmer. A devastating fungus, a wheat 'rust,' is spreading out of Africa, a grave threat to the food plant that covers more of the planet's surface than any other [...] the wheat market is so roiled by bad news and speculators that rising prices may put bread out of reach for millions more of the world's poor."
AFP- US senator sees 'confrontation' with China, war with Iran
AFP reports: "The United States faces a possible war with Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions and a 'period of confrontation' with China over its currency, a top US lawmaker warned Saturday. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said his fellow conservative, fresh from their historic elections romp this week, support 'bold' action to deal with Iran."

Friday, November 05, 2010

My Way News - Al-Qaida group takes responsibility for mail bombs
My Way News reports: "A Yemen-based al-Qaida group on Friday claimed responsibility for the international mail bomb plot uncovered late last week as well as the crash of a United Parcel Service cargo plane in September."
My Way News - 70 killed in Taliban attacks on Pakistani mosques
My Way News reports: "A suicide bomber killed 67 people Friday at a mosque frequented by tribal elders opposed to the Pakistani Taliban. Hours later, three people died in a grenade attack on another mosque associated with anti-Taliban militia."
My Way News - Indonesia volcano burns whole villages; 118 dead
My Way News reports: "A surge of searing gas raced down the sides of Mount Merapi at highway speeds Friday, setting houses and trees ablaze and blackening the bodies of those caught in its path."
My Way News - Reputed drug kingpin killed in Mexico shootout
My Way News reports: "Mexican security forces killed reputed Gulf cartel leader Antonio Ezequiel Cardenas Guillen, one of Mexico's most-wanted drug lords, in a spectacular, hours-long gunbattle Friday in the northern border city of Matamoros."
Bloomberg - IMF Approves China as Third-Biggest Power, Weakening Influence of Europe
Bloomberg reports: "The International Monetary Fund’s executive board approved a plan that would make China the third- strongest voice in the organization while weakening Europe’s influence to make room for emerging economies [...] After the changes take effect, the fund’s 10 biggest shareholders will comprise the U.S., Japan, Germany, the U.K, France and Italy as well as Brazil, Russia, India and China."

Thursday, November 04, 2010

VOA - Saudi: Nuclear Iran ‘Major International Danger’
Voice of America reports: "A leading member of the Saudi royal family says no one denies a nuclear Iran is a 'major international danger,' but cautioned the United States against taking military action against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program."
Reuters - U.S. military ready for war in cyberspace
Reuters reports: "The U.S. military's new Cyber Command, responsible for shielding 15,000 military computer networks from intruders, has become fully operational, the Defense Department said on Wednesday."
VOA - Palestinians to Give US Peace Effort More Time
My Way News reports: "A top Palestinian official says his government will give the U.S. the 'two to three weeks' it requested to relaunch direct peace talks with Israel, but will not bend on its key demand for a halt to Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank."
My Way News - Iranian protesters bash US and Britain in rallies
My Way News reports: "Demonstrators chanted 'Down with America' outside the former U.S. Embassy and pelted the British diplomatic compound with eggs and tomatoes Thursday in separate rallies held under tight security but without challenges from opposition groups."

My Way News - Iran blocks former president's website
My Way News report: "The website of former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has announced that authorities have blocked it without explanation. A statement on Khatami.ir said a government committee had decided to filter the website, which on Thursday could only be reached from inside Iran through proxy servers."
My Way News - Israel to snub UNESCO in shrine dispute
My Way News reports: "Israel says it will snub inspectors from the U.N. body that preserves world heritage sites during their upcoming visit to the West Bank. UNESCO has defined two sites there as Palestinian mosques. Israel says they are Jewish holy sites as well."
My Way News - Purported video behind China-Japan clash leaked
My Way News reports: "The Sept. 7 collision sparked a high-level tiff with Beijing because it occurred in waters near a group of islands claimed by Japan and China in the East China Sea. Several large anti-Japanese demonstrations have occurred in response across China. The video has raised concerns it could rekindle the dispute ahead of an international summit in Japan next week."
My Way News - New generation of troops inherit long Afghan war
My Way News reports: "Many of the men and women who took part in the initial invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have since left the military and moved on with their lives. The changing of the guard is a graphic and personal reminder that the fighting has dragged on longer than anyone ever imagined."

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Telegraph - UFO tape released after 30-year mystery but fails to explain phenomena
The Telegraph reports: "In the dead of the night just after Christmas 1980, the airmen from USAF Bentwaters air base went to investigate an event in Rendlesham Forest near Woodbridge, Suffolk. The tapes are a vivid account of what they found."
My Way News - Al-Qaida in Iraq threatens attacks on Christians
My Way News reports: "Al-Qaida's front group in Iraq has threatened more attacks on Christians after a siege on a Baghdad church that left 58 people dead [...] The Baghdad church siege was the deadliest ever recorded against Iraq's Christians, whose numbers have plummeted since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion as members of the community have fled to other countries to escape the violence."

The Guardian - Resurgent al-Qaida threatens Christians in Iraq with 'destruction'
The Guardian reports: "Al-Qaida in Iraq has threatened more attacks on Iraq's Christians, claiming that they are legitimate targets who now face the 'doors of destruction'. The warning, published today on militant websites, came three days after gunmen from an al-Qaida front group, the Islamic State of Iraq, raided one of Baghdad's main cathedrals during Sunday mass."
My Way News - Israel military says airstrike kills Gaza militant
My Way News reports: "A senior member of a group identified with al-Qaida died in a fiery car explosion set off by an Israeli airstrike Wednesday, Israel's military said [...] The airstrike took place just outside the headquarters of the ruling Hamas' police force in Gaza City. Another person was injured, Hamas said."

My Way News - Israel takes aim at Palestinian 'incitement'
My Way News reports: "Israel announced Wednesday it will officially monitor 'incitement' by the Palestinians, taking aim at what it says are widespread provocations against the Jewish state that undermine efforts to reach Mideast peace [...] Israel has long claimed that Palestinian leaders promote - or tolerate - hatred in school textbooks, public speeches and their official media."
My Way News - Israel cuts off special dialogue with Britain
My Way News reports: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told parliament Wednesday he will meet next week with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to discuss efforts to revive the talks. Netanyahu will be in the U.S. for a meeting of Jewish leaders. Earlier it was announced he would meet Vice President Joe Biden. Netanyahu expressed appreciation for Washington's role in the peace process."
My Way News - Israel: Iran can build 1 bomb, soon can build 2
My Way News reports: "Israel's military intelligence chief says Iran possesses enough enriched uranium to build one nuclear bomb and soon will have enough to produce a second. Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin's statement coincides with previous assessments from both the CIA and the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog."

My Way News - Iran says West's 'arrogance' could doom nuke talks
My Way News reports: "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments, made in an address to a crowd of thousands in northeastern Iran, cast doubt on any possible progress in talks that Tehran has said it is ready to hold with the six powers - the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany - sometime after Nov. 10."
My Way News - 2 killed, 50 injured in earthquake in Serbia
My Way News reports: "A state of emergency was declared Wednesday in central Serbia after an earthquake rattled the region, killing at least two people and injuring 50. The U.S. Geological Survey said the moderate quake with a 5.3 magnitude struck 125 kilometers (75 miles) south of the Serbian capital, Belgrade, at 01:56 a.m. (0056 GMT) Wednesday."
My Way News - Russia flexes muscles over island spat with Japan
My Way News reports: "Dmitry Medvedev's visit to a disputed Pacific island, despite strong objections from Japan, seemed intended both to stamp Russia's authority in Asia and to strengthen the Russian president at home [...] Russia captured the four islands in the closing days of World War II."
My Way News - Insurgents step up attacks on Afghan forces
My Way News reports: "Taliban militants carried out three attacks against Afghan security forces on Wednesday, targeting a police station, a border patrol and an army checkpoint in strikes that left 12 people dead, officials said. Meanwhile, NATO said insurgents killed two coalition service members in separate incidents in the country's north and south."

My Way News - US missile strikes kill 13 militants in Pakistan
My Way News reports: "American drones launched three missile strikes against suspected militant targets in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing 13 people, Pakistani intelligence officials said."
My Way News - 18 bodies found in Mexico mass grave near Acapulco
My Way News reports: "The kidnapping was one of the biggest blows yet to Acapulco, which has seen an increase in drug-gang shootouts, beheadings and kidnappings. Even Acapulco Mayor Jose Luis Avila Sanchez recently urged residents to stay indoors after nightfall, an extraordinary pronouncement in a city that depends on nightclubs, bars and restaurants."
My Way News - Huge volcanic blast spurs more Indonesians to flee
My Way News reports: "A deadly Indonesian volcano spewing lava and smoke for more than a week erupted Wednesday with its biggest blast yet, shooting searing ash miles into the air as soldiers hastily evacuated villages and emergency shelters."

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

My Way News - Greek police: Suspicious package examined in Italy
My Way News reports: "Greek police say a suspicious package addressed to Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi and found on board a private mail courier company plane is being examined at Bologna airport. The package comes after a wave of mail bombs were sent to foreign embassies in Greece and to German Chancellor Angela Merkel's office."
My Way News - Egypt beefs up security after al-Qaida threat
My Way News reports: "Egyptian police on Tuesday beefed up security measures for a Coptic festival being held in the ancient city of Luxor after a recent al-Qaida threat to Christians in the Middle East, a security official said. The measures came after the deadly attack on a Catholic church in Baghdad that killed 58 people and wounded nearly 80 when militants stormed the church during Sunday Mass."
My Way News - New eruption at Indonesian volcano
My Way News reports: "Indonesia's most dangerous volcano is once again sending searing gas clouds and burning rocks down its scorched flanks. No casualties were reported in Mount Merapi's latest blasts Wednesday, which came as Indonesia struggled to respond to an earthquake-generated tsunami that devastated a remote chain of islands last week."
My Way News - CDC: Haiti cholera matches South Asian strain
My Way News reports: "A cholera outbreak that has killed more than 300 people in Haiti matches strains commonly found in South Asia, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday."
NBC Los Angeles - UFO Sighting Over Knotts Berry Farm?
NBC Los Angeles reports: "Is it a bird? A plane? Or perhaps -- gasp -- a UFO? Those are the questions being asked about an iPhone picture taken at Knotts Berry Farm in Buena Park. 'This photo is extremely creepy,' said Ryan Boone, who claims to have snapped the shot Tuesday before 10 p.m., while waiting in line to ride the Xcelerator rollercoaster."

Monday, November 01, 2010

My Way News - Iraqi Christians mourn after church siege kills 58
My Way News reports: "By the time the siege of Our Lady of Salvation church was over Sunday night, 58 people were dead and 78 wounded - nearly everyone inside the building. The attack, claimed by an al-Qaida-linked organization, was the deadliest recorded against Iraq's Christians since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion unleashed a wave of violence against them."