22 Feb 11
President: Outdated world order on verge of collapse
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that the traditional and outdated world order is now on the verge of collapse. President Ahmadinejad made the remark in a meeting with visiting Ecuadorian Parliament Speaker Fernando Cordero in Tehran on Tuesday. World nations should not let those who took control of the world over the past 300 years impose their will under a new guise, he said. According to the presidential website, at the meeting, the Iranian president said the global hegemony has reached a dead-end.
Iranian Ships in Mediterranean
Egyptian officials said that the two warships from Iran had completed their passage through the Suez Canal, and were now in the Mediterranean. The ships entered the Canal early Tuesday morning, and continued through until they exited in the afternoon. Last week, Israel condemned the Iranian mission, calling it a provocation, but there was no further comment from the government Tuesday. Last week, U.S. officials said that they, too, were concerned over the presence of the ships in the Mediterranean, and were considering attempting to examine them.
Gaddafi says will cleanse Libya if protesters continue
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, speaking on Tuesday in a defiant but rambling speech, said he would call the people to "cleanse Libya house by house" unless protesters on the streets surrendered.
FM sends document to EU ministers on Palestinian violations
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman submitted a document to foreign ministers in the EU in Brussels which lists all the violations made by the Palestinian Authority against previous agreements in the last two years, Israel Radio reported. The document details how the Palestinian Authority has violated the Oslo Accords, battles Israel, and encourages terror.
Europe: No Honest Broker
Europe seeks to play the role of neutral mediator in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Yet for a host of reasons - most of them self-serving - Europe has demonstrated a clear pro-Arab bias, including insensitivity to Israel's security needs.-The EU's behavior makes it ineligible as a neutral facilitator in the Arab-Israeli conflict. It should not be allowed to pressure Israel on life-and-death security issues, nor to decide Israel's destiny.
EU tells Israel: Mideast turmoil makes peace talks imperative
The European Union is telling Israel that growing instability in the Middle East makes it imperative to immediately resume the stalled peace process with the Palestinians. Hungary's foreign minister Janos Martonyi, whose country currently chairs the EU, told his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman on Tuesday that time is pressing and that the Israeli-Palestinian talks remain the core issue.
Colossal volcano eruption sends ash plume 2 miles high in Philippines
A volcanic eruption in the eastern Philippines has sent clouds of ash almost three kilometres high - and forced thousands of people to flee. Witnesses describe the ground shaking before a tremendous explosion. Smoke and ash blanketed nearby villages, disrupting power and communications. The military is helping to evacuate communities near the mountain. The last major eruption was in 2006.
Gazprom takes a hit from regional unrest
The Russian gas giant Gazprom is emerging as one of the biggest potential losers from the continuing unrest in the Middle East. The company has interests in Libya, Bahrain and Iran, all of which are experiencing some level of civil disturbance. Gazprom shares, listed in Russia, declined by almost 9 per cent in the past week.
Russia blames Google for stirring Egypt unrest-WSJ
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's deputy blamed Google Inc in an interview published on Tuesday for stirring up trouble in the revolution that ousted Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak. "Look what they have done in Egypt, those highly-placed managers of Google, what manipulations of the energy of the people took place there," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin told the Wall Street Journal. Such strong comment from one of Putin's most trusted deputies is a clear signal of growing concern among Russian hardliners about the role of the Internet in the unrest which has swept across the Arab world.
Medvedev sees `fires for decades' in Arab world
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday predicted decades of instability in the Arab world if protesters whom he called fanatics come to power, adding no such scenario will be permitted at home. Medvedev's words fall in sharp contrast with the European Union, which said in a statement on Monday that it "deplores the violence" and "repression" against the pro-democracy protesters by authorities in one of the troublespots, Libya.
Jordan's politicians demand limit to king's powers
Emboldened by uprisings across the region, these usually divergent voices are grouping around a broad demand for constitutional changes to limit the extensive executive powers of the Hashemite monarchy. Sheikh Hammam Said, head of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood, said voters should have the right to elect their prime minister, an appointment currently made by the king.
Japan creating spy agency for first time after Second World War
The new unit, modelled on MI6 and the CIA, will also be tasked with gathering information to prevent terrorist attacks against Japanese targets, according to a US government cable obtained by WikiLeaks. The cable, which records an October 2008 discussion between Hideshi Mitani, Japan’s Cabinet Office intelligence chief and Randall Fort, the former head of the US State Department’s Bureau of Research and Intelligence, reveals that Tokyo believes having a “human intelligence collection capability” has become a priority.
FBI: Muslim Brotherhood deeply rooted inside U.S.
The true nature, ambitions and global reach of the Cairo-based Muslim Brotherhood suddenly have become the focus of debate in Washington, following unrest in Egypt and other parts of the Middle East.
Top Sunni cleric says army should kill Kadhafi
Influential Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi issued a fatwa on Monday that any Libyan soldier who can shoot dead embattled leader Moamer Kadhafi should do so "to rid Libya of him." "Whoever in the Libyan army is able to shoot a bullet at Mr Kadhafi should do so," Qaradawi, an Egyptian-born cleric who is usually based in Qatar, told Al-Jazeera television.
China official warns of domestic unrest and "hostile" West
Chen Jiping, deputy secretary general of the Communist Party's Political and Legal Affairs Committee, gave the toughly worded warning in this week's issue of Outlook Weekly, and blamed Western democratic countries for fomenting unrest. He did not mention the protests that have rocked authoritarian governments in the Middle East, and his words reflect the Communist Party's own homegrown fears.
Teachers letting science point to Creator
A Christian educator is applauding a national survey that shows more than 900 biology teachers in public high schools are teaching creationism, which is thriving in the classroom.
Pilots, boaters adjust to shift in magnetic north
Magnetic north, the point at the top of the Earth that determines compass headings, is shifting its position at a rate of about 40 miles per year. In geologic terms, it's racing from the Arctic Ocean near Canada toward Russia. As a result, everyone who uses a compass, even as a backup to modern GPS navigation systems, needs to be aware of the shift, make adjustments or obtain updated charts to ensure they get where they intend to go, authorities say. That includes pilots, boaters and even hikers.
Libyan turmoil hits stocks as oil surges
Mounting concerns over Libya's violent crisis battered stocks once again Tuesday and sent oil prices surging, while the earthquake in the New Zealand city of Christchurch pushed the country's currency sharply lower. With deep rifts opening up in Moammar Gadhafi's regime, air force pilots defecting and a bloody crackdown in the capital of Tripoli, investors are fretting over how the crisis will end and what the impact on the North African country's oil production will be.
Arab revolts raise new immigration fears in Europe
Europe voiced fears Monday about a new wave of illegal immigration after Libya threatened to break its cooperation on controlling the flow and more Tunisians landed on Italian shores.
Arab revolts raise new immigration fears in Europe
Europe voiced fears Monday about a new wave of illegal immigration after Libya threatened to break its cooperation on controlling the flow and more Tunisians landed on Italian shores.
Libya protests: Thousands of foreigners flee violence
Tens of thousands of foreigners are trying to flee Libya, after clashes between security forces and protesters reportedly left hundreds dead. Egypt has boosted its military near the border and set up field hospitals, as thousands of its nationals return. Several countries are evacuating their citizens and oil companies are relocating expat staff.
Illegal Mosque Must be Sealed
The official State position is that an illegal mosque in Burin - just south of Shechem (Nablus) and in between Yitzhar and Bracha - must be sealed. So it has informed the Supreme Court
Earthquake Shakes Up Suez Canal as Iran Warships Approach
The National Institute for Astronomical and Geophysical Research reported that tremors from the 3 a.m. quake lasted for 27 minutes, but caused no damage.
2 Iranian warships enter Suez Canal en route to Syria
Two Iranian naval vessels entered the Suez Canal on Tuesday en route to Syria, officials said, the first time in three decades that Tehran has sent military ships through the strategic waterway. Canal officials said the ships — a frigate and a supply vessel — are expected to reach the Mediterranean later in the day.
It's Iran, Not Israel, Stupid!
An insidious new mythology is being advanced that replaces the Iranian threat with the “Israeli threat” to Middle East stability. Political attention must be redirected to the Iranian contagion that is inflaming the region.
Arrow 2 missile defense system successfully tested
In face of Iran's continued race for nuclear power, Israel conducted a successful test of the Arrow 2 ballistic missile defense system off the coast of California early Tuesday morning, when it destroyed a target simulating an Iranian ballistic missile. It was the eighteenth test of the Arrow, and the second in which the modified Arrow 2 was tested in its entirety, along with the Green Pine radar manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
6.3 magnitude quake in New Zealand kills at least 65
A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck one of New Zealand's biggest cities Tuesday at the height of a busy workday, toppling tall buildings and churches, crushing buses and killing at least 65 people in one of the country's worst natural disasters. It was the second major quake to hit Christchurch, a city of 350,000, in five months, though Tuesday's temblor caused far more destruction than a stronger September quake that struck before dawn on a weekend.
Scores of bodies reported on streets of Libyan capital
The bodies of scores of protesters shot dead by security forces loyal to longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi littered the streets of a restive district in the Libyan capital on Tuesday, according to a Libyan opposition activist and a Tripoli resident. Tripoli's inhabitants hunkered down in their homes after the killings and warnings by forces loyal to Gaddafi that anyone on the streets would be shot, Mohammed Ali of the Libyan Salvation Front and the local resident said.
