Thursday, January 31, 2013

My Way News - Israel may feel need to strike Syria again
My Way News reports: "An Israeli air attack staged in Syria this week may be a sign of things to come. Israeli military officials appear to have concluded that the risks of attacking Syria are worth taking when compared to the dangers of allowing sophisticated weapons to reach Hezbollah guerrillas in neighboring Lebanon. [...] In this week's incident, Israeli warplanes conducted a rare airstrike inside Syria, according to U.S. officials who said the target was a convoy carrying anti-aircraft weapons bound for Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese militant group allied with Syria and Iran."
My Way News - US looking at action against China cyberattacks:
My Way News reports: "The Obama administration is considering more assertive action against Beijing to combat a persistent cyber-espionage campaign it believes Chinese hackers are waging against U.S. companies and government agencies. As The New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that their computer systems had been infiltrated by China-based hackers, cybersecurity experts said the U.S. government is eyeing more pointed diplomatic and trade measures [...] A four-month long cyberattack against The New York Times is the latest in a long string of breaches said to be by China-based hackers into corporate and government computer systems across the United States. "

CNN Money - Nations prepare for cyber war
CNN reports: "Security analysts are predicting that 2013 is when nation-sponsored cyberwarfare goes mainstream -- and some think such attacks will lead to actual deaths. [...] Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said recently that the United States reserves the right to use military force against a nation that launches a cyberattack on the country. "

Washington Post - Pentagon to boost cybersecurity force
The Washington Post reports: "The Pentagon has approved a major expansion of its cybersecurity force over the next several years, increasing its size more than fivefold to bolster the nation’s ability to defend critical computer systems and conduct offensive computer operations against foreign adversaries, according to U.S. officials."

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

My Way News - Israeli jets bomb military target in Syria
My Way News reports: "Israel launched a rare airstrike inside Syria, U.S. officials said Wednesday, targeting a convoy believed to contain anti-aircraft weapons bound for Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. The attack adds a potentially flammable new element to tensions already heightened by Syria's civil war [...] U.S. officials said the target was a truck convoy that Israel believed was carrying sophisticated anti-aircraft weapons bound for Hezbollah in Lebanon."
My Way News - UN nixes reports of blast at Iran nuclear facility
My Way News reports: "The U.N. nuclear agency is dismissing reports of a major explosion at Iran's fortified underground nuclear facility. International Atomic Energy Agency spokeswoman Gill Tudor told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Iran's denial of 'an incident' at the Fordo uranium enrichment plant is 'consistent with our observations.' Some news organizations have cited Israeli intelligence reports of a blast at Fordo."
My Way News - French capture Islamists' last major Malian town
My Way News reports: "French forces met no resistance Wednesday in Kidal, the Islamists' last major town, as the two-week-old mission scored another success in its effort to dislodge the al-Qaida-linked militants from northern Mali. The capture of Kidal came just days after French and Malian forces retook two other provincial capitals - Gao and Timbuktu - that also had been under harsh Islamic rule for nearly 10 months. [...] There are 3,500 French troops involved in the operation and 2,900 Africans, according to the latest figures from the French Defense Ministry."
My Way News - China announces naval exercise amid Japan tensions
My Way News reports: "China said Wednesday that its navy will proceed with a deep-water training exercise amid a continuing spat with Japan over disputed islands in the East China Sea that has sparked regular confrontations between patrol boats from each side [...] The exercises reflect China's long-held aspirations to build a navy that can operate far from its shores."

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

My Way News - Timbuktu, ancient seat of Islamic learning
My Way News reports: "Timbuktu, the fabled desert city where retreating Muslim extremists destroyed ancient manuscripts, was a center of Islamic learning hundreds of years before Columbus landed in the Americas [...] The damage caused by the fleeing Islamists was limited, but irreplaceable treasures were lost [...] On Tuesday, Timbuktu was in control of French and Malian troops, including some 250 French paratroopers dropped from the sky. The extremists melted into the desert without firing a shot. Townspeople were jubilant at the city's liberation from intolerant Islamist extremists."

Comment: These Islamic radicals don't even respect their own culture. It's nice to see the media take note, finally.
My Way News - China leader says no compromising sovereignty
My Way News reports: "China will never compromise on its sovereignty, security or development interests, its leader said Tuesday, expressing a firm line on foreign affairs amid territorial disputes with Japan and other neighboring countries."
My Way News - Israel is a no-show at its UN human rights review
My Way News reports: "Israel became the first nation to skip a U.N. review of its human rights record without giving a reason - and then won a precedent-setting deferral Tuesday [...] Israel has gone through one review before in 2008, when many delegations demanded it recognize and respect Palestinians' right to self-determination and a homeland."
My Way News - Egypt army chief warns state could collapse
My Way News reports: "Residents of this Mediterranean coastal city burying their dead from Egypt's wave of political violence vented their fury at Egypt's Islamist president and the Muslim Brotherhood on Tuesday, demanding his ouster and virtually declaring a revolt against his rule, as the head of the military warned Egypt may collapse under the weight of its turmoil."

Monday, January 28, 2013

NYTimes.com - Iranian-American Pastor Given 8-Year Term by Iran
The New York Times reports: "An Iranian-American pastor imprisoned in Iran since September, Saeed Abedini, has been sentenced by a revolutionary court in Iran to an eight-year prison term on charges of disturbing national security by creating a network of Christian churches in private homes, the Iranian Students’ News Agency reported Sunday."
My Way News - Religion comes to Davos forum
My Way News reports: "In a study tracking freedom of religion worldwide over three years, Pew found that three-quarters of the world's population live in countries with tight government restrictions on religious expression. In Pakistan, Islamist groups have pushed through laws that marginalized Christians and other religious minorities. In Egypt, where the Coptic Christian minority has persistently faced discrimination, violence has flared more frequently between Christians and Muslims following the Arab Spring uprisings. Radical Islamists are behind deadly violence in Mali, Nigeria, the Philippines and elsewhere."
My Way News - Egypt in show of defiance against Islamist leader
My Way News reports: "Protesters battled police for hours in Cairo on Monday and thousands marched through Egypt's three Suez Canal cities in direct defiance of a night-time curfew and state of emergency, handing a blow to the Islamist President Mohammed Morsi's attempts to contain five days of spiraling political violence."

Saturday, January 26, 2013

My Way News - China could prove ultimate winner in Afghanistan
My Way News reports: "China, long a bystander to the conflict in Afghanistan, is stepping up its involvement as U.S.-led forces prepare to withdraw, attracted by the country's vast mineral resources but concerned that any post-2014 chaos could embolden Islamist insurgents in its own territory. Cheered on by the U.S. and other Western governments, which see Asia's giant as a potentially stabilizing force, China could prove the ultimate winner in Afghanistan - having shed no blood and not much aid."
My Way News - Iran official: Attack on Syria is attack on us
My Way News reports: "Iran considers any attack against Syria an attack on itself, an advisor to the Islamic Republic's supreme leader was quoted as saying Saturday, the strongest warning to date by a top Iranian official that Tehran will use any available means to keep the regime of President Bashar Assad in power."

Friday, January 25, 2013

My Way News - What's the threat? North Korean rhetoric, reality
My Way News reports: "This week, new U.N. sanctions punishing the North's successful December rocket launch have elicited a furious response from Pyongyang: strong hints that a third nuclear test is coming, along with bigger and better long-range missiles; 'all-out action' against its 'sworn enemy,' the United States; and on Friday, a threat of 'strong physical countermeasures' against South Korea if Seoul participates in the sanctions. 'Sanctions mean war,' said a statement carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency."
My Way News - Angry protests leave 7 dead on Egypt anniversary
My Way News reports: "Friday's rallies brought out at least 500,000 Morsi opponents, a small proportion of Egypt's 85 million people, but large enough to show that antipathy toward the president and his Islamist allies is strong in a country fatigued by two years of political turmoil, surging crime and an economy in free fall. Protests - and clashes - took place in at least 12 of Egypt's 27 provinces, including several Islamist strongholds."
My Way News - Syrian forces escalate offensive in Homs
My Way News reports: "Syria's army unleashed a barrage of rocket and artillery fire on rebel-held areas in a central province Friday as part of a widening offensive against fighters seeking to oust President Bashar Assad. At least 140 people were killed in fighting nationwide, according to activist groups [...] Despite significant rebel advances on the battlefield, the opposition remains outgunned by government forces and has been unable to break a stalemate on the ground."

Thursday, January 24, 2013

My Way News - Gaza teens graduate from Hamas military school
My Way News reports: "More than 3,000 Palestinian teenagers on Thursday graduated from the ruling Hamas militant group's first high school military training program in the Gaza Strip, displaying mock weapons, crawling commando-style on the ground and taking up fighting positions for thousands of cheering supporters [...] Hamas, an Islamic militant group sworn to Israel's destruction, seized control of Gaza from the rival Fatah faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007."

Comment: Training a new generation to hate Israel, that's how much they really want peace. 
My Way News - US protests "State of Palestine" placard in UN:
My Way News reports: "U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice objected Wednesday to the Palestinians' latest bid to capitalize on their upgraded U.N. status when their foreign minister spoke at the Security Council while seated behind a nameplate that read 'State of Palestine.' [...] Rice said that the United States does not recognize the General Assembly vote in November 'as bestowing Palestinian 'statehood' or recognition.' 'Only direct negotiations to settle final status issues will lead to this outcome,' Rice said."

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

My Way News - Rise of Israeli centrist raises hopes for peace
My Way News reports: "The unexpectedly strong showing by a new centrist party in Israel's parliamentary election has raised hopes of a revival of peace talks with Palestinians that have languished for four years under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."
My Way News - Scientists to resume work with lab-bred bird flu
My Way News reports: "International scientists who last year halted controversial research with the deadly bird flu say they are resuming their work as countries adopt new rules to ensure safety."

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

My Way News - Israel: Netanyahu's style marked by caution
My Way News reports: "Israel's hardline prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has emerged as the country's top politician with a cautious approach to peace making, saying Israel can never let down its guard if it wants to survive in a hostile region. This conservative style, which has often enraged even his closest allies abroad, was expected to propel Netanyahu to re-election in Tuesday's parliamentary election."
My Way News - Russia starts evacuating nationals from Syria
My Way News reports: "Key Syrian ally Russia began evacuating its citizens from the country on Tuesday as the civil war gathered momentum in the capital Damascus with intense fighting around the international airport. The evacuation was the strongest sign yet of Moscow's waning confidence in the ability of its ally President Bashar Assad to hold onto power. "
My Way News - After UN acts, NKorea vows 'nuclear deterrence'
My Way News reports: "North Korea swiftly lashed out against the U.N. Security Council's condemnation of its December launch of a long-range rocket, saying Wednesday that it will strengthen its military defenses - including its nuclear weaponry - in response."

Saturday, January 19, 2013

My Way News - Algeria: 32 militants killed, with 23 hostages
My Way News reports: "In a bloody finale, Algerian special forces stormed a natural gas complex in the Sahara desert on Saturday to end a standoff with Islamist extremists that left at least 23 hostages dead and killed all 32 militants involved, the Algerian government said."

Friday, January 18, 2013

Washington Post - Christian stores burned in southern Egypt after Muslim girl allegedly sexually assaulted
The Washington Post reports: "Police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of Muslim protesters trying to storm a Coptic Christian church in southern Egypt Friday, after a word spread that a Christian man sexually assaulted a 6-year-old girl. Witnesses in Marashda village in the province of Qena said several shops and cars owned by Coptic Christians were torched overnight after Muslim villagers accused a merchant in his sixties of molesting the young girl."

Comment: It's really sad to think that all it takes is a malicious rumor to incite mob violence against Christians in Egypt. 
My Way News - Algeria: 12 hostages have died in the siege
My Way News reports: "The bloody three-day hostage standoff at a natural gas plant in the Sahara took a dramatic turn Friday as Algeria's state news service reported that nearly 100 of the 132 foreign workers kidnapped by Islamic militants had been freed. That number of hostages at the remote desert facility was significantly higher than any previous report, but it still left questions about the fate of over 30 other foreign energy workers."

Thursday, January 17, 2013

My Way News - Obama, Netanyahu seem headed for US-Israel clash
My Way News reports: "While the U.S. will not cut off aid to Israel or waver on its commitment to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, Goldberg wrote, Israel might not be able to count on U.S. vetoes at the U.N. Security Council, as it has in the past, when the world lines up against it."

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

My Way News - Its allies reluctant, France goes it alone in Mali
My Way News reports: "France's allies have offered vocal support for the country's military operation in Mali, but when it comes to sending troops or weapons, they are agreeing to the bare minimum: a transport plane here and there, a handful of support staff and a lot of promises to think about it."

My Way News - Mali: French troops begin land assault
My Way News reports: "French soldiers pressed north in Mali territory occupied by radical Islamists on Wednesday, launching a land assault that was to put them in direct combat with al-Qaida-linked fighters 'in one to 72 hours,' military officials said. "

My Way News - Militants seize dozens of hostages in Algeria:
My Way News reports: "In what could be the first spillover from France's intervention in Mali, Islamist militants attacked and occupied a natural gas complex in southern Algeria on Wednesday. Two people were killed and dozens of others, including several Americans, were reportedly taken hostage. "

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

My Way News - French triple troops in Mali, prepare for assault
My Way News reports: "After a punishing bombing campaign failed to halt the advance of al-Qaida-linked fighters, France pledged Tuesday to triple the size of its force in Mali, sending in hundreds more troops as it prepared for a land assault to dislodge the militants occupying the northern half of the country."

Monday, January 14, 2013

My Way News - Protesters clash with police in Pakistani capital
My Way News reports: "Protesters at an anti-government rally have clashed with police in the Pakistani capital. Television footage showed police shooting into the air to push back protesters early Tuesday."
My Way News - No easy exit for French fighting terror in Mali
My Way News reports: "France, breaking its own rules with a surprise military intervention in Mali, raises the specter of an African quagmire in a new theater of the West's war on terror just as France and other U.S. allies emerge from the old one in Afghanistan."

My Way News - A look at what countries are contributing to Mali
My Way News reports: "Here's a look at what countries are providing to help Mali's battle against armed Islamic extremists who have occupied the north since March. West African nations authorized immediate deployment and France launched attacks last week after fighters pushed even further south, toward the capital, Bamako."
My Way News - Jordan's king urges Israel, Palestinians to talk
My Way News reports: "Jordan's king has warned that the failure to revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians is adding to regional tensions. A statement from the royal palace said King Abdullah II told a delegation from the Washington-based American Israel Public Affairs Committee that regional changes tied to the Arab Spring should 'drive' the Israeli government to 'embrace peace.'"

Friday, January 11, 2013

AR1654 is a Monster Sunspot. (And It’s Aiming Our Way.)
Universe Today reports: "Like an enormous cannon that is slowly turning its barrel toward us, the latest giant sunspot region AR1654 is steadily moving into position to face Earth, loaded with plenty of magnetic energy to create M-class flares — moderate-sized outbursts of solar energy that have the potential to cause brief radio blackouts on Earth and, at the very least, spark bright aurorae around the upper latitudes."
My Way News - Al-Qaida presence in Mali, Yemen and Afghanistan
My Way News reports: "As U.S. involvement in one war against the terror movement draws down, there's increasing talk about using force to stop al-Qaida affiliates elsewhere in the world, notably in Mali, Yemen and Somalia."

Student Suspended for Refusing to Wear RFID Tracker Loses Lawsuit | Threat Level | Wired.com

Wired.com - Student Suspended for Refusing to Wear RFID Tracker Loses Lawsuit:
Wired reports: "A Texas high school student who claimed her student identification was the 'Mark of the Beast' because it was implanted with a radio-frequency identification chip has lost her federal court bid Tuesday challenging her suspension for refusing to wear the card around her neck."
My Way News - Whew! Big asteroid no longer threat to Earth
My Way News reports: "Upon further review, a big scary-sounding asteroid is no longer even a remote threat to smash into Earth in about 20 years, NASA says. Astronomers got a much better look at the asteroid when it whizzed by Earth on Wednesday from a relative safe 9 million miles away. They recalculated the space rock's trajectory and determined it wasn't on a path to hit Earth on April 13, 2036 as once feared possible."

Thursday, January 10, 2013

My Way News - Flu season strikes early and, in some places, hard
My Way News reports: "While flu normally doesn't blanket the country until late January or February, it is already widespread in more than 40 states, with about 30 of them reporting some major hot spots. On Thursday, health officials blamed the flu for the deaths of 20 children so far [...] Europe is also suffering an early flu season, though a milder strain predominates there. Flu reports are up, too, in China, Japan, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Algeria and the Republic of Congo. Britain has seen a surge in cases of norovirus."

Wednesday, January 09, 2013

My Way News - India summons Pakistan envoy over Kashmir shooting
My Way News reports: "Kashmir is claimed in its entirety by both India and Pakistan but divided between them. The countries have fought two wars over Kashmir, the only Muslim-majority state in largely Hindu India, but a cease-fire between the two rivals has largely held for a decade. India says Pakistani troops crossed the cease-fire line Tuesday and attacked Indian soldiers patrolling in the Mendhar region before retreating."
My Way News - Quake in Aegean Sea shakes Turkey and Greece
My Way News reports: "An earthquake centered beneath the Aegean Sea shook cities and islands in Turkey and Greece on Tuesday, causing panic in some areas but no injuries or damage, officials said. The Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory said the quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2, occurred at 4:16 p.m. (1416 GMT) off the coast from Turkey's northwestern Canakkale province. The earthquake was felt in the Turkish cities of Istanbul and Izmir, and their environs, officials said."

Tuesday, January 08, 2013

My Way News - Milder temperatures ease Australian wildfire fears
My Way News reports: "Temperatures cooled from record highs across much of southern Australia on Wednesday, reducing the danger from scores of wildfires that have blazed for days. Australia recorded its hottest day on record on Monday with a nationwide average of 40.33 degrees Celsius (104.59 degrees Fahrenheit), narrowly breaking a 1972 record of 40.17C (104.31F)."

Monday, January 07, 2013

CNN Money - Nations prepare for cyber war
CNN Money reports: "Security analysts are predicting that 2013 is when nation-sponsored cyberwarfare goes mainstream -- and some think such attacks will lead to actual deaths."
My Way News - Israeli premier: frontier fence with Syria needed:
My Way News reports: "Israel's premier pledged Sunday to build a fortified fence along the frontier with Syria, warning that radical Islamist forces have taken over the area. [...] Israel worries that Syrian President Bashar Assad might try to draw Israel into the fighting as a distraction if his situation becomes desperate. An even greater concern is a scenario in which Assad is toppled, Islamic extremists take his place and gain control of Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons."
My Way News - Egypt's pope urges Copts to 'not be afraid'
My Way News reports: "Even before the rise of Islamists to power, the Christian minority had long complained of discrimination by the state and the Muslim majority. But over the two years since Egypt's uprising against authoritarian rule, the community has grown more concerned about its future as Islamist political forces, long repressed under the previous autocratic regime, grew more assertive."
My Way News - Hagel nomination unnerves some in Israel
My Way News reports: "Hagel's positions on Israel's two most pressing foreign policy issues - Iran's nuclear program and relations with the Palestinians - appear to be at odds with the Israeli government, and critics here fear the appointment could increase pressure on the Jewish state to make unwanted concessions."

Saturday, January 05, 2013

My Way News - Strong earthquake shakes parts of Alaska, Canada
My Way News reports: "A powerful earthquake sparked a tsunami warning for hundreds of miles of Alaskan and Canadian coastline, but the alert was canceled when no damaging waves were generated. The magnitude 7.5 quake and tsunami warning that followed caused concern in some coastal communities, with alarms sounding and people rushing to higher ground for safety."

Friday, January 04, 2013

My Way News - Iran says it will restart nuclear talks
My Way News reports: "Iran's top nuclear negotiator said Friday his country has agreed in principle to resume international talks on its nuclear program later this month, although a place and date for the negotiations have not been finalized. Iran has been hit by punitive sanctions imposed by Western countries concerned that Tehran is pursuing nuclear weapons. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes."
My Way News - India gang-rape victim's friend recounts attack
My Way News reports: "The suffering of a university student and her male friend who were brutally attacked aboard a bus in India's capital did not end after the woman was gang-raped and both were savagely beaten for 2 1/2 hours. Dumped naked on a roadside, the pair encountered shocking apathy as passersby offered only cursory looks and police debated jurisdiction for 30 minutes before taking them to a hospital, where the man received no treatment as he sat without clothes on the floor for hours, the friend recounted in a television interview."
My Way News - Brotherhood official urges Egypt's Jews to return:
My Way News reports: "Some denounced the Brotherhood for trying to put up a veneer of tolerance by inviting Jews to return while Egypt's other religious minorities, particularly Christians, are increasingly worried about persecution under the new Islamist rulers and an Islamist-slanted constitution."

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

My Way News - India launches new system for handling welfare
My Way News reports: "India will send billions of dollars in social welfare money directly to its poor under a new program inaugurated Tuesday, aiming to cut out the middlemen blamed for the massive fraud that plagues the system [...] The program will eliminate middlemen and transfer cash directly into bank accounts using data from Aadhar, a government project working to give every Indian identification numbers linked to fingerprints and retina scans. Currently hundreds of millions of Indians have no identity documents."