My Way News - Israel worried about Islamic takeover in Egypt
My Way News reports: "Israel's prime minister said Monday his country's primary concern in Egypt is that the current crisis could create a void in which Islamic militants step in and endanger decades of peaceful relations between the two countries."

My Way News - Israel agrees to some Egyptian troops in Sinai
My Way News reports: "Israeli officials said Monday that they have agreed to let Egypt move several hundred troops into the Sinai peninsula for the first time since the countries reached peace three decades ago [...] Now, as the unrest in Egypt has spread, Israeli officials have grown increasingly concerned about the stability of their southern neighbor. They are especially worried that Palestinian militants could take advantage of the unrest to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip through tunnels under the Egypt-Gaza border."

My Way News - Chaos engulfs Cairo as Mubarak points to successor
My Way News reports: "With protests raging, Egypt's president named his intelligence chief as his first-ever vice president on Saturday, setting the stage for a successor as chaos engulfed the capital. Soldiers stood by - a few even joining the demonstrators - and the death toll from five days of anti-government fury rose sharply to 74."

My Way News - Egypt's uprising unites society in rage
My Way News reports: "The tens of thousands of protesters who have thrown Egypt's 30-year-old regime into tumult come from all walks of life - conservative Muslims and Christians, yuppies and the unemployed, young and old. For many, the protests demanding that President Hosni Mubarak step down were a catalyst for years or decades of repressed anger at mistreatment at the hands of the state."

My Way News - Jordan's opposition: Arabs will topple tyrants
My Way News reports: "The leader of Jordan's powerful Muslim Brotherhood warned Saturday that unrest in Egypt will spread across the Mideast and Arabs will topple leaders allied with the United States."

My Way News - Israel watches Egypt uprising with fear
My Way News reports: "Behind an official wall of silence, Israel watched nervously Saturday as anti-government unrest worsened in Egypt, fearful that the violent and growing street protests could topple Israel's most important ally in the Arab world."

My Way News - Amid massive protests, Egypt leader fires Cabinet
My Way News reports: "Facing a popular uprising, Egypt's president fired his Cabinet early Saturday after protesters engulfed his country in chaos - battling police with stones and firebombs, burning down the ruling party headquarters and defying a night curfew enforced by the army."

Comment: This is a volatile situation. Ordinarily, I'd side with the pro-democracy demonstrators, but in this case, there is a real chance that an Islamic government would take the place of the current regime, and that would be very bad news for all. Egypt is only one of two Arab states that have a peace treaty with Israel, if an Islamist government comes to power, that treaty will be voided. I hope it's not too late for the Egyptian government to reform itself and stave off collapse.

My Way News - Analysis: Leaks deepen Palestinian split
My Way News reports: "If an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal seemed remote before, it looks downright unattainable after a stormy week of leaks of confidential Mideast protocols by Al-Jazeera TV."

Comment: I have to wonder what the Palestinians thought their negotiators were doing all these years if not negotiating? What an irrational people. Can you imagine that they really expect to go through all the trouble of creating a new Palestinian state only to demand that they also get to live in Israel? Talk about having your cake and eating it too! Apparently this absurd notion forms the "emotional core" of their demands. At least their irrationality has been well exposed by this incident and it's doomed prospects for final status talks for years to come.

There are now effectively two Palestinian states, one funded and armed by Iran, with a proxy war now only a matter of time. Perhaps they can negotiate peace after they are defeated, that's usually the way it's been done in history. Please treaties usually follow wars, you can look it up if you don't believe me.

My Way News - Israeli minister: Hezbollah agents entering Gaza
My Way News reports: "Israel's minister of strategic affairs said Thursday the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla group has infiltrated agents into the Gaza Strip to train Palestinian militants. Gaza is ruled by the Hamas militant group, which, like Hezbollah, is sworn to Israel's destruction [...] Israel has long accused Hezbollah and its Iranian backers of supporting Palestinian militants, but officials have said little about an actual physical presence of Iranian-backed militia in Gaza."

My Way News - Davos panel sees huge Iranian response to attack
My Way News reports: "A diverse panel of decision-makers and experts from the United States, Europe and the Middle East found common ground on just one thing when it comes to dealing with the Iranian nuclear program Friday: A military strike could well spark a devastating counterattack."

My Way News - As China grows more assertive, US, Japan push back
My Way News reports: "In keeping with the adage of hoping for the best while preparing for the worst, the U.S. and its Asian allies are boosting their defenses, even after American and Chinese leaders talked up the need for closer ties in two high-profile visits this month [...] But largely outside public view, jockeying between the U.S. and China for strategic advantage in the Pacific is intensifying."

My Way News - Iran's allies gain clout and possible softer edges
My Way News reports: "From the Afghan badlands to the Mediterranean, evidence of Iran's reach is easy to spot: a mix of friend and foe for Kabul leaders, a power broker in Iraq, deep alliances with Syria and a big brother to Lebanon's Hezbollah and Hamas in Gaza. Tehran's proxy portfolio suddenly has a bit more aura after Hezbollah's political gambit - bringing down a pro-Western government in Lebanon and moving into position to pick its successor. To those keeping score, it would appear that Iran is winning some important points around the Middle East at the expense of Washington and its allies."

My Way News - Violent protests escalate outside Egypt's capital
My Way News reports: "Violence escalated in two cites outside the capital Cairo Thursday where anti-government protesters torched a fire station and looted weapons that they then turned on police. Egypt's top democracy advocate returned to the country and declared he was ready to lead the campaign to oust longtime President Hosni Mubarak."

My Way News - Egypt: Internet down, police counterterror unit up
My Way News reports: "Internet service in Egypt was disrupted and the government deployed an elite special operations force in Cairo on Friday, hours before an anticipated new wave of anti-government protests. The developments were a sign that President Hosni Mubarak's regime was toughening its crackdown following the biggest protests in years against his nearly 30-year rule."

My Way News - Thousands of Yemenis demand change in government
My Way News reports: "Tens of thousands of Yemenis demanded the president step down in nationwide protests Thursday, taking inspiration from the popular revolt in Tunisia and vowing to continue until their U.S.-backed government falls."

My Way News - Japanese, US troops hold major war games
My Way News reports: "Several thousand American and Japanese troops simulated missile attacks, guerrilla warfare and a full-scale invasion of Japan as part of a major war games that began Thursday [...] Japan has grown increasingly concerned about its defenses in its southwest, and particularly around the Okinawan islands, because of a number of incursions into its sea lanes by Chinese warships, including the movement of a Chinese flotilla through the Miyako Strait last April."

The Japan Times - Facing the specter of famine

The Japan Times Online reports: "Many places — from Algeria (food riots), to China (imports of wheat and corn), Russia (grain imports to feed cattle and a ban on wheat exports), and Australia, Brazil and Canada (crops damaged by floods) — are facing food shortages or price rises. International organizations, including the United Nations, the World Bank and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), report that food prices globally have risen scarily close to or above the record levels of 2008. Prices of wheat, sugar, corn, soybeans, rice and barley, have all risen."

My Way News - Egypt's protests enter 2nd day, ominous for regime
My Way News reports: "Thousands of Egyptians vented their rage against President Hosni Mubarak's autocratic government in a second day of protests Wednesday that defied a ban on public gatherings. Baton-wielding police responded with tear gas and beatings in a crackdown that showed zero tolerance for dissent."

My Way News - Thousands march in anti-Abbas protests in Gaza
My Way News reports: "Thousands of cheering Hamas supporters in Gaza burned effigies of President Mahmoud Abbas and his aides Wednesday, as Al-Jazeera TV alleged that leaked documents show the Palestinian leader colluded with Israel and the U.S. against Gaza."

Comment: Leaked documents show that Palestinian leaders were secretly engaged in serious peace negotiations with Israel, the kind in which both sides make concessions, and now the Palestinian people are angry about this. You may draw your own conclusions about what this reveals about the Palestinian people.

My Way News - Russia: Cyber attack on Iran could be risky
My Way News reports: "Dmitry Rogozin urged NATO to join Moscow in investigating who created and unleashed the mysterious and destructive computer worm known as Stuxnet. The virus hit Iran's nuclear facilities last year, temporarily crippling its uranium enrichment program, which can make both nuclear fuel and the fissile core of warheads."

My Way News - US roadside bomb casualties rise in Afghanistan
My Way News reports: "Roadside bombs killed 268 American troops in Afghanistan last year, a 60 percent increase over the previous year [...] Defense officials attributed the rise in casualties to the surge in U.S. forces in Afghanistan last year. Fighting has increased, especially in southern and eastern Afghanistan, as coalition forces work to weaken the Taliban in their strongholds and keep them from returning in force this spring."

My Way News - Strong quake hits western Indonesia
My Way News reports: "A strong earthquake has hit waters off western Indonesia, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. The U.S. Geological Survey said Wednesday night's quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.1."

My Way News - Not again! Another snowstorm hits East Coast
My Way News reports: "Schools closed, governments sent workers home early and planes were grounded Wednesday in an all-too-familiar routine along the East Coast as another snowstorm swept over a region already beaten down by a winter not even half over [...] Since Dec. 14, snow has fallen eight times on the New York region - or an average of about once every five days. That includes the blizzard that dropped 20 inches on the city and paralyzed travel after Christmas. Some places are running out of room to stash plowed snow."

My Way News - Iran accuses West of 'nuclear terrorism'
My Way News reports: "In a killing apparently linked to Iran's atomic strivings, nuclear scientist Majid Shahriariwas was assassinated late last year and fellow scientist Fereidoun Abbasi was wounded. Both were targeted by car bombs that Iranian officials have variously blamed Israel and the United States for, as part of a campaign against Tehran's nuclear programs that included a cyber attack by the Stuxnet malware on the Natanz enrichment facility."

DEBKAfile - Iranian warships coming to Mediterranean and Red Seas
DEBKAfile reports: "Less than 24 hours after the breakdown of its nuclear dialogue with the six world powers in Istanbul, Iran announced plans Sunday, Jan. 23, to send a fleet of warships, including a home-made destroyer, on operational and intelligence gathering missions to the Red Sea and on to the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal."

My Way News - Egyptians denounce Mubarak, clash with riot police
My Way News reports: "Egyptian police fired tear gas and rubber bullets and beat protesters to clear thousands of people from a central Cairo square Wednesday after the biggest demonstrations in years against President Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian rule."

My Way News - New Hezbollah-backed PM urges Lebanon unity
My Way News reports: "Hezbollah was formed in 1982 with Iranian backing to fight Israel's invasion of Lebanon. The group is believed to have been behind the kidnappings of foreigners on the streets of Beirut and holding them hostage at the height of the country's civil war. A group thought to be the forerunner of Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the bombing of U.S. Marine barracks in 1983. Once seen solely as Iran's militant arm in Lebanon, Hezbollah has reinvented itself as a more conventional political movement. It has joined the government and become involved in domestic politics, but fighting Israel remains the group's priority."