Wednesday, February 29, 2012

My Way News - 12 killed as violent storms ravage Midwest, South
My Way News reports: "A pre-dawn twister flattened entire blocks of homes in a small Illinois town Wednesday as violent storms ravaged the Midwest and South, killing at least 12 people in three states. Winds also ripped through the country music mecca of Branson, Mo., damaging some of the city's famous theaters just days before the start of the busy tourist season. The tornado that blasted Harrisburg in southern Illinois, killing six, was an EF4, the second-highest rating given to twisters based on damage. Scientists said it was 200 yards wide with winds up to 170 mph."

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Spiegel Online - US Economist Kenneth Rogoff: "Germany Has Been the Winner in the Globalization Process"
Spiegel Online reports: "In an interview with SPIEGEL, Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff, 58, says it was a mistake to bring all the southern European countries into the common currency. He also argues that Greece should be granted a "sabbatical" from the euro and that a United States of Europe may take shape far sooner than many believe."

Monday, February 27, 2012

My Way News - Catholics ask Israeli leader to help end attacks
My Way News reports: "The custodian of holy places in the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, recalled in his letter sent Sunday to President Shimon Peres that vandals spray-painted 'Death to Christians' and 'We'll crucify you' on the Baptist Church in Jerusalem and similar hate graffiti on a Greek Orthodox monastery in the city."
My Way News - Israeli PM slams Palestinian leader's speech
My Way News reports: "Speaking during a visit to Qatar, Abbas charged that Israel was intending to destroy Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque, which sits atop the remains of the two biblical Jewish temples. It is the most sacred site in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam."
My Way News - US: Afghanistan turmoil won't change US war plan
My Way News reports: "In an echo of the Bush administration on continuing the unpopular war in Iraq, the White House and Pentagon insisted Monday that the wave of violence against Americans will not derail the war strategy in Afghanistan or speed up the calendar for bringing American forces home."
My Way News - Bird flu kills 12-year-old Indonesian boy on Bali
My Way News reports: "A 12-year-old boy has died of bird flu on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, bringing the human death toll in the country worst hit by the illness to 154 since 2005, a health official said. [...] Bird flu has killed at least 347 people worldwide since it began ravaging poultry stocks in 2003."

My Way News - Bird flu, pig flu, now bat flu? Human risk unclear
My Way News reports: "The CDC has an international outpost in Guatemala, and that's where researchers collected more than 300 bats in 2009 and 2010. The research was mainly focused on rabies, but the scientists also checked specimens for other germs and stumbled upon the new virus."

Saturday, February 25, 2012

My Way News - Putin touts nukes, urges US to be more positive
My Way News reports: "Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is touting Russia's nuclear weapons, saying the country has enough strength that the U.S. should seek a more constructive approach to a dispute over European missile defense plans [...] He countered that Russia has new intercontinental ballistic missiles and put two nuclear submarines into service in the past three years."
My Way News - Violence across Syria on eve of constitution vote
My Way News reports: "Syria has defied international calls to halt attacks on rebel enclaves and at least 89 people have been killed nationwide on the eve of a constitutional referendum that the opposition sees as a ploy by President Bashar Assad's regime."
My Way News - 2 US troops shot in Kabul; NATO pulls workers
My Way News reports: "The Taliban claimed responsibility for the Interior Ministry attack, saying it was retaliation for the Quran burnings, after the U.S. servicemen - a lieutenant colonel and a major - were found dead on the floor of an office that only people who know a numerical combination can get into, Afghan and Western officials said."
My Way News - Al-Qaida in Iraq warns of looming war with Shiites
My Way News reports: "A spokesman for al-Qaida in Iraq said Friday that a Sunni Muslim war against Shiites in Iraq is inevitable and threatened relentless waves of attacks like the one a day earlier that killed at least 55 people [...] His comments played on fears of a new surge in sectarian violence two months after the American military withdrawal from Iraq."

Friday, February 24, 2012

My Way News - At least 50 killed in Syria as regime pound rebels
My Way News reports: "President Bashar Assad's forces pounded rebel-held areas in central Syria on Friday, killing at least 22 people, activists said. More than 60 nations meeting in Tunisia asked the United Nations to start planning for a civilian peacekeeping mission that would deploy after the Syrian regime halts its crackdown [...} While the U.S., EU and Arab League have ratcheted up the pressure on Assad, Russia and China have opposed foreign intervention or sanctions against Syria."
My Way News - UN atomic agency: Iran rapidly expands nuke work
My Way News reports: "Iran has rapidly ramped up production of higher-grade enriched uranium over the last few months, the U.N. nuclear agency said Friday, in a confidential report that feeds concerns about how quickly the Islamic republic could produce an atomic bomb. The International Atomic Energy Agency report also said Iran failed to give a convincing explanation about a quantity of missing uranium metal. Diplomats say the amount unaccounted for is large enough to be used for experiments in arming a nuclear missile."

Thursday, February 23, 2012

My Way News - "Friends of Syria" consider ultimatum to Assad
My Way News reports: "U.S., European and Arab officials were meeting in London on Thursday to craft details of an ultimatum to Assad that diplomats said could demand compliance within 72 hours or result in additional as-yet-unspecified punitive measures, likely to include toughened sanctions. The ultimatum is to be presented at a major international conference on Syria set for Friday in Tunisia [...] Russia and China, the two nations that blocked an earlier attempt at a UN Security Council resolution against Assad, reiterated on Thursday their continued opposition to any foreign intervention in Syria."
My Way News - China urges Iran to cooperate with UN inspectors
My Way News reports: "China on Thursday called on Iran to cooperate with U.N. nuclear inspectors, but declined to criticize the country for blocking recent requests for information and visits to sensitive sites [...] Iran, which says it is using nuclear energy only to generate power, this week rebuffed IAEA attempts to investigate allegations that it is secretly working to build atomic weapons [...] China has extensive economic relations with Iran, from which it imports about 10 percent of its oil."
My Way News - Doctors: Myanmar desperate for HIV and TB drugs
My Way News reports: "Doctors Without Borders warned in its report that the situation in Myanmar could worsen after the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria cut funding worldwide because of a shortfall in donations. The money was expected to provide HIV drugs for 46,500 people in Myanmar and help treat another 10,000 sickened by drug-resistant tuberculosis, the report said."

My Way News - Big outbreak of child virus in Vietnam may worsen
My Way News reports: "Vietnam says a large ongoing outbreak of a common childhood virus could worsen this year. The hand, foot and mouth virus has sickened more than 6,000 and killed nine children since January. They died from the strain EV-71, a more virulent enterovirus."
My Way News - Venus, Jupiter, moon offer dazzling night show
My Way News reports: "Stargazers of the world are getting a treat this weekend. On Saturday and again Sunday, Venus, Jupiter and Earth's moon converge for a brilliant night show. Venus and Jupiter already are lining up in the western sky [...] A crescent moon joins the show this weekend for a triple combination. The celestial encounter will be visible from around the world at twilight."
My Way News - EU Council Prez Van Rompuy set to get 2nd term
My Way News reports: "Herman Van Rompuy, who has attempted to guide the European Union through severe financial turmoil, will likely be reappointed president of the European Council at a meeting of the bloc's leaders next week, an EU official said Wednesday [...] But Van Rompuy, 64, has become regarded as a skillful manager of negotiations among the national leaders - a quality essential in an institution where unanimity among the 27 heads of government is required for most major decisions."

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Washington Post - IAEA mission to Iran ends in failure; Iran still defiant
The Washington Post reports: "A spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Agency said a delegation from the U.N. nuclear watchdog would return home after being blocked by Iran from access to key records and sites."

My Way News - Russia warns against "hasty conclusions" over Iran
My Way News reports: "Russia said Wednesday the world should not draw 'hasty conclusions' over Iran's most recent rebuff of U.N. attempts to investigate allegations the Islamic Republic hid secret work on atomic arms, but the U.S. and its allies accused Tehran of nuclear defiance."

Comment: Iran says they have nothing to hide, but their actions show otherwise. They say their nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, just for producing energy. Has Iran been open, transparent, and cooperative with the U.N. authority in charge of "peaceful" nuclear energy projects? No. The failure of this latest initiative by the IAEA means that it's getting harder to make the case that diplomacy and sanctions are having any impact on the nuclear program. An Israeli or U.S. strike on Iran just came one step closer today.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

My Way News - Iran says will strike its foes pre-emptively
My Way News reports: "As pressure mounts over Iran's nuclear program, a top Iranian general warned Tuesday that the nation will pre-emptively strike anyone who threatens it."

Comment: Interesting development, they have adopted the Bush Doctrine. How can the U.S. reciprocate this odd gesture in which they mirror American actions? Perhaps if the U.S. sent students into the streets to protest and shout "Death to Iran" it might help balance things out a bit. Seriously though, the danger of miscalculation is increasing on all sides.
My Way News - Dozens killed in Syria, Red Cross urges cease-fire
My Way News reports: "Food and water are running dangerously low in the besieged Syrian city of Homs, with frantic cries for help from residents amid government shelling that pounded rebel strongholds and killed at least 30 people Tuesday, activists said."
My Way News - Chinese leader visits Turkey, Syria to top agenda
My Way News reports: "Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping was in Turkey on Tuesday, where he was sure to hear from Turkish leaders about their growing concerns over the raging violence in neighboring Syria. Turkey's government says the world cannot remain silent in the face of Syrian President Bashar Assad's brutal crackdown on dissent. But China, along with Russia, has vetoed two Security Council resolutions backing Arab League plans aimed at ending the conflict and condemning Assad's crackdown on protests that killed 5,400 in 2011 alone, according to the U.N."

My Way News - EU and Turkey: talks languish, trade booms
My Way News reports: "If a project has no deadline, is it really a project? What do you call a negotiation process in which the partners can't talk about key issues? These are existential times for Turkey's campaign to join the European Union - an ambitious vision that has become increasingly ambiguous."

Comment: Why will Turkey join the Gog Alliance? Because the EU is fearful of the rising tide of Islamic sentiment in that country and so they are going slow on membership talks. Turkey feels they have earned their place at the table and are now a bit put off at the delay. It won't take much to nudge Turkey into a opposing camp.

Monday, February 20, 2012

BBC News - Eurozone ministers back 130bn-euro bailout for Greece
BBC News reports: "Eurozone finance ministers have reached agreement on a vital second bailout for heavily indebted Greece. The deal, which came after more than 13 hours of talks in Brussels, will provide Athens with loans worth more than 130bn euros (£110bn; $170bn)."
Yahoo! News - Coasts in peril plan ahead for rising seas
Yahoo! News reports: "Scientists warn that by the end of this century, the sea level along North America's west coast will rise by about a meter due to global warming and melting arctic glaciers."
Yahoo News - Iranian ships reach Syria, Assad allies show support
Yahoo News reports: "Russia, China and Iran showed support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday, days before an international meeting likely to pile more pressure on him to step down in the face of an increasingly bloody uprising."

Yahoo! News - Syrian forces fire on Damascus protests
Yahoo! News reports: "Syrian forces opened fire with live ammunition on demonstrators in Damascus overnight, wounding at least four, activists said early Tuesday as unrest continued to spread in the capital."
Yahoo! News - Seoul holds military drills despite NKorea threat
Yahoo! News reports: "South Korea conducted live-fire military drills near its disputed sea boundary with North Korea on Monday despite Pyongyang's threat to respond with a "merciless" attack — a threat it did not immediately make good on."

Saturday, February 18, 2012

My Way News - UK FM: Attack on Iran has "enormous downsides"
My Way News reports: An attack on Iran would carry huge costs, Britain's foreign minister warned Saturday [...] Hague endorsed European efforts to head off any nuclear weapons program through economic and diplomatic pressure."

My Way News - AP Exclusive: Iran poised for big nuke jump
My Way News reports: "Iran is poised to greatly expand uranium enrichment at a fortified underground bunker to a point that would boost how quickly it could make nuclear warheads, diplomats tell The Associated Press [...] Their comments appeared to represent the first time anyone had quantified the time it would take to reconfigure the Fordo centrifuges into machines making weapons-grade material."

Friday, February 17, 2012

My Way News - New malaria method could boost drug production
My Way News reports: "German scientists have developed a new way to make a key malaria drug that they say could easily quadruple production and drop the price significantly, increasing the availability of treatment [...] Malaria cases and deaths have been dropping since 2004, due largely to campaigns to distribute bednets, spray homes with insecticide and make better drugs available. The World Health Organization estimates that at least 655,000 people die of malaria every year, mostly children under 5 in Africa."

Comment: It's nice to have some good news to report on the pestilence front. On the other hand, there's this:

My Way News - Bird flu still a menace in Asia and beyond
My Way News reports: "Thought bird flu was gone? Recent human deaths in Asia and Egypt are a reminder that the deadly H5N1 virus is still alive and dangerous. Vietnam is also grappling with a new strain that has outsmarted vaccines long used to help protect its poultry flocks."
My Way News - Sri Lankan police fire tear gas at fuel protesters
My Way News reports: "Police in Sri Lanka have fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of protesters in the center of the capital protesting higher fuel prices. A wave of protests has swept across Sri Lanka since the government increased fuel prices a week ago because of rising world oil prices."
My Way News - Activists: Nuns, priests arrested in Congo protest
My Way News reports: "Rights groups are denouncing the arrests of nuns and priests and Congo's violent suppression of religious protests against fraud-riddled elections [...] Catholic leaders had called on Christians and others to march Thursday to demand the truth about Nov. 28 presidential and legislative elections."

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Yahoo! News - UN General Assembly condemns Syria
Yahoo! News reports: "The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Thursday for a resolution backing an Arab League plan calling for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down and strongly condemning human rights violations by his regime [...] Russia and China, who vetoed a similar resolution in the Security Council, voted against the General Assembly measure along with North Korea, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba and others who heeded Syria's appeal to vote 'no.'"

Comment: So all the oppressive countries circled that wagons to stand against world opinion and stand with Assad. I think the real prophetic importance of this is that it underscores the status of Russia and China as Mideast power-players, something that will only increase over time.
My Way News - Nigerian underwear bomber gets life in prison
My Way News reports: "Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was the same remorseless man who four months ago pleaded guilty to all charges related to Northwest Airlines Flight 253. He seemed to relish the mandatory sentence and defended his actions as rooted in the Muslim holy book, the Quran [...] Had the bomb not fizzled, nearly 300 people aboard the flight would probably have been killed."
My Way News - Thailand: Iranians' targets were Israeli diplomats
My Way News reports: "Three Iranians detained after accidentally setting off explosives in Bangkok were planning to attack Israeli diplomats, Thailand's top policeman said Thursday in the first confirmation by local officials that the group was plotting attacks in Thailand [...] The plot in Bangkok was discovered when explosives in the men's rented house blew up by mistake Tuesday."

My Way News - Hezbollah leader denies links to recent attacks
My Way News reports: "Hezbollah's leader says the Iranian-backed group has nothing to do with this week's attack on an Israeli diplomat in India, a botched bomb plot in Thailand, or an attempted bombing in the former Soviet republic of Georgia."
My Way News - Source: Greek plan cannot sufficiently reduce debt
My Way News reports: "Current plans to save Greece from financial collapse would still leave the country with debt far above the maximum level set by its international creditors, a European diplomat said Thursday."

My Way News - EU tries to calm nerves in escalating Greek spat
My Way News reports: The debate over what Greece must do to get more rescue loans has sparked a war of words with other eurozone countries [...] increasing distrust and uncertainty over the bailout, unnerving markets as investors worried Greece may not get the expected bailout and could default next month."

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

My Way News - Defiant Iran claims major steps in nuclear fuel
My Way News reports: "In defiant swipes at its foes, Iran said Wednesday it is dramatically closer to mastering the production of nuclear fuel even as the U.S. weighs tougher pressures and Tehran's suspected shadow war with Israel brings probes far beyond the Middle East."
My Way News - Thailand: Iranians planned to attack Israelis
My Way News reports: "Thailand's police chief says the Iranians who were arrested after accidentally exploding their rented home in Bangkok were plotting to attack Israeli diplomats."

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

My Way News - Israel blames Iran for series of Bangkok blasts
My Way News reports: "Israel accused Iran of waging a covert campaign of state terror that stretched this week from the Middle East to the heart of Asia after a bungled series of explosions led to the capture of two Iranian nationals in Bangkok [...] Four Thai civilians were wounded in Bangkok after a cache of explosives ignited at a house, apparently by mistake. One explosion blew off the leg of an Iranian who had fled, carrying what looked like grenades. When police searched the Iranians' home, the bomb squad found and defused two explosives, each made of three or four pounds of C-4 explosives inside a pair of radios."

Comment: Ok, let's see if I follow this, an Iranian living in Bangkok had a bomb or grenade and it went off by mistake, taking off his leg. But Iran says it was not involved. Ok, sure.
My Way News - Iranian boats shadow US aircraft carrier in Gulf
My Way News reports: "Iranian patrol boats and aircraft shadowed a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group as it transited the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. The passage ended a Gulf mission that displayed Western naval power amid heightened tensions with Tehran, which has threatened to choke off vital oil shipping lanes."

Monday, February 13, 2012

My Way News - Bombers target Israeli diplomats in India, Georgia
My Way News reports: "Israel blamed Iran on Monday for bomb attacks on its diplomats' cars in India and Georgia, heightening concerns that the Jewish state was moving closer to striking its archenemy [...] The blast in New Delhi set a car ablaze and injured four people, including an Israeli Embassy driver and a diplomat's wife; the device in Georgia was discovered and safely defused."
My Way News - Greece surveys riot damage after austerity vote
My Way News reports: "Firefighters doused smoldering buildings and cleanup crews swept rubble from the streets of central Athens on Monday following a night of rioting during which lawmakers approved harsh new austerity measures demanded by bailout creditors to save the nation from bankruptcy."

Saturday, February 11, 2012

My Way News - Syrian army general assassinated in Damascus
My Way News reports: "Gunmen assassinated an army general in Damascus Saturday in the first killing of a high ranking military officer in the Syrian capital since the uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime began in March, the country's state-run news agency said."
My Way News - Faces of protest are as varied as Russia itself
My Way News reports: "The protesters have few illusions that they can stop Putin from winning a March presidential election to remain in power, but for the first time in years Russians are challenging his control and demanding that their voices be heard."

Friday, February 10, 2012

My Way News - Hamas leader visits Iran after outreach to Gulf
My Way News reports: "An Iranian semiofficial news agency reports that the Hamas prime minister of Gaza has arrived in Tehran. The visit may be an attempt by the Palestinian militant movement to avoid snubbing Iran even as it cultivates ties with the wealthy Gulf."

Comment: Internal conflict within Hamas about their future direction should be a good thing, unless the group splinters and the radicals become more, well, radical.
My Way News - Israel successfully tests missile defense system
My Way News reports: "Israel says it has successfully tested an upgraded radar for the Arrow missile defense system, developed with the United States and designed to intercept projectiles that might be fired at the Jewish state from Iran."
My Way News - Diplomat: Russia will keep shielding Assad at UN
My Way News reports: "A senior Russian diplomat signaled Friday that Moscow will again use its veto power at the United Nations to block any resolution aimed at ousting Syrian President Bashar Assad from power."
My Way News - Greek premier says default would lead to "chaos"
My Way News reports: "Greece's future in the eurozone came under renewed threat Friday as popular protests again turned violent and dissent grew among its lawmakers after European leaders demanded deeper spending cuts [...] In central Athens, clashes erupted outside Parliament between dozens of hooded youths and police in riot gear. Police said eight officers and two members of the public were injured, while six suspected rioters were arrested."
My Way News - Report: Iran adds 2 submarines to naval fleet
My Way News reports: "Iran's official news agency reported Thursday that the navy has added two more domestically built light submarines to its fleet [...] In November, Iran said it added three more Ghadir class submarines to its naval fleet. This class of submarine can fire missiles and torpedoes and operate in the Gulf's shallow waters. Iran is believed to have about 12 light and three Russian-made submarines in its fleet, but it does not disclose the total numbers."
My Way News - Europe's cold spell hits Turkey's quake survivors
My Way News reports: "Freezing temperatures and heavy snow in Turkey are making life miserable for the more than 140,000 residents who were left homeless by the nation's devastating earthquake four months ago and who are still living in tents or temporary shelters [...] Elsewhere in Europe the situation has been much worse, with hundreds of people - most them homeless - dying in the cold, and many cities and towns being trapped by much deeper snow."

Thursday, February 09, 2012

My Way News - Sarkozy advises against military strike on Iran
My Way News reports: "French President Nicolas Sarkozy put his reputation as a stalwart friend of Israel on the line Wednesday, warning that military action was no way to deal with nuclear-minded Iran at a dinner hosted by France's main Jewish group - and his likely presidential election rival in the audience."
My Way News - US kills al-Qaida-linked militant in Pakistan
My Way News reports: "A U.S. drone fired two missiles at a house in Pakistan's northwest tribal region Thursday, killing five suspected militants, intelligence officials said. The Taliban identified one of them as a prominent commander who has served as a key link to al-Qaida [...] The strike was the second in as many days in North Waziristan, an indication the drone program is picking up steam again after a slowdown caused by tensions with Pakistan over accidental American airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last year."

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

My Way News - City of Homs becomes focus of Syria's uprising
My Way News reports: "Homs has become the focus of the worst violence of the 11-month-old uprising, which appears to be morphing into a civil war with fearsome sectarian overtones. Syria's third-largest city has become the major center of both resistance and reprisal, fueled in part by increasingly bold army defectors who want to bring down President Bashar Assad's autocratic regime by force."

My Way News - EU threatens new sanctions on Syria
My Way News reports: "The European Union will impose harsher sanctions on Syria, a senior EU official said Wednesday, as Russia tried to broker talks between the vice president and the opposition to calm violence."

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

My Way News - Russia pushes Syria reforms as bloodshed mounts
My Way News reports: "Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov flew into Damascus on Tuesday, accompanied by his foreign security chief, to try to boost a plan that would keep Assad in power [...] Syria has been a key Russian ally since Soviet times, and Moscow remains a major arms supplier to Damascus even as Assad unleashes his forces to crush not only peaceful protesters, but army defectors who are fighting the regime."
My Way News - Iran calls new US sanctions "psychological war"
My Way News reports: "Washington ordered the new penalties on Monday, giving U.S. banks additional powers to freeze assets linked to the Iranian government and close loopholes that officials say Iran has used to move money despite earlier restrictions imposed by the U.S. and Europe."

Monday, February 06, 2012

My Way News - Just a bluff? Fears grow of Israeli attack on Iran
My Way News reports: "For the first time in nearly two decades of escalating tensions over Iran's nuclear program, world leaders are genuinely concerned that an Israeli military attack on the Islamic Republic could be imminent - an action that many fear might trigger a wider war, terrorism and global economic havoc [...] Israel views Iran as a mortal threat, citing Iranian calls for Israel's destruction, Iran's support for anti-Israel militant groups and Iranian missile technology capable of hitting Israel. On Friday, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called Israel a 'cancerous tumor that should be cut and will be cut,' and boasted of supporting any group that will challenge the Jewish state."
My Way News - Mo. teen killer had troubled family, depression
My Way News reports: "A Missouri teenager who admitted stabbing, strangling and slitting the throat of a young neighbor girl wrote in her journal on the night of the killing that it was an 'ahmazing' and 'pretty enjoyable' experience - then headed off to church with a laugh."
My Way News - US closes Syrian embassy as diplomacy collapses
My Way News reports: "The U.S. closed its embassy in Syria and Britain recalled its ambassador to Damascus on Monday in a new Western push to get President Bashar Assad to leave power and halt the murderous grind in Syria - now among the deadliest conflicts of the Arab Spring."
My Way News - Palestinians take step toward unity
My Way News reports: "After months of wavering, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas took a decisive step Monday toward reconciliation with the Islamic militant group Hamas, a move Israel promptly warned would close the door to any future peace talks."

Saturday, February 04, 2012

My Way News - Russia, China veto UN resolution on Syria
My Way News reports: "Russia and China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at ending Syria's bloodshed, despite international outrage Saturday over a devastating bombardment of the city of Homs by President Bashar Assad's forces. Activists said more than 200 were killed in the bloodiest episode of the nearly 11-month uprising."

Comment: Shame. The vote reveals in very stark terms where Russia and China stand, and it's not with the people, but with the dictatorship.
My Way News - Tens of thousands rally against Putin's rule
My Way News reports: "Their frozen breath rising in the brutally frigid air, tens of thousands of protesters marched through downtown Moscow on Saturday to keep up the pressure on Prime Minister Vladimir Putin one month before a presidential election that could extend his rule for six more years."
My Way News - Iran launches new military exercises
My Way News reports: "Iran began ground military exercises Saturday and defiantly warned that it could cut off oil exports to 'hostile' European nations as tensions rise over suggestions that military strikes are an increasing possibility if sanctions fail to rein in the Islamic Republic's nuclear program."

Friday, February 03, 2012

My Way News - Iranian leader warns US, Israel against strikes
My Way News reports: "Iran's supreme leader pledged Friday to aid any nation or group that challenges Israel and said any military strikes over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program would damage U.S. interests in the Middle East '10 times over' [...] Khamenei affirmed that Iran had assisted groups such as Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas - a well-known policy rarely stated explicitly by Iranian leaders [...] Khamenei called Israel a 'cancerous tumor that should be cut and will be cut' - a remark he has made previously."

My Way News - Iran reports launch of small satellite into orbit
My Way News reports: "Iran successfully launched a new small satellite into orbit early Friday, state media reported, the latest in the country's ambitious space program that has raised concerns in the West because of its possible military applications."
My Way News - Greek debt talks to stretch into weekend
My Way News reports: "Greece desperately needs to secure the second bailout and the bond swap deal that seeks to halve its debt load in order to avoid a catastrophic default within weeks [...] Greece has been surviving since May 2010 on rescue loans from a euro110 billion bailout package from other eurozone countries and the IMF."
My Way News - Top security and defense officials meet in Munich
My Way News reports: "The world's top security and defense officials are gathering in Munich, with uncertainty over the future of the Middle East and the implications of the financial crisis in Europe looming large. The Munich Security Conference begins Friday with officials from more than 70 countries expected to include U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov."

Thursday, February 02, 2012

Reuters - Panetta believes Israel may strike Iran this spring: report
Reuters reports: "Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes there is a growing possibility Israel will attack Iran as early as April to stop Tehran from building a nuclear bomb, U.S. media reported on Thursday."
My Way News - Turkey and Hamas grow close
My Way News reports: "Ties between Turkey, NATO's biggest Muslim member, and Hamas, the Islamic militant group that says Israel should not exist, are blossoming. Last month, the Hamas premier visited the Turkish prime minister at his Istanbul home. Today, Turkish and Palestinian flags fly side by side at a building site in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip."

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Yahoo! News - Russian EU envoy sees no chance for Syria resolution
Yahoo! News reports: "A senior Russian official said on Wednesday there was no chance a Western-Arab draft U.N. Security Council resolution could pass without language clearly ruling out potential military intervention, the Interfax news agency reported."
Yahoo! News - Panetta: US combat in Afghanistan to end next year
My Way News reports: "Defense Secretary Leon Panetta laid out the administration's most explicit portrayal of the U.S. drawdown in Afghanistan, saying Wednesday that U.S. and other international forces in Afghanistan expect to end their combat role in 2013 and continue a training and advisory role with Afghan forces through 2014."

Yahoo! News - Taliban vows to retake Afghanistan: report
Yahoo! News reports: The Taliban, backed by Pakistan, remains confident despite a decade of NATO efforts that it will retake control of Afghanistan, NATO said in a new classified report that raises more questions about Afghanistan's future as foreign forces withdraw.