My Way News - Pro-Gadhafi forces fight rebels in 2 cities
My Way News reports: "International pressure on Moammar Gadhafi to end a crackdown on opponents escalated Monday as his loyalists fought rebels holding the two cities closest to the capital and his warplanes bombed an ammunition depot in the east. The U.S. moved naval and air forces closer to Libya and said all options were open, including patrols of the North African nation's skies to protect its citizens from their ruler."

My Way News - Israel's Barak: Must look beyond Mideast risks
My Way News reports: "Israel's defense minister said Monday that his country would be ready to talk peace with Syria if Damascus were serious about doing so - a sharp departure from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's go-slow approach to peacemaking while the Middle East is in turmoil."

My Way News - Netanyahu: Can't ignore pressure over settlements
My Way News reports: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says international pressure against construction in West Bank settlements cannot be ignored, indicating that building could be curbed. Netanyahu spoke to party members in the parliament Monday, after the U.S. vetoed a Palestinian-backed resolution in the U.N. Security Council calling the settlements illegal."

My Way News - Report: Iran opposition leaders jailed
My Way News reports: "Iranian authorities have taken senior opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi to a prison in Tehran, a reformist website said Monday."

My Way News - NZ mourns quake dead with 2 minutes' silence
My Way News reports: "New Zealand held two minutes' silence to mark exactly one week since an earthquake devastated the city of Christchurch. Rescue crews still picking through the rubble retrieving bodies were among those who stopped work and bowed their heads, along with millions of other people across the country at 12:51 p.m. local time Tuesday. The magnitude 6.3 quake brought down or badly damaged office towers, churches and thousands of homes and other buildings in the city of 350,000 in one of New Zealand's worst disasters."

My Way News - Hundreds of thousands protest across Arab world
My Way News reports: "Hundreds of thousands poured out of mosques and staged protests across the Arab world Friday, some trying to shake off autocratic rulers and others pressuring embattled leaders to carry out sweeping reforms."

My Way News - Protesters hit by hail of gunfire in Libya march
My Way News reports: "Protesters demanding Moammar Gadhafi's ouster came under a hail of bullets Friday when pro-regime militiamen opened fire to stop the first significant anti-government marches in days in the Libyan capital. The Libyan leader, speaking from the ramparts of a historic Tripoli fort, told supporters to prepare to defend the nation."

My Way News - Battle at army base broke Gadhafi hold in Benghazi
My Way News reports: "The young men of Benghazi pounded the dreaded military barracks in the city center with everything they could find. They threw stones and crude bombs made of tin cans stuffed with gunpowder. They drove bulldozers into its walls. All under a blaze of gunfire from troops inside that literally tore people in half."

My Way News - Tunisians proud at sparking Arab rebellions
My Way News reports: "Pride is palpable on the streets of the capital six weeks after this tiny, Mediterranean tourist haven toppled its dictator and unleashed a wave of revolt in the Arab world [...] Ben Ali's flight inspired protesters in Egypt, who toppled President Hosni Mubarak. In Libya, Moammar Gadhafi has been waging a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters."

My Way News - Gaza's Islamist rulers hounding secular community
My Way News reports: "After nearly four years of Hamas rule, the Gaza Strip's small secular community is in tatters, decimated by the militant group's campaign to impose its strict version of Islam in the coastal territory [...] In Gaza, defense of human rights and democracy has traditionally been the role of people whose world view is not shaped solely by Islam. Their shrinking influence could undermine those values."

My Way News - UN says has new info on alleged Iran nuclear arms
My Way News reports: "The U.N. nuclear monitoring agency said Friday that 'recently received' information is adding to concerns Iran may have worked on developing nuclear arms. At the same time, a report by the organization - The International Atomic Energy Agency - noted that Tehran continues to stonewall its attempts to follow up on that information, which points to possible experiments with components of a nuclear arms program."

My Way News - Diplomats: Syria evades nuke probe
My Way News reports: "IAEA chief Yukiya Amano had directly asked Syria's foreign minister in November to allow a new visit - in an unprecedented direct request. But a senior diplomat said Friday the foreign minister's response avoided mention of that site, promising only cooperation in vague terms. Other diplomats said that amounts to a rejection of the request"

My Way News - New Zealand earthquake toll at 144 dead
My Way News reports: "Police say the death toll in New Zealand's earthquake has risen to 144. Police Superintendent Dave Cliff told reporters the toll reached 144 on Saturday after more bodies were pulled from wrecked buildings, and that more than 200 people remain missing after last Tuesday's 6.3-magnitude quake."

My Way News - 4 killed in an attack on NATO convoy in Pakistan
My Way News reports: "Militants in Pakistan attacked tankers bringing fuel to NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan on Friday, killing four people in the latest strike on an important supply line to the Western-led war. Around 15 militants armed with rockets and guns stormed a roadside terminal on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Peshawar. At least 12 tankers were set ablaze in the attack, said police officer Liaquat Ali Khan."

My Way News - Jailed Christian convert is freed in Afghanistan
My Way News reports: "An Afghan man who was jailed for nine months for converting to Christianity has been released after an intense campaign by international diplomatic missions and Christian activists, an official said Friday [...] another convert, Shoaib Assadullah, was still in detention in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif."

My Way News - Gadhafi forces strike back at Libya uprising
My Way News reports: "Foreign mercenaries and Libyan militiamen loyal to Moammar Gadhafi tried to roll back the uprising against his rule that has advanced closer to his stronghold in Tripoli, attacking two nearby cities in battles that killed at least 17 people [...] On Tuesday night, Gadhafi himself called on his supporters to hunt down opponents in their homes [...] Gadhafi's crackdown has been the harshest by any Arab leader in the wave of protests that has swept the Middle East the past month, toppling the presidents of Libya's neighbors - Egypt and Tunisia. "

My Way News - Al-Qaida in North Africa supports Libyans
My Way News reports: "An offshoot of the al-Qaida terror network in North Africa has called on Muslims to support the uprising against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb said in a statement posted on a militant website Thursday that it would do whatever it can to support the revolt, but did not give specifics."

My Way News - Clashes in Somalia: Gov't begins long-awaited push
My Way News reports: "Somalia, working with neighboring allied nations, has launched a coordinated offensive against al-Qaida-linked militants that has seen fighting in the capital and two border towns involving Ethiopian tanks, officials said Thursday. Kenyan troops were deployed to a border crossing."

My Way News - Netanyahu warns Hamas not to test Israeli resolve
My Way News reports: "Israel's prime minister said Thursday his country would not tolerate rocket attacks against its citizens and warned the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers not to test his resolve. Benjamin Netanyahu issued the threat a day after a Palestinian rocket struck the largest city in southern Israel for the first time since a bruising Israeli military offensive in Gaza two years ago."

My Way News - AP Exclusive: Iran hunts for uranium
My Way News reports: "Iran is expanding its covert global search for the uranium it needs for its nuclear activities and a key focus is Zimbabwe, says a new intelligence report acquired by The Associated Press."

Comment: It is difficult to believe that anyone seriously believes that Iran only wants nuclear power to produce electricity.

BBC News - Gaza militants fire rockets at Beersheba, Israel
BBC News reports: "A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip has hit a house in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba. The strike on the city was the first since Israel's 2009 offensive in Gaza. No casualties were reported and the situation was said to be under control. Israel responded by carrying out an air strike on eastern Gaza City which reportedly injured three militants."

My Way News - Iran navy chief rebuffs criticism of warship visit
My Way News reports: "Adm. Habibollah Sayyari told reporters upon his arrival in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Wednesday that the frigate Alvand and the supply ship Kharq will arrive on Thursday in the Syrian port of Latakia for a training mission. He refused to say how long the ships would remain in the Mediterranean. The two Iranian vessels sailed through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean on Tuesday, the first such trip in at least three decades, prompting Israeli charges that Tehran is seeking to dominate the Middle East."

My Way News - Europe longs to back Mideast change, fears chaos
My Way News reports: "The promise of EU membership was a key factor in Turkey implementing the democratic, judicial and economic reforms that have transformed the nation into an emerging power. Now, with Europe an increasingly distant dream, it has been forging closer ties with Iran, Russia, and others often at odds with the West."

My Way News - Gadhafi survival means weak army, co-opted tribes
My Way News reports: "The uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia - Libya's neighbors to the east and west, respectively - led relatively cleanly to the ouster of their leaders. Libya, on the other hand, already is deadlier, more complicated. With Gadhafi lashing out with full force and half his country broken away, the North African nation could fragment or fall into bloody civil war."

My Way News - Gadhafi hold whittled away as Libya revolt spreads
My Way News reports: "The scope of Moammar Gadhafi's control was whittled away Wednesday as major Libyan cities and towns closer to the capital fell to the rebellion against his rule. In the east, now all but broken away, the opposition vowed to 'liberate' Tripoli, where the Libyan leader is holed up with a force of militiamen roaming the streets and tanks guarding the outskirts."

My Way News - Israel: Iranian naval vessels are provocation
My Way News reports: "Two Iranian warships sailed from the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean on Tuesday, the first such trip in at least three decades, eliciting Israeli charges that Tehran is seeking to dominate the Middle East. The vessels headed toward Syria, but were expected to remain in international waters as they passed the Israeli coast."

My Way News - Gadhafi's vow: Will fight to 'last drop of blood'
My Way News reports: "A defiant Moammar Gadhafi vowed to fight to his 'last drop of blood' and roared at supporters to strike back against Libyan protesters to defend his embattled regime Tuesday, signaling an escalation of the crackdown that has thrown the capital into scenes of mayhem, wild shooting and bodies in the streets."

My Way News - EU urges Israel to resume talks with Palestinians
My Way News reports: "The EU told Israel on Tuesday that growing instability in the Middle East makes it imperative to resume the stalled peace process with the Palestinians. Israel agreed that direct peace talks should resume, but said the pro-democracy unrest in Arab nations such as Libya, Egypt and Tunisia is unrelated to the Israel-Palestinian situation [...] The 27-nation EU has repeatedly condemned as illegal the building of Israeli settlements in occupied territory, especially in the eastern parts of Jerusalem. Last week, all four EU members of the U.N. Security Council - France, Britain, Portugal and Germany - backed a Palestinian resolution denouncing the settlements as illegal. Washington vetoed the measure."

My Way News - India brings hope to stalled fight against polio
My Way News reports: "Health workers are armed with a new, more effective vaccine, and nearly airtight monitoring means virtually no child is missed, not even in the most remote of villages. For India, teetering between the worlds of poverty and new wealth, defeating a disease long forgotten in richer countries would be a crucial step in its transformation into a global power."

My Way News - Weaker New Zealand quake packed a deadlier punch
My Way News reports: "While weaker than the one that rocked the area last September, it did more damage and cost lives, primarily because of its location. Tuesday's magnitude-6.3 quake was centered about 3 miles from the populated hub of Christchurch, toppling buildings, killing dozens and trapping others. It was also only about 3 miles deep and occurred during the middle of a workday when commercial buildings were filled with employees."

My Way News - NZ earthquake death toll at 75 as search continues
My Way News reports: "Rescuers used their bare hands, dogs, and heavy machines Wednesday in an urgent search for survivors still trapped in crumbled buildings more than 24 hours after an earthquake devastated one of New Zealand's largest cities."

My Way News - Scientist finds Gulf bottom still oily, dead
My Way News reports: "Oil from the BP spill remains stuck on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, according to a top scientist's video and slides that she says demonstrate the oil isn't degrading as hoped and has decimated life on parts of the sea floor. That report is at odds with a recent report by the BP spill compensation czar that said nearly all will be well by 2012."

Comment: Just months ago there was a report that microbes had consumed much of the remaining oil and that all was well. I guess that report was a bit off the mark.

My Way News - Cosmic census finds crowd of planets in our galaxy
My Way News reports: "Scientists have estimated the first cosmic census of planets in our galaxy and the numbers are astronomical: at least 50 billion planets in the Milky Way. At least 500 million of those planets are in the not-too-hot, not-too-cold zone where life could exist. The numbers were extrapolated from the early results of NASA's planet-hunting Kepler telescope."

My Way News - Gadhafi goes on Libyan TV amid wave of protests
My Way News reports: "Deep rifts opened in Moammar Gadhafi's regime, with Libyan government officials at home and abroad resigning, air force pilots defecting and a bloody crackdown on protest in the capital of Tripoli, where cars and buildings were burned. Gadhafi went on state TV early Tuesday to attempt to show he was still in charge."

My Way News - Iran warships to begin Suez Canal passage Tuesday
My Way News reports: "Suez Canal officials say two Iranian naval vessels are expected to start their passage through the strategic waterway early Tuesday [...] If the ships make the passage, it would mark the first time in three decades that Iranian military ships have traveled the canal that links the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. Israel has made clear it views the passage as a provocation."

My Way News - G-20 reach compromise deal on imbalances
My Way News reports: "The world's dominant economies on Saturday took a small step toward smoothing out the global trade and currency imbalances at the root of the global financial crisis, overcoming Chinese objections and setting the stage for even tougher negotiations in the months ahead."

My Way News - Strong quake hits New Zealand, causing injuries
My Way News reports: "A strong, 6.3-magnitude earthquake rocked the southern New Zealand city of Christchurch on Tuesday, seriously injuring people and damaging buildings throughout the city."

My Way News - Magnitude-6.2 quake shakes east Russia
My Way News reports: "A magnitude-6.2 earthquake rattled the east coast of Russia near the Kamchatka Peninsula, the U.S. Geological Survey reported Sunday. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, and no tsunami alert was issued."

Reuters - U.S. vetoes U.N. draft condemning Israeli settlements
Reuters reports: "The United States on Friday vetoed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements on Palestinian land after the Palestinians refused a compromise offer from Washington."

My Way News - Egypt to allow Iranian vessels through Suez Canal
My Way News reports: "Egypt has agreed to allow two Iranian naval vessels to transit the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, a military official said Friday, ending several days of confusion over their planned passage, which Israel's foreign minister has labeled a provocation [...] It would be the first time since Iran's clerical rulers came to power in the 1979 Islamic Revolution that naval vessels from the country have passed through the canal to the Mediterranean."

Bloomberg - World Feeding Itself Spurs Search for Answers
Bloomberg reports: "Overall, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome says global food prices surged in January to record levels, based on data reaching back to 1990 [...] Wheat prices may keep rising until the summer because importers are speeding up purchases to outrun inflation [...] Prices are more likely to stay high or go higher in the next six months, than to decline [...] Whether the world tips into agricultural catastrophe this year depends on the fate of the wheat on the North China Plain. "

My Way News - Dozens said killed in crackdown on Libya protests
My Way News reports: "Libyan security forces waged an escalating crackdown on protesters demanding the ouster of leader Moammar Gadhafi in several eastern cities. In the country's second largest city, a stream of 35 bodies was brought to one hospital Friday, reportedly of protesters shot while trying to march on one of Gadhafi's residences, a doctor said."

My Way News - Bahrain security forces fire on defiant protesters
My Way News reports: "Security forces opened fire Friday on Bahraini protesters for a second straight day, wounding at least 50 people as thousands defied the government and marched toward Pearl Square in an uprising that sought to break the political grip of the Gulf nation's leaders."

My Way News - 'Friday of Rage' across Yemen leaves 4 dead
My Way News reports: "On what was billed by protest organizers as a 'Friday of Rage' across Yemen, anti-government demonstrators clashed with supporters of the country's longtime ruler and riot police, who fired tear gas and gunshots. Four people were killed by police in the port of Aden and 48 were wounded in the southern city of Taiz when someone threw what appeared to be a hand grenade into a crowd, witnesses said."

My Way News - Clashes in Jordan injure 8 protesters
My Way News reports: "Clashes broke out Friday between government supporters and opponents at a protest calling for more freedom and lower food prices, injuring eight people in the first reported violence in weeks of demonstrations in Jordan."

My Way News - Bahrain locked down after 5 protesters killed
My Way News reports: "Bahrain's leaders banned public gatherings and sent tanks into the streets Thursday, intensifying a crackdown that killed five anti-government protesters, wounded more than 200 and turned a hospital into a cauldron of anguish and rage against the monarchy."

My Way News - Anti-government protesters killed in Libyan clash
My Way News reports: "Libyan protesters seeking to oust longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi defied a crackdown and took to the streets in five cities Thursday on what activists have dubbed a 'day of rage,' amid reports at least 20 demonstrators have been killed in clashes with pro-government groups."

My Way News - Saudi prince calls for reform amid regional unrest
My Way News reports: "The protests and unrest in Arab countries may be dangerous for Saudi Arabia if King Abdullah does not step up the pace of reform, a Saudi prince said Thursday. Prince Talal bin Abdul-Aziz, a half brother of the king, said it was not too late for the Saudi government to take steps to avoid protests - and that the king is the only person who can bring about major changes."

My Way News - After 5 years of quiet, sun gets a bit stormy
My Way News reports: "Scientists say a Valentine's evening solar flare is causing radio disruptions and may put on a cool sky show Thursday and Friday nights in some northern regions. But they say the solar storm zapping Earth isn't that big or troublesome."

Breitbart - Huge solar flare jams radio, satellite signals: NASA
Breitbart reports: "A powerful solar eruption that triggered a huge geomagnetic storm has disturbed radio communications and could disrupt electrical power grids, radio and satellite communication in the next days, NASA said."

My Way News - Israel claims Iran warships to transit Suez Canal
My Way News reports: "Israel's foreign minister claimed Wednesday that Iran is about to send two warships through the Suez Canal for the first time in years, calling it a 'provocation,' but he offered no evidence. The Egyptian authority that runs the canal denied it. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the ships would cross later Wednesday, en route to Syria."

My Way News - Riot police storm Bahrain camp; 2 reported dead
My Way News reports: "Riot police firing tear gas and rubber bullets stormed a landmark square occupied by anti-government protesters Thursday, driving out demonstrators and destroying a makeshift encampment that had become the hub for demands to bring sweeping political changes to the kingdom."

My Way News - Anti-government protests, clashes spread to Libya
My Way News reports: "Egypt-inspired unrest spread against Libya's longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi on Wednesday, with riot police clashing with protesters in the second-largest city of Benghazi and marchers setting fire to security headquarters and police stations in two other cities, witnesses said."

My Way News - Scientists connect global warming to extreme rain
My Way News reports: "Extreme rainstorms and snowfalls have grown substantially stronger, two studies suggest, with scientists for the first time finding the telltale fingerprints of man-made global warming on downpours that often cause deadly flooding."

My Way News - Bahrain square becomes new center for Arab anger
My Way News reports: "Thousands of protesters took over a main square in Bahrain's capital Tuesday - carting in tents and raising banners - in a bold attempt to copy Egypt's uprising and force high-level changes in one of Washington's key allies in the Gulf."

My Way News - Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood plans political party
My Way News reports: "The long banned Muslim Brotherhood said Tuesday it will form a political party once democracy is established in Egypt but promised not to field a candidate for president, trying to allay fears at home and abroad that it seeks power. Still, the fundamentalist movement is poised to be a significant player in the new order."

My Way News - Iranian lawmakers: Put opposition leaders on trial
My Way News reports: "Hardline Iranian lawmakers called on Tuesday for the country's opposition leaders to face trial and be put to death, a day after clashes between opposition protesters and security forces left two people dead and dozens injured."

My Way News - US admiral: Carrier killer won't stop US Navy
My Way News reports: "Defense analysts say the Dong Feng 21D missile could upend the balance of power in Asia, where U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups have ruled the waves since the end of World War II. However, Vice Adm. Scott van Buskirk, commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet, told the AP in an interview that the Navy does not see the much-feared weapon as creating any insurmountable vulnerability for the U.S. carriers - the Navy's crown jewels."

My Way News - Pakistan: Multi-week offensive kills 120 militants
My Way News reports: "A Pakistani official says security forces have cleared insurgents from 90 percent of targeted tribal areas near the Afghan border in a nearly three-week offensive. Mohmand tribal region official Amjad Ali Khan says Tuesday that 120 militants have been killed in the fighting, including seven local Taliban commanders. Four Pakistani soldiers were killed."

My Way News - UN climate chief warns warming can cause conflict
My Way News reports: "Global warming is a looming threat to stability and national security around the world, and militaries should spend some of their ever-expanding budgets on reducing carbon emissions to avoid 'climate chaos,' the U.N.'s top climate official said Tuesday."

My Way News - Artificial retina helps some blind people
My Way News reports: "For two decades, Eric Selby had been completely blind and dependent on a guide dog to get around. But after having an artificial retina put into his right eye, he can detect ordinary things like the curb and pavement when he's walking outside."

My Way News - Egypt echoes across region: Iran, Bahrain, Yemen
My Way News reports: "The possible heirs of Egypt's uprising took to the streets Monday in different corners of the Middle East: Iran's beleaguered opposition stormed back to central Tehran and came under a tear gas attack by police. Demonstrators faced rubber bullets and birdshot to demand more freedoms in the relative wealth of Bahrain. And protesters pressed for the ouster of the ruler in poverty-drained Yemen."

My Way News - Yemenis protest against president for 4th day
My Way News reports: "Thousands protested in Yemen for a fourth straight day Monday, demanding political reforms and the ouster of the U.S.-allied president in demonstrations inspired by the upheaval in Egypt."

My Way News - Palestinian Authority Cabinet resigns
My Way News reports: "The Palestinian prime minister dissolved his Cabinet on Monday, in what appeared to be a new gesture inspired by unrest rocking the Arab world."

My Way News - Police disperse Iranian protesters with tear gas
My Way News reports: "Clashes between Iranian police and tens of thousands of protesters wracked central Tehran on Monday killing one person, as opposition supporters tried to evoke the spirit of Egypt's recent popular uprising."

My Way News - Israeli PM: Arab world undergoing 'earthquake'
My Way News reports: "Israel's prime minister said Monday that an 'earthquake' is under way in the Arab world but that he 'hopes for the best.' Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel hopes to strengthen its existing peace agreements and sign new ones, but remains 'prepared for any possibility,' referring to the unrest in the region including the toppling of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak by popular protests."

My Way News - Tweets, cheers, fireworks: The world praises Egypt
My Way News reports: "Fireworks and celebratory gunfire rang out in Tunisia and Lebanon, South Africans recalled Nelson Mandela's euphoric release from prison, and two words - 'Congrats Egypt' - dominated social media sites as the world cheered the ouster of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak."

Comment: The first political revolution of the social networked age has demonstrated the new reach of our global community - we were all witnesses and celebratory participants.

My Way News - Merkel: Egypt must keep peace with Israel
My Way News reports: "German Chancellor Angela Merkel says it is crucial that Egypt's new leadership is committed to the Mideast peace process and lives up to its obligations toward Israel [...] Israel's greatest concern has been that its 1979 peace treaty with Egypt might not survive under a new government, especially if Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood - the largest and most organized opposition group - gains influence."

My Way News - Israel watches Mubarak ouster with trepidation
My Way News reports: "Israel watched Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's resignation with trepidation Friday, concerned the ouster of its staunchest Arab ally might endanger a peace treaty between the two countries and help boost Islamists already on the rise in the region."

My Way News - 162 Turkish officers ordered jailed in coup trial
My Way News reports: "A Turkish court ruled Friday that 133 current and former military officers must be jailed pending the outcome of their trial on charges of plotting to overthrow the government and issued warrants for the arrests of 29 other officers, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported."

My Way News - 10 Indonesians arrested over religious violence
My Way News reports: "Indonesian police say 10 suspects have been arrested after Islamic hard-liners set churches on fire and killed three members of a minority Islamic sect. Twenty-four others have been taken in for questioning. The attacks were carried out this week."

My Way News - Nokia, Microsoft in pact to rival Apple, Google
My Way News reports: "Nokia Corp., the world's largest maker of mobile phones, said Friday it plans to use Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Phone software as the main platform for its smart phones in an effort to pull market share away from Apple's iPhone and Android, Google's software for phones and tablets."

My Way News - Strong quake jolts southern Chile; magnitude 6.8
My Way News reports: "A magnitude-6.8 earthquake struck central Chile Friday, centered in almost exactly the same spot where last year's magnitude-8.8 quake spawned a tsunami and devastated coastal communities. Rodrigo Ubillo, the vice interior minister, said they had no reports of damage or injuries, and the navy had 'totally discounted any risk of a tsunami.'"

My Way News - Egypt's Mubarak refuses to quit, hands VP powers
My Way News reports: "President Hosni Mubarak refused to step down or leave Egypt and instead handed most of his powers to his vice president Thursday, enraging protesters who warned the country could explode in violence and pleaded for the military to take action to push him out."

My Way News - Japan FM slams Russian stance on disputed islands
My Way News reports: "Japan's foreign minister said Thursday that Russia has no legal right to occupy several disputed islands that have kept the two countries at odds for decades [...] Medvedev announced Wednesday that Russia will send more weapons to its islands in north Pacific."

My Way News - Suicide bomber kills 31 soldiers in NW Pakistan
My Way News reports: "Despite the danger from Islamist militants, the Pakistani army's main focus continues to be the perceived threat from its archrival and nuclear-armed neighbor, India. Pakistan successfully test-fired a cruise missile capable of carrying 'strategic and conventional war heads' from an undisclosed location Thursday, said the army. It didn't specify whether the missile - identified as a Hatf-VII Babur, with a range of 360 miles (600 kilometers) - could carry a nuclear warhead."

My Way News - India, Pakistan agree to resume peace talks
My Way News reports: "India and Pakistan announced Thursday they would resume wide-ranging peace talks that were frozen after the 2008 terrorist attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai, which were blamed on Pakistan-based militants."

My Way News - Report: Hackers in China hit Western oil companies
My Way News reports: "Hackers operating from China stole sensitive information from Western oil companies, a U.S. security firm reported Thursday, adding to complaints about pervasive Internet crime traced to the country [...] Officials in the United States, Germany and Britain say hackers linked to China's military have broken into government and defense systems. Attacks on commercial systems receive less attention because companies rarely come forward, possibly for fear it might erode trust in their businesses."

My Way News - Iranian opposition leader under house arrest
My Way News reports: "Iran's hard-line rulers - who have also tried to capitalize on the uprising against their regional rivals in Egypt's U.S.-allied regime - are seeking to deprive their own opponents at home of any chance to reinvigorate a movement swept from the streets in a heavy military crackdown."

My Way News - NATO offers troops after Mideast peace deal
My Way News reports: "NATO would offer peacekeeping services to Israelis and Palestinians if both parties request it in a peace deal, the alliance's secretary general said Wednesday Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO would intervene if a future peace treaty was broken or if the two sides needed assistance."

Comment: This is significant. Having a foreign army setting up camp in Israel reminds me of Daniel 11. We should watch these developments carefully.

My Way News - Strikes in Egypt add to pressure from protests
My Way News reports: "Thousands of workers went on strike Wednesday across Egypt, adding a new dimension to the uprising as public rage turned to the vast wealth President Hosni Mubarak's family reportedly amassed while close to half the country struggled near the poverty line."

My Way News - Russia's Medvedev speaks tough on disputed islands
My Way News reports: "Russia will send more weapons to its islands in north Pacific, President Dmitry Medvedev announced Wednesday - a mere two days after Japan again demanded that Russia return several islands it has held since the end of World War II."

Comment: It's hard to believe that absent a WWII peace treaty, they are still technically at war.

My Way News - Mom: Woman who left baby in toilet can't remember
My Way News reports: "The South Carolina woman accused of giving birth in an arena toilet during the circus and leaving the baby told her family afterward she was bleeding heavily, but didn't know why."

My Way News - Indonesian mob burns churches, attack police
My Way News reports: "Hundreds of Islamic hard-liners stormed a courthouse and set two churches on fire Tuesday in central Indonesia to protest what they considered a lenient sentence for a Christian convicted of blaspheming Islam."

My Way News - Hezbollah chief: Egypt's unrest will change region
My Way News reports: "The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group said Monday the unrest in Egypt will transform the Middle East by pushing out a regime that has maintained peace with Israel."

Comment: This is why my support for the Egyptian democracy movement is guarded. A democracy that puts in power an Islamic government would be a step backwards for human rights. Further, an Islamic government in Egypt that voids the peace treaty with Israel would almost surely mean a new Mideast war in the near-term. We have to look with suspicion on anything that Hezbollah and Iran think is a good thing.

My Way News - Jerusalem pushes ahead contentious building plan
My Way News reports: "Jerusalem officials on Monday pushed forward plans to build new Jewish housing in an Arab neighborhood in the city's eastern sector, drawing swift condemnation from Palestinians who see it as encroaching on land they seek for a future state."

My Way News - Pope challenges China with HK bishop ordination
My Way News reports: "China forced its Roman Catholics to cut ties with the Vatican in 1951 shortly after the communist seizure of power. Although only state-backed Catholic churches are recognized, millions of other Chinese belong to unofficial congregations loyal to Rome."

JPost.com - Close encounters of the fabricated kind
The Jerusalem Post reports: "Fake YouTube videos showing lights over Dome of the Rock spark Internet debate ranging from theology, eschatology, one user’s genealogy."

Comment: All of those videos are fake? Well, the word is in, they are fakes, according to the Jerusalem Post.

My Way News - Officials: Bomb detonated in empty church in Egypt
My Way News reports: "Smoke billowed from the windows of the church and the assailants also snatched a cross from outside the building, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the incident with reporters. They said the assailants escaped. There was no immediate claim of responsibility."

My Way News - Russian officials against further Iran sanctions
My Way News reports: "Russia made clear Saturday that it opposes slapping more sanctions on Iran in the standoff over its nuclear program, arguing that their effects would go beyond the international community's agreed aims. Iran has been hit with several rounds of U.N. sanctions over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment. Tehran again rebuffed U.N.-drafted proposals at talks in Istanbul in January, generating speculation about more economic pressures."

NYTimes.com - Crisis in Egypt Tests U.S. Ties With Israel
The New York Times reports: "The demonstrations against President Hosni Mubarak’s government in Egypt are rocking the relationship between the United States and its most important Arab ally. But they are also rocking an even more fundamental relationship for the United States — its 60-year alliance with Israel."

My Way News - Officials: Unrest could affect EU, Israel security
My Way News reports: "Top defense officials and diplomats warned Friday that growing unrest in Egypt and elsewhere could affect Israeli and European security, although it may provide new impetus to the Mideast peace process [...] the so-called 'quartet' of Middle East peacemakers - the U.N., the U.S. the EU and Russia - have called a meeting on the sidelines of the conference for Saturday."

My Way News - Russia defense chief visits disputed islands
My Way News reports: "Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov arrived in the southern Kuril islands to inspect a machine gun and artillery division and check on troops' combat readiness and living conditions, Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency said. 'We are planning to upgrade its weapons,' Serdyukov said, according to state television."

My Way News - Amid protests, views of post-Mubarak Egypt emerge
My Way News reports: "A new rally Friday by nearly 100,000 protesters in Cairo and behind-the-scenes diplomacy from the Obama administration piled more pressure on President Hosni Mubarak to make a swift exit and allow a temporary government to embark on an immediate path toward democracy."

My Way News - EU talks competitiveness, saves details for later
My Way News reports: "Germany and France gave their approval Friday to expand the bailout fund that has been propping up the eurozone's weaklings but pressed EU nations to strengthen their economies, kicking off what will likely be weeks of struggle between Europe's rich and poor over measures aimed at escaping the financial morass surrounding the euro."

My Way News - Iran tech expo sends defiant message to West
My Way News reports: "Iran plans a major tech exhibition beginning Saturday in Damascus, Syria, whose underlying purpose seeks show that international sanctions have not crippled Iran's labs. The expo is expected to showcase an array of made-in-Iran innovations from more than 120 companies including precision industrial equipment, nanotechnology and aerospace-related items."

Reuters - Quake of 6.4 magnitude rocks eastern India
Reuters reports: "An earthquake measuring 6.4 rocked India's northeastern state of Manipur Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, but Indian officials said there were no initial reports of damage."

Telegraph - Video: UFO hovers over Jerusalem shrine: "The videos show a bright object slowly descending over the Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem - believed to be the holiest spot on earth and sacred to three world religions. In one video shot from Tzofim Mountain overlooking the ancient city, the circular UFO appears to hover over the shrine. A second video taken from a different spot shows a white light descending slowly above Jerusalem, hang in the air directly above the 2,500 year old holy site, and then shoot up into the sky with a gigantic flash."

Cosmic Log (MSNBC) - Jerusalem videos stir UFO buzz
Cosmic Log reports: "As dark UFO videos go, this clip showing flashing lights over Jerusalem is certainly a puzzler. A bright speck seems to descend toward the skyline, around the location of the Dome of the Rock (also known as the Temple Mount). A minute into the clip, there's a bright flash, then the speck shoots up from the skyline."

Israel National News - First Time? UFO 'Sighted' Over Temple Mount
Israel National News reports: "At least three videos taken simultaneously appear to show an unidentified flying lighted object - a UFO, in common parlance - hovering directly over the Temple Mount late this past Thursday night."

My Way News - Islamic militants support Egyptian protesters
My Way News reports: "Islamic militants took to the Internet to call on Muslims to unite behind Egyptian protesters and not to 'waste the chance' to topple President Hosni Mubarak and claim power in the North African nation [...] The Muslim Brotherhood, which is officially banned and calls for rule by Islamic law in Egypt, has joined the protesters in calling for Mubarak's ouster."

My Way News - Hamas allows anti-Mubarak protest in Gaza
My Way News reports: "Hamas security officials allowed hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza to demonstrate Thursday against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, in the first such public gathering in the seaside strip since turmoil erupted in neighboring Egypt last week."

My Way News - Rains, flood threat hamper Aussie cyclone relief
My Way News reports: "Drenching rain and the threat of flash flooding hampered recovery efforts Friday following one of Australia's most damaging cyclones, as authorities confirmed the first death from the storm."

My Way News - Mammoth storm leaves bitter cold, destruction
My Way News reports: "An enormous winter storm left Midwesterners shivering in its frozen footprint and crushed snow-laden buildings in the Northeast, where a combination of ice, snow and rain pushed much of the winter-cursed region to its breaking point."

My Way News - Powerful cyclone strikes Australia's northeast
My Way News reports: "A massive cyclone struck northeastern Australia early Thursday, tearing off roofs, toppling trees and cutting electricity to thousands - the most powerful storm to hit the area in nearly a century."

My Way News - Egypt crisis spells trouble for Mideast peace
My Way News reports: "Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has only recently and grudgingly accepted the idea of an independent Palestinian state next to Israel. With Egypt in flux, efforts to bring this about may soon go into deep freeze. Israel's main concern is whether its peace agreement with Egypt, which underpins its security in a hostile Arab world, can survive without President Hosni Mubarak at the helm."

My Way News - Israeli PM says Iran wants 'another Gaza' in Egypt
My Way News reports: "Israel's prime minister on Wednesday said Iran wants to take advantage of the chaos in Egypt to create 'another Gaza' there, run by Islamic fundamentalists. Speaking before the Israeli parliament, Benjamin Netanyahu said he expects any new government in Egypt to honor its three-decade-long peace agreement with Israel. But he warned that Islamic groups have already taken over by democratic means in Iran, Lebanon and Gaza."

My Way News - Heavy gunfire rings out in Cairo protest square
My Way News reports: "Bursts of heavy gunfire rained into Cairo's Tahrir Square before dawn Thursday, killing at least three anti-government demonstrators among crowds still trying to hold the site after an assault by supporters of President Hosni Mubarak, according to a protest organizer [...] The protesters accused Mubarak's regime of unleashing a force of paid thugs and plainclothes police to crush their unprecedented nine-day-old movement, a day after the 82-year-old president refused to step down."

My Way News - Europe: Egyptian democratic reforms must begin now
My Way News reports: "Egypt's government must begin political reforms immediately and end attacks on protesters, European leaders demanded Wednesday, hardening their position on President Hosni Mubarak's future amid chaotic violence in Cairo [...] In recent days, the EU has been criticized for being too timid in supporting pro-democracy demonstrations and for trailing behind the U.S. in distancing itself from Mubarak's regime."

My Way News - Mauritanian authorities foil terror attack attempt
My Way News reports: "Security forces opened fire on a car loaded with explosives early Wednesday as it attempted to speed into the capital, setting off an enormous explosion and killing three suspected al-Qaida-linked militants, an official said."

My Way News - Gang gunbattles, street blockades in Mexico
My Way News reports: "Suspected drug cartel gunmen hurled grenades, burned vehicles and blocked streets in a rapid series of attacks in Mexico's second-largest city, authorities said Wednesday."

My Way News - Blizzard spreads snowy shroud over nearly half US
My Way News reports: "A fearsome storm spread a smothering shroud of white over nearly half the nation Wednesday, snarling transportation from Oklahoma to New England, burying parts of the Midwest under 2 feet of snow and laying down dangerously heavy ice in the Northeast that was too much for some buildings to bear [...] The storm that resulted from two clashing air masses was, if not unprecedented, extraordinarily rare for its size and ferocious strength."

My Way News - NASA spots 54 potentially life-friendly planets
My Way News reports: "An orbiting NASA telescope is finding whole new worlds of possibilities in the search for alien life, spotting more than 50 potential planets that appear to be in the habitable zone."

My Way News - Nepal Christians to protest over burial ground ban
My Way News reports: "Christians in the capital, Katmandu, have traditionally buried their dead in a forest next to the Pashupati temple, which is revered by Hindus in Nepal. But the government-run Pashupati Development Trust issued a ban Friday against using the grounds for burials."

My Way News - Egypt crowds unmoved by Mubarak's vow not to run
My Way News reports: "President Hosni Mubarak defied a quarter-million protesters demanding he step down immediately, announcing Tuesday he would serve out the last months of his term and 'die on Egyptian soil.' He promised not to seek re-election, but that did not calm public fury as clashes erupted between his opponents and supporters."

My Way News - Egypt's Mubarak: From poverty to the presidency
My Way News reports: "In the span of his presidency, Mubarak, a former pilot and air force general with a combative, stubborn streak, took tentative steps toward democratic reform but then pulled back toward the authoritarianism that, coupled with poverty and a culture of corruption, helped drive Egyptian protesters into the streets."

My Way News - Syrians call for protests on Facebook and Twitter
My Way News reports: "Syrians are organizing campaigns on Facebook and Twitter that call for a 'day of rage' in Damascus this week, taking inspiration from Egypt and Tunisia in using social networking sites to rally their followers for sweeping political reforms."

My Way News - Strong cyclone bears down on north Australia coast
My Way News reports: "Authorities implored thousands of Australians to gather their loved ones Wednesday and flee a monster cyclone that strengthened overnight and threatened to produce hours of terrifying winds and torrential rain for the northeast [...] The timing, just after high tide, meant high storm surges of at least 6.5 feet (two meters) were likely to flood significant areas along the coast."