“Digital News To You”
“Watch and be ready
“Avoid Entanglements in the World”
4/01/2010
Report: Obama wants Israel to halt building in east Jerusalem for four months
According to a report by the Israeli newspaper ‘Haaretz,’ US President Barack Obama has asked Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu to freeze construction in the eastern part of Jerusalem, beyond the 1967 Green Line, for a period of four months in order to renew peace talks with the Palestinians. Washington hopes such a deal could persuade Palestinians to accept direct negotiations rather than indirect talks, as had been planned, ‘Haaretz’ wrote, citing an unnamed Israeli political source. Netanyahu’s office made no official comment on the matter.
PA officials in US for security consultation
Palestinian Interior Minister Saeed Abu Ali has left for Washington together with the commander of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service, Ziyad Hab al-Rih, for security consultations. The meetings are aimed at examining the Palestinian Authority's preparedness for taking full security control of additional territories in the West Bank, which now belong to Areas B and C and will become part of Area A. The two officials will be joined by additional Palestinians officers later on. -According to different reports, the Palestinians are expected to gain control of communities in the Jerusalem area, including the town of Abu-Dis.
Hezbollah: Israel planning to destroy Al-Aqsa mosque
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has accused Israel of plotting to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem, in an interview with Al-Manar television on Wednesday. The Hezbollah leader also said that is responsible for the blame put on Hezbollah for the death of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri,. "Well known sources in Lebanon blamed Syria, as did Arab and international officials,' Nasrallah told Al-Manar, adding that "then Israeli officials and the Israeli media said that the Hezbollah is behind the assassination."
Robert Krentz killing stokes fears of rampant illegal immigration
The killing of Arizona rancher Robert Krentz has prompted the state’s governor, its most influential senator, and its farming community to say that Washington is not doing enough to prevent illegal immigration and secure the border with Mexico.
Encouraged by US slamming Israel, Arabs riot in J'lem
The unrest began Friday, just hours after ... Hillary Clinton gave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a tongue-lashing for "insulting the United States."
El Nino phenomenon to die out by mid-year
Weather experts said Tuesday that El Nino, the weather anomaly that wreaks havoc around the Pacific and east Africa, has peaked and would disappear by mid-year.
Coming soon: Drug that slows ageing process?
there is definite potential, within our lifetime, that we will be able to develop drugs to slow the ageing process based on this gene. Although stopping the ageing process may not happen, slowing it down is quite realistic."
Obama’s Student Loan Takeover Adds $52 Billion to Deficit According to 'Fair Value' Accounting, Says CBO
The student loan overhaul legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama on Tuesday could add $52 billion to the deficit between 2010 and 2020 when the cost of the market risks and administrative expenses of the loans are taken into consideration, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported.
Floods Swamp New England
Large-scale flooding disrupted swaths of New England after rains soaked the region for three days, shutting businesses and sending people from their homes. Record rainfall has swollen rivers and affected communities from Connecticut to Maine. In Rhode Island, residents were asked to conserve water and electricity because of flooded sewage systems and electrical substations. In southern Massachusetts, 1,000 residents in Freetown were stranded when a bridge became impassable.
Google has censorship balancing act outside China
Google Inc. didn't stop wrangling with censorship when the company moved its search engine out of mainland China to shed its restraints on what can be shown on the Internet. Even in countries Google has no intention of leaving, the world's Web search leader has been under increasing pressure to filter information. For instance, local laws prodded Google to help shield Turkey's founder and Thailand's monarch from public ridicule by blocking unflattering videos of them in their home countries.
Belgium moves to become first European country to ban the burka
Belgium is on the verge of becoming the first European nation to ban the burka. A parliamentary committee agreed yesterday to outlaw the wearing of face-covering veils in public. The full Parliament will vote later this month. Under the proposals, women could face a week in prison or a fine for wearing a veil in public.
Palestinians: IDF drops leaflets over Gaza warning of imminent attack
The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday denied Palestinian reports that its troops had disseminated notices over a residential area of the Gaza Strip warning of an upcoming military strike. Palestinians reported that Israel dropped thousands of leaflets overnight, warning residents to "wait for the response tomorrow."
India launches biometric census
India is launching a new census in which every person aged over 15 will be photographed and fingerprinted to create a biometric national database. The government will then use the information to issue identity cards. Officials will spend a year classifying India's population of around 1.2 billion people according to gender, religion, occupation and education.
China 'ready for talks' on new UN sanctions on Iran
Iran's top nuclear official is holding talks in China amid signs that Beijing has relaxed its opposition to a new round of UN sanctions against Tehran. The US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said China was ready to hold "serious" talks with Western powers on a new UN resolution. This would mark a policy shift for China, which has strong ties with Iran. China says it wants a peaceful outcome.
Texas jail guard 'the target' in Mexico murders
A suspect in the murder of three people with links to the US consulate in Ciudad Juarez has said the target was a US prison guard, Mexican officials say. Authorities said Ricardo Valles, an alleged member of the Barrio Azteca gang, told them he acted as lookout. The guard and his wife, who worked at the consulate, were shot dead on 13 March as they left a party in Juarez.
UN Haiti pledges surpass targets
The international community has pledged a total of $9.9bn in immediate and long-term aid to earthquake-hit Haiti at a UN donor conference. The $5.3bn of support over the next two years exceeds the $4bn requested by the Haitian government to rebuild infrastructure. "This is the down-payment Haiti needs for wholesale national renewal," UN chief Ban Ki-moon said in New York.
Condoms can help on poverty - Catholic leader
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster has said he understands why contraception is seen as "attractive" in tackling Third World poverty. But Archbishop Vincent Nichols told BBC WM it was not the Church's role to add to calls for condom distribution. The Church opposes contraception, because it believes it interferes with the creation of life.
Charter of Fundamental Rights to be re-written as 80-minute-long epic poem
The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) wants the EU's human rights charter recast as an 80-minute-long epic poem, accompanied by music, dance and "multi-media elements." "The FRA intends to launch a negotiated procedure for the creation and implementation of an artistic concept for the presentation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in Poems," reads the agency tender issued this month.
US will support ‘everything but permission to strike Iran'
Several months ago, a top Israeli defense official visiting Washington was speaking with a senior American politician when the conversation turned to Iran. "Whatever military platforms you ask for, we will give you," the politician told the official. "Everything, of course, except permission to attackIran."
'Israel to make J'lem Jewish only'
Israel is planning the desctruction of the Al-Aksa Mosque, Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah alleged in an interview with the movement's Al-Manar TV station aired on Wednesday night. Nasrallah stated that while "the Israelis disagree on many things, they are united on two matters: the Jewish state andJerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel."
Weapons cache discovered in Sinai
Egyptian security forces discovered a massive arms cache in the Sinai Peninsula Thursday. The arms were purportedly destined to be smuggled into the Gaza Strip, according to the Egyptian daily Al-Yum a-Saba. The weapons included 100 anti-aircraft missiles, 40 RPG missiles and 40 other explosive devices.
China prefers diplomacy on Iran
China continues to seek a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Thursday. He clarified China has agreed to hold serious discussion on a fresh round of sanctions. In effect, Gang was reacting to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's confirmation of a leak by two US officials claiming China was coming around on sanctions.
