20 Mar 10
Under fire: Another rocket hits Southern Israel
A Qassam rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip Saturday afternoon, prompting residents in southern Israel to take cover in bomb shelters and secure rooms.
The rocket landed in an open area in the Ashkelon Beach regional council; no physical injuries or damages were reported in the attack.-The latest attack continued a series of rocket launches from the Gaza Strip in recent days. On Friday, a Qassam fired from northern Gaza hit an open area near a kibbutz in the Sha'ar Hanegev regional council.
MKs to PM: Stand up to US on Jerusalem
Top figures across the political spectrum signed a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Thursday evening, designed to present a wide consensus in support of Jewish neighborhoods beyond the 1967 boundaries of Jerusalem.
The letter, written in advance of the premier’s departure for the annual AIPAC policy conference in Washington, called on Netanyahu to stand strong regarding Israeli sovereignty in the Jewish neighborhoods.-“The importance of the letter is to strengthen Israel through actualizing its authority over our capital, Jerusalem,” said MK Otniel Schneller (Kadima), who initiated the missive.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrives in Ramallah to push for peace talks
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Saturday to push for talks that would eventually lead to direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine.
Upon arrival, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad took Ban on a tour of the concrete barrier Israel is building in the occupied territory to secure its settlements, Xinhua reported. Ban said the Jewish settlements made the situation difficult and called on Israel to take more steps to ease the life of Palestinians, especially in the blockaded Gaza Strip
China sandstorm leaves Beijing shrouded in orange dust
Beijing has been shrouded in orange dust as a strong sandstorm blew hundreds of miles from drought-struck northern China to the nation's capital.
In Tiananmen Square, clouds of dust obscured monuments, while visitors wore masks to avoid the dust and soil in windy conditions. -On Saturday it had spread over an area of 810,000 sq km with a population of 250 million, official news agency Xinhua reported.
In the 35 hours up to 1100 on Saturday (0300 GMT), 270 million people in an area of 1.8 million sq km had been affected.
China says drought now affecting 50 million people
A severe drought across a large swathe of southwest China is now affecting more than 50 million people, and forecasters see no signs of it abating in the short term, state media said on Friday.-"The drought has lasted for more than five straight months and is still developing," Xinhua said. "It is having a serious impact upon people's lives, industry and agriculture as well as general economic development. Losses are severe."-The drought is the worst in Yunnan in six decades, and has affected 85 percent of the province's agricultural land.
Arab channels to broadcast show depicting IDF soldiers as murderers
Arab television channels are planning to air the controversial Turkish Television show that depicts Israel Defense Force soldiers shooting innocent Palestinians, the French news agency AFP reported on Saturday.
The drama, which includes images of Israeli soldiers shooting a smiling young girl in the chest, steamrolling a tank through a crowded street and lining up a firing squad to shoot at a group of Palestinians, sparked outrage in Israel.
Al Qaeda warns of Iraq raids
Al Qaeda yesterday threatened to target Iraqi political parties, the US-based SITE monitoring service reported. It said a speech by Islamic State of Iraq leader Abu Omar Al Baghdadi was posted on jihadist forums.
...Iraqis, meanwhile, went about their business looking to the future with a mixture of hope and trepidation, with little observance of the seventh anniversary of US invasion.
Pope Benedict XVI apologises to Ireland's victims of sex abuse by priests
In the first public document ever issued by the Vatican on the subject of sex abuse, the Pope said: "You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry.
"I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured. Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity violated.
"We are all scandalised by the sins and failures of some of the Church's members."
Indonesia: Thousands attend anti-Israel rally
Thousands of people took to the streets of the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on Saturday, and called to "defend the al-Aqsa Mosque" against Israel.
According to the Jakarta Post, despite heavy rain, supporters of the PSK party marched from the National Monument compound to Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, holding banners which read, "Save al-Aqsa Mosque from Zionist Israel" and "One man one dollar to save Palestine". They also held a large carton model of the Temple Mount mosque.
Quartet host Russia: A new broker for Israel peace?
As the Middle East Quartet met in Moscow today amid high US-Israel tensions, some see an opportunity for host Russia to return as a key player in Israel peace talks with the Palestinians.
Unlike the cold war past, when the Soviet Union backed the Arabs and the US supported Israel, experts say that Moscow and Washington appear to be increasingly on the same page about the way forward in managing the long-running conflict, and the present situation offers a fresh opportunity to work together toward a common goal.
US states sue EPA to stop greenhouse gas rules
At least 15 U.S. states have sued the Environmental Protection Agency seeking to stop it from issuing rules controlling greenhouse gas emissions until it reexamines whether the pollution harms human health.
Florida, Indiana, South Carolina and at least nine other states filed the petitions in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, states said.
They joined petitions filed last month by Virginia, Texas and Alabama.
Jihad as American as apple pie, says US-born cleric
Violent jihad, or Islamic holy war, is "becoming as American as apple pie," US-born fugitive cleric Anwar Al-Awlaqi said in an unauthenticated message released Friday.
"Western jihad is here to stay," warned Awlaqi as he commented on a blonde American who dubbed herself "JihadJane" and has pleaded not guilty to trying to recruit Islamist militants to murder a Swedish cartoonist.
UN chief Ban Ki-Moon starts Mid-East peace push
The UN secretary general has met Palestinian leaders at the beginning of a mission to press for a resumption of talks between them and the Israelis.
Ban Ki-Moon's first stop was in the West Bank town of Ramallah, where he met PM Salam Fayyad. He is to see the Israeli president Shimon Peres later.
Israel's controversial plan to build 1,600 more homes in East Jerusalem has provoked the latest round of diplomacy.
Obama hails 'historic' healthcare reform vote
US President Barack Obama has described a congressional vote on healthcare reform due on Sunday as a "historic" moment in a century-long struggle.
Speaking at a rally in Virginia, he dismissed criticism of the bill from Republicans and some Democrats.
Appealing to lawmakers and citizens to back the legislation, he said: "The time for reform is right now."
'Gestures - yes, but not in J'lem'
Israel is willing to be flexible towards the United States following a crisis that erupted between the two countries during Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel earlier this month, but will not give up on some core issues.
A source at the Prime Minister’s Office said Friday Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu agrees to carry out goodwill gestures towards the Palestinians, but not inJerusalem.
Obama appeals to Iranian people
In a fresh appeal directly to the Iranian people, US President Barack Obama says in an online video that the United States wants more educational and cultural exchanges for their students and better access to the Internet to give them a more hopeful future.
...Obama said that the United States' offer of diplomatic dialogue still stands but that the Iranian government has chosen isolation. He said the US believes in the dignity of every human being.
19 Mar 10
Temple Institute wants to Offer Biblical Passover Sacrifice
The Temple Mount Institute has filed suit in its fight for the right to sacrifice a sheep on the Temple Mount prior to Passover, as commanded in the Torah.
Police banned from asking for someone's 'Christian' name because it might offend those of other faiths
Police officers have been banned from asking for 'Christian' names for fear of offending other religions.
Officers taking down a suspect's particulars must now refer to their 'personal' or 'family name' as the word 'Christian' could offend Muslims, Sikhs and other faiths, according to new diversity guidelines.The handbook produced by Kent Police, which aims to 'promote clearer communication' and 'break down barriers' with diverse communities-produced by the force's diversity support group sets out customs and practices in a number of religions and beliefs including paganism and rastafarianism.
Drug-resistant TB at record levels worldwide, the WHO says
An estimated 440,000 people had multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in 2008 and a third of them died as the new variant of the TB mycobacterium continues to spread, the World Health Organization said Thursday. Nearly half of the cases were in China and India, which have been hit hardest by the outbreak. But in some areas of the world, especially three provinces in Russia, more than one in every four cases of tuberculosis are the result of the hard-to-treat strain, according to the report.
(LEAD) N. Korea rejects U.N. recommendations on human rights
North Korea rejected an array of U.N. recommendations on how to improve its human rights conditions, including putting an end to public executions, claiming the suggestions are aimed at undermining the communist regime and sullying its image.-The rejected suggestions also included a moratorium on capital punishment, torture and other inhumane punishment, forced labor and military training for children. They also included a call for Pyongyang to allow a U.N. human rights envoy to visit the North to have a first-hand look at the situation.
Russian oil companies will stay in Venezuela
Russian oil majors will continue to develop their businesses in Venezuela despite most Western companies’ decisions to avoid the country and are eager to take their places, the Russian daily Vedomosti reports. The author said that Moscow made relations with Caracas a priority in the Bush years in response to what the Kremlin viewed as US encroachment on its sphere of influence. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin wil visit Venezuela in the beginning of April.
Clinton Criticizes Russia Over Iranian Nuclear Plant
Visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Thursday criticized Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for declaring that the Bushehr atomic power station in Iran would start funtioning in the middle of this year, saying the Islamic Republic should first show it was not developing atomic weapons.
-Russia says the Bushehr plant is purely civilian in character, and cannot be used for any weapons program, as it will come under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) supervision; besides Iran will have to return all spent fuel rods to Russia, its northern neighbor.
Israeli FM slams Quartet's call for settlement freeze
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Friday slammed the Mideast Quartet's call for a complete freeze of Israeli settlement construction, local news service Ynet reported.
"The Quartet's statement ignores the experiences of the past 16 years and does not take into account that peace must be constructed from the ground up, with practical actions on the ground," -"You cannot force peace artificially, in an unrealistic timetable," said Lieberman, referring to the two-year time frame.
Mideast Quartet calls for freeze on Israeli settlement activity
The Middle East Quartet of international mediators has called on Israel to freeze all settlement activity in East Jerusalem, saying it will "use all powers" to resume Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
UN's Ban Ki Moon also said that a new peace agreement between the Israeli and Palestinian authorities should be reached within 24 months.
"Recalling that the annexation of East Jerusalem is not recognized by the international community, the Quartet underscores that the status of Jerusalem is a permanent status issue that must be resolved through negotiations between the parties, and condemns the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem," he added.
Pope urged to apologise for abuse cover-up
The pope was today urged to make a public apology for the church's years of covering up sexual abuse. German Catholics are continuing to struggle with the magnitude of abuse claims against priests; since the first victims came forward in January, at least 300 others have joined them.
Al-Aqsa omitted from Pesach Haggadah cover
Haggadot for Pesach distributed Thursday in kindergartens throughout religiously mixed Jaffa bore a photo of the Temple Mount on the cover, but the al-Aqsa Mosque, which is also located in the east Jerusalem compound, was conspicuously omitted.
Clinton in Russia to hasten disarmament deal
Clinton was holding talks on Thursday in Moscow to accelerate progress towards a new accord between Russia and the United States to slash their nuclear arsenals.
Is Patriotism Dangerous? Publicly Funded NPR Wants You To Think So
Public supported National Public Radio...
warns its listeners that “patriot groups” are dangerous and are apparently increasingly prone to attacking government officials and facilities. Oddly the two examples it uses to prove its case have no ties whatsoever to any “patriot groups.”
Middle East Quartet opens Moscow meeting
The Quartet -- made up of the United States, the United Nations, European Union and Russia -- is expected to pressure Israel over its announced construction of 1,600 new settler homes in annexed east Jerusalem.
France offers to join forces with UK's nuclear submarine fleet
France has offered to create a joint UK-French nuclear deterrent by sharing submarine patrols, the Guardian has learned.
