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Corn Ratings Worsen as U.S. Midwest Drought Expands: USDA
The condition of the U.S. corn crop worsened for an eighth straight week amid the worst Midwest drought in a generation. Soybean ratings also fell. About 24 percent of the corn was in good or excellent condition as of yesterday, down from 26 percent a week earlier and 77 percent in mid-May, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said today in a report.

As truth about ********* radiation emerges, Japanese authorities struggle to maintain cover-up
The cat is out of the bag, as more evidence continues to emerge proving that clean-up workers at the stricken ********* Daiichi nuclear power facility in Japan deliberately covered up high radiation readings at the order of their superiors. And as more people become aware of this disturbing fact, Japanese authorities are trying to maintain the facade that the cover-up was an isolated incident, and that there was not a larger conspiracy to hide legitimate radiation readings from the public.

Second India blackout in two days cuts power to 670 million
Grids supplying electricity to half of India's 1.2 billion people collapsed on Tuesday, trapping coal miners, stranding train travelers and plunging hospitals into darkness in the second major blackout in as many days.

Euro zone crisis heads for September crunch
Over the past couple of years, Europe has muddled through a long series of crunch moments in its debt crisis, but this September is shaping up as a "make-or-break" month as policymakers run desperately short of options to save the common currency.

Earthquake rumbles Mineral, VA
Almost 1 year after Central Virginia was rocked by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake, a smaller tremor was felt early Tuesday morning. According to the latest reading from the U.S. Geological Survey , it happened just after midnight.

Little Rock, Ar. hits third highest temperature ever recorded: 111 F
Triple-digit heat intensified across Arkansas on Monday, setting records in at least two cities and increasing the danger for wildfires. Temperatures exceeded 100 in some areas, and are expected to stick around for much of the week. Low humidity also is settling in, increasing the threat for wildfires.

Al-Qaida turns tide for rebels in battle for eastern Syria
...According to Abu Khuder, his men are working closely with the military council that commands the Free Syrian Army brigades in the region. "We meet almost every day," he said. "We have clear instructions from our [al-Qaida] leadership that if the FSA need our help we should give it. We help them with IEDs and car bombs. Our main talent is in the bombing operations." Abu Khuder's men had a lot of experience in bomb-making from Iraq and elsewhere, he added.

Heat record broken Monday
The mercury rose to over 30 degrees Celsius for the first time this summer in eastern Finland as meteorologists warned of severe thunderstorms later in the day.

Post office nears historic default on $5B payment
The U.S. Postal Service is bracing for a first-ever default on billions in payments due to the Treasury, adding to widening uncertainty about the mail agency's solvency as first-class letters plummet and Congress deadlocks on ways to stem the red ink.

Russia to keep Tartus base
Russia will maintain its logistics naval station in the Syrian port of Tartus. Commenting on the issue earlier this week, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Vice Admiral Viktor Chirkov accentuated the importance of the Tartus base in providing logistics services to the anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden.

Japan heat wave death toll rises to 30
At least 30 people have already died due to extreme heat in Japan, with more than 8,000 others rushed to hospital, including elderly people.

Syrian troops capture 4 field commanders
Syrian troops have driven out the terrorists and mercenaries from the region of Salaheddin in the Syrian city Aleppo. According to news being broadcast by the SANA news agency, on Sunday Syrian troops were mounting surgical strikes on terrorist hideouts and rebel positions in an effort to avoid damage and casualties.

Drought and wild fires destroy Russian harvest
Russia is currently in the grips of an extremely strong heat wave. City and town residents are suffocating from the sweltering heat. For example, it is about 30 degrees in Moscow with prospects of the thermometer going up in the next few days. The heat wave situation is aggravated by wild fires producing clouds of poisonous smoke.

Uganda says avoid handshakes as Ebola returns
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Monday advised people to avoid shaking hands, casual sex and do-it-yourself burials to reduce the chance of contracting the deadly Ebola virus after an outbreak killed 14 people and put many more at risk.

Weather station temperature claims are overheated, report claims
Global warming believer-turned-skeptic Anthony Watts, a former TV meteorologist, posted a new report online questioning the reliability of weather stations in the U.S. Historical Climatology Network, a 120-year-old weather system that forms one tent pole of climate measurements. As the country has evolved, building urban metropolises and airports and pouring parking lots, the weather stations haven’t moved -- and poorly cited stations are spoiling the data.

Republicans to issue report blaming five ATF employees for Fast and Furious' debacle
The congressional investigative report, to be issued Tuesday, specifically faults Acting Director Kenneth Melson; Deputy Director William Hoover; William Newell, special agent in charge of the Phoenix Field Division; William McMahon, deputy assistant director for field operations, and Mark Chait, assistant director for field operations. Melson told investigators he felt the Justice Department was making him a scapegoat for the operation's failure.

Dems move to include gay marriage support in official party platform
Democrats are moving, for the first time, to include support for same-sex marriage in the official party platform at their national convention. The decision comes after President Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to voice support for gay marriage, and as party officials try to build the anticipation ahead of the convention set for early September in Charlotte, N.C.

Turkish military convoy heads for Syrian border
Turkey sent a convoy of about 20 vehicles carrying troops, missile batteries and armoured vehicles to the border with Syria on Monday amid growing concern in Turkey about security on its southern frontier, news reports and witnesses said.

Deadly Seal Flu Virus Poses Threat To Humans
The strain is closely related to one that has been circulating in North American birds since 2002. But unlike the bird strain, it has adapted to living in mammals. It has also evolved mutations known to ease transmission and cause more severe symptoms. Specifically, the virus has the ability to target a protein found in human lungs. Dr Anne Moscona, from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, who led the researchers, said: "There is a concern that we have a new mammalian-transmissible virus to which humans haven't been exposed yet. "It's a combination we haven't seen in disease before."

Less Than a Week Remains Before NASA's Biggest Rover Yet Lands on Mars
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover is scheduled to touch down on Mars at 10:30 p.m. PDT on Aug. 5 (1:30 a.m. Aug. 6 EDT, 0530 GMT). The car-size robotic explorer is designed to investigate whether Mars is, or ever was, capable of hosting microbial life.

Solar Storm Expected to Hit Earth Tuesday
A medium-size solar flare erupted from the sun this weekend, hurling a cloud of plasma and charged particles toward Earth on a cosmic path that is expected to deliver a glancing blow to our planet... (July 31), according to space weather forecasters.

Euro zone jobless rate hits record high, inflation static
Inflation in the euro zone remained steady for the third straight month in July, offering little comfort to consumers at a time when the number of people out of work continues to climb and the unemployment rate hit a record high.

Grain prices threaten growth – except in Canada’s breadbasket
Grain prices, which are hitting record highs as crop failures ripple around the globe, are likely to remain strong for at least three more years, the World Bank says, threatening to push the price of nutritious food beyond the reach of the world’s poorest citizens. While the massive drought in the United States has garnered a lot of attention, the situation is made worse by a shortage of rain that has damaged wheat crops in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. India’s monsoon rainfall is also about 20 per cent below average, hurting crop prospects in the world’s second-most-populous country, while excessive rain is pinching farm producers in many European countries.

Chronic drought to become commonplace, scientists warn
The four-year-long drought that affected western Canada and the U.S. at the turn of the century was the worst to hit the region in 800 years, say scientists who warn that dry spell was nothing compared to the “megadroughts” still to come.

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Taiwan, China on alert as typhoons approach
Taiwan issued torrential rain and strong wind warnings for most of the island on Wednesday as slow-moving Typhoon Saola approached, while in China, Premier Wen Jiabao told authorities to be on the highest alert to prevent deaths. The typhoon has winds of about 119 km per hour (74 mph) and could bring up to 1,000 mm (39 inches) of rain to parts of Taiwan over the rest of the week, the Central Weather Bureau said.

Iran denies its nuclear computer systems hit by new virus
Iran on Wednesday denied reports that its nuclear program's systems had been hit with a new cyber virus which shut down computer functions at two facilities - and played music by AC/DC at loud volume.

Syrian rebels step up roadside-bomb use
Syrian helicopter gunships and artillery battered Aleppo Wednesday while rebel fighters stepped up use of Iraqi-style roadside bombs against regime forces.

Turkish military stages tank exercises near Syria border
Turkey launched a military drill Wednesday just across the border from a Syrian town it claims is controlled by Kurdish groups affiliated with the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - a show of muscle aimed at these groups pushing for autonomy within Turkey's borders.

Netanyahu dismisses Panetta's calls for patience on Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that U.S. statements of solidarity with Israel and its assurances that military strikes are still an option aren't working to convince Iran that the West is "serious about stopping them" from developing nuclear weapons. Standing with a visiting Leon Panetta, Netanyahu dismissed the U.S. defence chief's counsel to give diplomacy more time to halt Iran's nuclear program.

Largest Dust Storms in a Century Roll Back into Dust Bowl
According to meteorologists, the huge dust storms are becoming more frequent, forming during the monsoon season from June until the end of September. This summer's dust storms are the worst to have hit since the massive “Dust Bowl” disaster that struck the Midwest in the 1930s. At that time, more than 100 million acres of topsoil were stripped from the land when the strong winds struck in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Massive storms gathered up the drought-parched topsoil and dumped it into the Atlantic Ocean, destroying the land for future farming, and creating the “Dust Bowl” region.

US, Turkey to 'accelerate' Syria transition
President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by telephone Monday "to coordinate efforts to accelerate a political transition in Syria," the White House said. This "would include the departure of (Syrian leader) Bashar Assad and be responsive to the legitimate demands of the Syrian people," the statement said.

Mysterious virus threatening Kinneret's St. Peter's fish
Unknown virus is killing Tilapia population in Sea of Galilee; experts say future impact on lake's eco-system unknown.

IDF chief on Iran: All options on the table
"As far as I'm concerned, all the options are on the table, and that's not a slogan, but a plan of action," the army chief said.

Terrorism fears grow over Mali jihadists
Western and Arab security specialists say they fear jihadists who have taken over northern Mali will turn it into a base for Islamist terrorism across the Sahel region and Western Europe.

US Air Force to Launch New Spy Satellite Thursday
Thursday's trip to space will deploy another cargo for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the secretive government organization responsible for designing and operating the intelligence-gathering surveillance spacecraft for policy makers and military forces. All details about the payload nestled inside the Atlas rocket's nose cone are kept classified. The agency will say only that the launch is known as NROL-36.

US removes N.Korea from terrorism list
In a report issued on Wednesday, the US State Department said that it has removed North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Free Syrian Army gets mobile air defense systems
...the supplies were possibly initiated by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar which have repeatedly stressed the necessity of lending military support to Syrian opposition. Western countries and the United States have, for their part, more than once warned against taking such a step.

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White House Differs with Romney on Jerusalem as Capital of Israel
In what marks a decisive difference in the presidential campaign, one day after Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney called Jerusalem the capital of Israel, the White House asserted that Romney’s position was different from that of the Obama administration.

Georgia lumberyard owner hammers Obama on 'You didn't build that'
"I built this business without gov't help. Obama can Kiss my ass," reads the sign outside Gaster Lumber & Hardware in Savannah, Ga. Owner Ray Gaster posted that and two similar ones at all three of his company's locations in response to Obama's comments during a speech to supporters in Virignia, which struck a nerve with small business owners around the nation.

'If I were Iranian, I'd be fearful of the next 12 weeks'
Former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy added to speculation of an impending Israeli military strike against Iran's nuclear program in a statement published by The New York Times Wednesday. "If I were an Iranian, I would be very fearful of the next 12 weeks," Halevy said.

China’s factories feeling the pain
While China’s official PMI reading came in weaker than last month – and only a whisker above the key 50 level – the alternative manufacturing gauge, put together by Markit and HSBC, showed continued contraction.

Chinese Communist Party 'Members' Increasingly Attend Church
“Although CCP members are required to be atheists and generally are discouraged from participating in religious activities, their attendance at official church services in Guangdong Province was reportedly growing, as authorities increasingly chose to turn a blind eye to their attendance,” the report stated. Representative Frank Wolf (R-Va.), who authored the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, backed up claims that more Chinese Communists as well as members of the media are becoming Christians, despite continuing religious repression in China.

Drought decimates Arkansas' famed cattle industry
One by one, long cattle trailers in bright green and barnyard red slowly pull up to the Arkansas Cattle Auction. Folks with mud on their boots and cowboy hats on their heads unload their life's work. The cows trundle out into the waiting pens. A few hours later, they will be sold at a third their usual value -- if their owners are lucky. The crippling, record U.S. drought has forced ranchers all over America to unload their stock sooner and at lower prices than they would probably like, a problem that seems likely to get worse before it gets better.

Stunning Crimes of the Big Banks: Worse than Your Wildest Imagination
Here are just some of the improprieties by big banks: •Funding the Nazis •Laundering money for terrorists •Financing illegal arms deals, and funding the manufacture of cluster bombs (and see this and this) and other arms which are banned in most of the world •Launching a coup against the President of the United States •Handling money for rogue military operations •Laundering money for drug cartels. See this, this, this and this (indeed, drug dealers kept the banking system afloat during the depths of the 2008 financial crisis)

Was India's Worst Black Out in Human History Triggered by a Solar Flare?
Is a "Solar Flare" partially responsible for India and Pakistan's massive power outage? Could it have been a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) since most of Pakistan, along with northern India, also suffered long blackouts?

The pro-Islamist West versus anti-Islamist Russia, China?
“Whereas the European Union and the US government are increasingly sympathetic to Islamism, in part as a way to tame their own Muslim populations, Moscow and Beijing have a history of open conflict with their Muslim populations and therefore adopt policies more hostile to Islamism in the Middle East.”

A Russian-Saudi-Turkish-Chinese alliance to contain the Muslim Brotherhood and Obama?
I suggested during our conference call yesterday that the only friend the Muslim Brotherhood has in high places is Barack Obama. I didn't mean that facetiously. Turkey's application to join the SIno-Russian Shanghai Cooperation Organization following Prime Minister Erdogan's July 19 pilgrimage to Russia is a diplomatic humiliation for the United States, and of the first order.

Turkish military stages tank exercises near Syrian border
The Turkish military began tank exercises in Mardin province, near the Syrian border, amid heightened concerns in Ankara over the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) gaining control over Kurdish cities in northern Syria.

NATO should finish job in Afghanistan, Putin says
NATO forces should stay in Afghanistan until they have finished their job to ensure stability, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, criticizing the planned withdrawal of most combat troops by 2014.

Obama authorizes secret U.S. support for Syrian rebels
Obama has signed a secret order authorizing U.S. support for rebels seeking to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government, U.S. sources familiar with the matter said. Obama's order, approved earlier this year and known as an intelligence "finding," broadly permits the CIA and other U.S. agencies to provide support that could help the rebels oust Assad.

Fed says economy may need help, keeps policy on hold
The Federal Reserve stopped short of offering new monetary stimulus on Wednesday even as it signaled more strongly that further bond buying could be in store to help a economic recovery that it said had lost momentum this year.

Pepper-spray cop no longer employed by UC Davis
Lt. John Pike, the University of California Davis police officer who pepper-sprayed student protesters last November, is no longer employed by the university.

Time short to stop Iran nuclear plan: Netanyahu
Time is running out for the international community to halt Iran’s nuclear programme by peaceful means, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, told U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

Bashar Assad tells Syrian forces to step up attacks against rebels
Syrian President Bashar Assad urged his armed forces Wednesday to step up the fight against rebels as the United Nations reported a significant escalation in the civil war with the military using warplanes to fire on opposition fighters in the battle for Aleppo.

San Bernardino, California, files for bankruptcy with over $1 billion in debts
San Bernardino filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday citing more than $1 billion of debts and making it the third California city to seek protection from creditors. The city of about 210,000 residents 65 miles east of Los Angeles declared a fiscal crisis last month after a report said local government had tapped out its reserves and projected spending would top revenue by $45 million in the fiscal year that began on July 1.

Syria's Assad praises troops, keeps out of public eye
President Bashar al-Assad told his troops on Wednesday that their battle against rebels would decide Syria's fate, but his written message gave no clues to his whereabouts two weeks after a bomb attack on his inner circle.

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European crisis may go global - IMF
The European debt crisis may have a very negative knock-on effect on the global economy. In a pertinent report released on Friday a team of IMF experts warns that even though non-European states have not yet felt the pinch, any further economic upheavals in Europe could send the European GDP 5 percent down which, in view of sluggish growth, could undermine production.

suspected Ebola cases growing in Uganda
“It’s no longer just one village. There are many villages affected,” Byaruhanga said. In a national address, Uganda’s president advised against unnecessary contact among people, saying suspected cases of Ebola should be reported immediately to health officials.

Official: Cabinet hasn’t discussed Iran since October
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak conveyed the message to US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta this week that Israel will decide for itself how to handle the nuclear threat and according to various report the two are planning an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. However, a Reuters report suggests that the forum of eight ministers had not discussed the matter in almost a year.

Congress, with much left to do, takes 5 weeks off
After a final day of partisan battles over drought relief and cybersecurity, members of Congress streamed out of the Capitol looking forward to five weeks of vacation and a fall fraught with decisions on the political and economic future of the country.

Syrian general among 1,000 refugees fleeing to Turkey
About 1,000 Syrians, including a defecting brigadier-general, have fled to Turkey in the past 24 hours to escape intensifying violence in their country, a Turkish official said on Friday. The latest group brought the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey to 45,500, up from 44,000 at the end of July, said the official, who asked not to be named. At least 25 military generals are among those who have taken refuge in Turkey.

Ahmadinejad: World forces must annihilate Israel
Ahmadinejad added that "liberating Palestine" would solve all the world's problems, although he did not elaborate on exactly how that might work. “Qods Day is not merely a strategic solution for the Palestinian problem, as it is to be viewed as a key for solving the world problems," he said.

Does Barack Obama Expect The Upcoming Election To Spark Rampant Civil Unrest?
What is Barack Obama preparing for? What does Barack Obama actually expect to happen in November? Does he believe that the upcoming election could actually spark rampant civil unrest inside the United States? The conditions are certainly ripe for civil unrest in this country. A multitude of recent polls and surveys have shown that Americans are angrier and more frustrated than ever.

Jewish Home MK calls for a Third Temple in Jerusalem
In an article (PDF) published in advance of the fast of Tisha B’Av in the weekly Hebrew journal Olam Katan, entitled “Internal and Legislative Reform,” Orlev wrote that the Temple must be rebuilt in Jerusalem and that “fundamental changes” to Israeli society and government were necessary in order to realize the success of the project. Besides spiritual reform and the creation of a cadre of religious experts capable of running the Temple, Orlev argued that the government — “assuming the government will choose to be democratic” — must turn back dissent surrounding the project.

Israeli-American Newspaper: 'Netanyahu Puts All the Chips on Romney'
Noting that Romney's positions match those of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the newspaper summarized their meeting in Jerusalem: "Netanyahu embraced Romney as no Israeli prime minister before had embraced an American presidential candidate running against a sitting president."

Are large earthquakes linked across the globe?
This could be disappointing news for researchers who thought global communication between quakes might offer a way to predict the most severe seismic activity. But there also may be some good news after a decade of destruction. If global great earthquakes are occurring at random, the authors say, then a specific number of quakes that cluster together within a short time is unlikely to be repeated in a similar way over a 100-year span.

Global 'weirdness' seen in summer's extreme weather events
A plague of extreme weather events, from Greenland briefly thawing to the derecho thunderstorms that knocked out power for millions across the Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Midwest has struck this summer. Above all, an exceptional drought has marked roughly 50% of all U.S. counties nationwide as federal disaster areas. That's on top of last year, which saw record U.S. tornadoes, floods and a drought that tortured Texas and Oklahoma.

Drought worsens in U.S. farm states-climatologists
The worst U.S. drought in 56 years intensified over the past week as above-normal temperatures and scant rainfall parched corn and soybean crops across the Midwest and central Plains, a report from climate experts said on Thursday.

Iranian Leader Says War May Happen Within Weeks
While retaliation had been exhaustively drilled in regular military exercises in the past year, Khamenei ordered the biggest fortification project in Iran’s history to save its nuclear program from even the mightiest of America’s super-weapons. Rocks are being gathered from afar, piled on key nuclear installations, covered with many tons of poured concrete and finally plated with steel.

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Netanyahu: I’ll Take Responsibility for the Consequences if Israel Strikes Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has never shied away from speaking his mind, nor ...of being hawkish when it comes to defending his country from the sea of aggressors which surrounds it. Now...as Iran draws dangerously close to attaining the nuclear arsenal it has been working...to build, the prime minister is prepared..., with or without U.S. aid, Israel will strike Iran if necessary. What’s more, he’s not afraid to accept responsibility for the ensuing consequences should such a strike take place.

US economy adds 163,000 new jobs
The US economy added an extra 163,000 jobs in July, according to official figures, beating analysts' forecasts. However, the unemployment rate rose from 8.2% to 8.3% last month, as more people re-entered the workforce but failed to find a job. The US Department of Labor also said 6,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than first estimated.

Iran tests upgraded version of short-range missile
Iran claims it has successfully test-fired an upgraded version of a short-range ballistic missile. Iranian Defense Minister Genenral Ahmad Vahidi says the solid-fueled Fateh-110 has a range of 300 kilometers (185 miles). He claims it can pin-point targets at sea, making it the most accurate weapon of its kind in Iran's arsenal.

Muslim Brotherhood establishes militia inside Syria
Calling itself the "Armed Men of the Muslim Brotherhood", the militia has a presence in Damascus as well as opposition hot spots like Homs and Idlib. One of their organisers, who called himself Abu Hamza, said that he started the movement along with a member of the Syrian National Council (SNC), the opposition alliance.

US officials warn of swine flu outbreak at fairs
US health officials on Friday warned the public to be careful around pigs after an outbreak of flu among visitors to county fairs. The virus does not appear to have evolved to the point where it spreads easily among humans, but it does contain a gene from the pandemic H1N1 flu that sickened millions worldwide in 2009 and 2010.

Saudi Arabia: Soldier shot dead in Eastern Province
A soldier has been shot dead and another injured during a clash with protesters in eastern Saudi Arabia, according to state media. An interior ministry spokesman said that a security patrol was fired at by rioters on a motorbike in Qatif. A protester was also killed in a firefight following the incident, according to news agency AFP.

Syrian army moves on rebels in Aleppo, Damascus
Syrian forces stormed the last rebel stronghold in the capital Damascus in tanks and armored vehicles on Friday and blasted artillery at rebels in Aleppo, where the United Nations said the army was preparing a massive assault.

'Russia sends navy vessels, marines to Syria base'
Moscow is sending three large landing ships with marines aboard to a Russian naval facility in the Syrian port of Tartus, Russian news agencies quoted a source in the general staff as saying on Friday. The source said each ship would have up to 120 marines on board and that the vessels, already in the Mediterranean, would arrive in Tartus by the end of this week or early next week.

Israelis told to leave Sinai due to warning of imminent attack
Counterterrorism Bureau advises Israelis to leave Sinai based on intelligence that terrorist groups are actively planning to perpetrate attacks, especially abductions, against Israeli tourists • Israelis planning trips advised to postpone or cancel.

The mystery of the skeletons and the fall of Jerusalem
An archaeological scandal stirs Jerusalem this week: Who were the thousands of people whose skeletons were filmed by journalist Benny Liss at the foot of the eastern wall on Temple Mount? Were they victims of a Second Temple-era massacre or simply corpses buried in a Byzantine gravesite?

Nasrallah, Ahmadinejad advise Assad on how to butcher his people
The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly denounced Bashar Assad’s crackdown on civilians Friday: 133 countries voted in favor of the resolution — which also called for a lockdown of Syria’s chemical and biological weapons — while 12 nations voted against it and 31 abstained. Russia and China were two of the 12 countries that did not support the measure.

Birds' heads torn off in Australian zoo rampage
Nine birds, including an endangered swift parrot, had their heads smashed in or ripped off and more than 60 animals were missing on Saturday after vandals went on the rampage at an Australian zoo. "Either they have just caught them and banged their heads or pulled their heads off, it's a pretty sick thing to see," Warren told ABC Television.


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Seven killed, three wounded in Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting
Police in Wisconsin say seven people are dead at a Sikh temple near Milwaukee, including the suspected gunman. Local police have branded the incident an act of "domestic terrorism." Greenfield Police Chief Bradley Wentlandt says tactical officers have been through the temple where shots were fired about 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

Moscow Signs Oil Deal With Syria, Sends Ships
Syria has reached an agreement with ally Russia to secure much-needed fuel, as a delegation sent by President Bashar Assad asked Moscow to help alleviate the effects of sanctions on the war-torn country. Under the deal, Syria will export its crude oil to Russia in exchange for refined oil products, which Damascus sorely needs to keep its economy and military running.

Iran’s anti-Semitism makes it the greatest threat to Jews
The Holocaust was the most evil event of the 20th century. So it is abhorrent to me that a government in today’s world would advocate a repeat of that horror. And it is almost beyond belief that the rest of the world would hear such an outrage and look the other way. I am referring, of course, to the leaders of today’s Iran and the global ho-hum response to the most virulent form of state-sponsored anti-Semitism since Nazi Germany.

Abbas to move on UN membership bid in September
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will take a first procedural step toward seeking UN recognition of a state of Palestine when he addresses the General Assembly in late September, but has not decided when to ask for a vote on his request, the Palestinian foreign minister said Saturday. ...Some Abbas aides are pushing for quick action, while Abbas is said to be leaning toward waiting until after the US presidential election in November.

South China Sea dispute: China summons US diplomat
China has summoned a senior US diplomat in a dispute over the South China Sea. On Friday, the US state department said Beijing was risking an escalation in tensions by establishing a garrison on one of the disputed Paracel islands. The Chinese foreign ministry said the US remarks "disregarded the facts" and "sent a seriously wrong signal".

Clinton going to Turkey for talks over crisis in Syria
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will visit Istanbul later this week for talks with Turkish officials over the worsening crisis in Syria. The State Department said Sunday that Clinton would travel to Istanbul for discussions with the Turkish government on Syria as well as other timely issues. The talks are scheduled for Saturday.

Iran warns Syria conflict could engulf Israel
Iran said Sunday that the conflict in Syria could engulf Israel, as it warned against foreign intervention there, Iranian media reported. "The fire that has been ignited in Syria will take the fearful (Israelis) with it," Iran Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said on Sunday, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

IDF: Air force strikes global jihad terrorist in Gaza
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) bombed a motorbike in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, striking a global jihad terrorist who the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said was plotting a terror attack along the Egyptian border. Palestinian hospital officials said the man died in the attack, and one other was injured.

Zambian miners kill Chinese supervisor over pay
Zambian miners killed a Chinese supervisor and seriously wounded another on Saturday in a pay dispute at the Collum coal mine, labour minister Fackson Shamenda said on Sunday. Chinese companies have invested more than $1 billion in copper-rich Zambia but animosity towards them is growing as Zambian workers accuse firms of abuses and underpaying.

Tropical Storm Ernesto heads toward Jamaica
Tropical Storm Ernesto swirled westward through the central Caribbean early Sunday, heading for a pass south of Jamaica that could bring several inches of rain to the island.

Oklahoma fires: dozens of homes burn, evacuations
Several wildfires raging in parched Oklahoma countryside prompted more evacuations early Sunday as emergency workers sought to shelter those forced out by the flames that destroyed dozens of homes and threatened others in the drought-stricken region. One roaring fire near Luther, about 25 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, destroyed nearly five dozen homes and other buildings before firefighters gained a measure of control Saturday.

Syrian leader Assad's planes pound vital prize of Aleppo
President Bashar al-Assad's forces used artillery, planes and a helicopter gunship to pound rebel positions in Syria's biggest city, witnesses said, in a battle that could determine the outcome of the 17-month uprising.

2-Suicide bomber kills 25 in southern Yemen village
A suicide bomber struck at a funeral in a village in Yemen's southern province of Abyan overnight, killing at least 25 tribal fighters and wounding dozens more, officials and medics said on Sunday. The bomber targeted tribesmen who fought alongside the Yemeni army during an offensive against al Qaeda-linked militants in Abyan that the government hailed as a major victory in June.

'Iran strike talk legitimate, airing details is not'
Public detailed discussion by former senior security officials over a strike on Iran harms state security, former Mossad chief Danny Yatom said Sunday morning in an interview with Army Radio. Yatom expressed concern about statements released by former security officials recently, saying, "It is legitimate to discuss whether or not to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, but going into detail, harms state security."

Iran asks Turkey, Qatar to help free pilgrims seized in Syria
Tehran has asked Turkey and Qatar to help secure the release of 48 Iranian pilgrims kidnapped in the Syrian capital Damascus, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday.

AF to receive upgraded Arrow interceptor soon
The Israel Air Force will take delivery in the coming weeks of a new and improved Arrow-2 missile interceptor in an effort to bolster its defenses in face of growing regional threats. Work on an upgraded interceptor called “Block 4” was revealed by The Jerusalem Post in April. The upgraded missile contains new software aimed at improving the system’s ability to defend against long-range ballistic missiles such as Iran’s Shahab and Sajil and Syria’s Scud D missiles.

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Seven killed, three wounded in Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting
Police in Wisconsin say seven people are dead at a Sikh temple near Milwaukee, including the suspected gunman. Local police have branded the incident an act of "domestic terrorism." Greenfield Police Chief Bradley Wentlandt says tactical officers have been through the temple where shots were fired about 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

Moscow Signs Oil Deal With Syria, Sends Ships
Syria has reached an agreement with ally Russia to secure much-needed fuel, as a delegation sent by President Bashar Assad asked Moscow to help alleviate the effects of sanctions on the war-torn country. Under the deal, Syria will export its crude oil to Russia in exchange for refined oil products, which Damascus sorely needs to keep its economy and military running.

Iran’s anti-Semitism makes it the greatest threat to Jews
The Holocaust was the most evil event of the 20th century. So it is abhorrent to me that a government in today’s world would advocate a repeat of that horror. And it is almost beyond belief that the rest of the world would hear such an outrage and look the other way. I am referring, of course, to the leaders of today’s Iran and the global ho-hum response to the most virulent form of state-sponsored anti-Semitism since Nazi Germany.

Abbas to move on UN membership bid in September
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will take a first procedural step toward seeking UN recognition of a state of Palestine when he addresses the General Assembly in late September, but has not decided when to ask for a vote on his request, the Palestinian foreign minister said Saturday. ...Some Abbas aides are pushing for quick action, while Abbas is said to be leaning toward waiting until after the US presidential election in November.

South China Sea dispute: China summons US diplomat
China has summoned a senior US diplomat in a dispute over the South China Sea. On Friday, the US state department said Beijing was risking an escalation in tensions by establishing a garrison on one of the disputed Paracel islands. The Chinese foreign ministry said the US remarks "disregarded the facts" and "sent a seriously wrong signal".

Clinton going to Turkey for talks over crisis in Syria
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will visit Istanbul later this week for talks with Turkish officials over the worsening crisis in Syria. The State Department said Sunday that Clinton would travel to Istanbul for discussions with the Turkish government on Syria as well as other timely issues. The talks are scheduled for Saturday.

Iran warns Syria conflict could engulf Israel
Iran said Sunday that the conflict in Syria could engulf Israel, as it warned against foreign intervention there, Iranian media reported. "The fire that has been ignited in Syria will take the fearful (Israelis) with it," Iran Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said on Sunday, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

IDF: Air force strikes global jihad terrorist in Gaza
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) bombed a motorbike in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, striking a global jihad terrorist who the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said was plotting a terror attack along the Egyptian border. Palestinian hospital officials said the man died in the attack, and one other was injured.

Zambian miners kill Chinese supervisor over pay
Zambian miners killed a Chinese supervisor and seriously wounded another on Saturday in a pay dispute at the Collum coal mine, labour minister Fackson Shamenda said on Sunday. Chinese companies have invested more than $1 billion in copper-rich Zambia but animosity towards them is growing as Zambian workers accuse firms of abuses and underpaying.

Tropical Storm Ernesto heads toward Jamaica
Tropical Storm Ernesto swirled westward through the central Caribbean early Sunday, heading for a pass south of Jamaica that could bring several inches of rain to the island.

Oklahoma fires: dozens of homes burn, evacuations
Several wildfires raging in parched Oklahoma countryside prompted more evacuations early Sunday as emergency workers sought to shelter those forced out by the flames that destroyed dozens of homes and threatened others in the drought-stricken region. One roaring fire near Luther, about 25 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, destroyed nearly five dozen homes and other buildings before firefighters gained a measure of control Saturday.

Syrian leader Assad's planes pound vital prize of Aleppo
President Bashar al-Assad's forces used artillery, planes and a helicopter gunship to pound rebel positions in Syria's biggest city, witnesses said, in a battle that could determine the outcome of the 17-month uprising.

2-Suicide bomber kills 25 in southern Yemen village
A suicide bomber struck at a funeral in a village in Yemen's southern province of Abyan overnight, killing at least 25 tribal fighters and wounding dozens more, officials and medics said on Sunday. The bomber targeted tribesmen who fought alongside the Yemeni army during an offensive against al Qaeda-linked militants in Abyan that the government hailed as a major victory in June.

'Iran strike talk legitimate, airing details is not'
Public detailed discussion by former senior security officials over a strike on Iran harms state security, former Mossad chief Danny Yatom said Sunday morning in an interview with Army Radio. Yatom expressed concern about statements released by former security officials recently, saying, "It is legitimate to discuss whether or not to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, but going into detail, harms state security."

Iran asks Turkey, Qatar to help free pilgrims seized in Syria
Tehran has asked Turkey and Qatar to help secure the release of 48 Iranian pilgrims kidnapped in the Syrian capital Damascus, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday.

AF to receive upgraded Arrow interceptor soon
The Israel Air Force will take delivery in the coming weeks of a new and improved Arrow-2 missile interceptor in an effort to bolster its defenses in face of growing regional threats. Work on an upgraded interceptor called “Block 4” was revealed by The Jerusalem Post in April. The upgraded missile contains new software aimed at improving the system’s ability to defend against long-range ballistic missiles such as Iran’s Shahab and Sajil and Syria’s Scud D missiles.

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Rabbi Wolfson: Disaster, Redemption May be Near
Rav Moshe Wolfson of Brooklyn has held an emergency gathering in his community and called upon the members to be strong in Torah and prayer so that the Jewish people will survive the time of tension with Iran. -"There is no need to panic," he added. "We believe that G-d will perform miracles for us, it is possible that the time of Redemption (geula) has come and we must prepare for Redemption. Since the Holocaust, G-d has done great miracles for the Jews, especially in the Land of Israel, that hosts most of the world's Jews. And the Torah world receives unnatural help from Heavens. We can see that G-d wants to perform miracles for us and we must prepare for redemption."

Syrian Regime Using Phosphorus Bombs
Today the Israel Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs has called to attention on social media, a video showing the Syrian regime shelling the city of Homs using Phosphorus bombs on its people.

Giant sinkhole in Assumption Parish, Louisiana prompts state of emergency declaration
For more than two months, officials from federal to local have been unable to pin down the source of a natural gas leak and tremors in assumption parish. But on Thursday a 200 by 200 foot "slurry area" has appeared in bayou corne in northern assumption parish... The formation of the slurry area was accompanied by a diesel-like odor that some residents said burned their eyes and noses but dissipated by midmorning Friday... Assumption parish officials declared an emergency and called for an evacuation of residents living near the nearly 1-acre muddy site. A potential failure of a cavern operated by Texas brine company may have caused the slurry area, or sinkhole, which swallowed full-grown trees and denuded a formerly forested patch of cypress swamp.

US banks brace for possible eurozone collapse
According to the Financial Times, the banks plan to make some amendments to their credit contracts so they can be in line with London’s financial legislation, a step that they say will help them protect their investments in case of a potential collapse of the eurozone.

Drought in the U.S. Taking Its Toll on Farmers, Global Food Market
Following a rainless July along with daily temperatures reaching 95 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit, farmers in Iowa are now anticipating a harvest of just 70 to 80 bushels for every acre of corn field. This is a far cry from the previous average of 180 to 220 bushels an acre. They are hoping for rain to come this month, which is the most crucial time for soy bean pods to be filled. The crops really need moisture and rain otherwise the flowers will dry up. The midwest state of Iowa is considered as a "God-chosen" farming area, where additional government investment in irrigation is rarely required. Prior to the ongoing drought, the state had witnessed five consecutive years of favorable weather, and 24 straight years without drought.

NASA rover 'Curiosity' lands on Mars after plummet .
In a show of technological wizardry, the robotic explorer Curiosity blazed through the pink skies of Mars, steering itself to a gentle landing inside a giant crater for the most ambitious dig yet into the red planet's past.

Hurricane season 2012: Tropical Storm Ernesto approaching Honduras, expected to impact Yucatan
Tropical Storm Ernesto is expected to pass near Honduras later Monday and then take aim at the Yucatan Peninsula. Hurricane watches and Tropical storm warnings are in effect for portions of the region.

Earthquake hits Scandinavian sea
Trine Dahl-Jensen, of the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), said the tremor was "pretty strong" by Danish standards and such quakes happen "once or twice" in a decade. The epicentre was 12.4 miles south-east of the Danish island of Anholt in the Kattegat Sea.

Saudi King Invites Ahmadinejad to ‘Extraordinary’ Islamic Solidarity Meeting in Mecca
The AFP is reporting that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has invited Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to an “extraordinary” Islamic solidarity meeting in Mecca in mid-August, with the intention of “unifying the ranks” of Muslims. ...Commenters are divided on the significance of the invitation. Some say it is expected, while others are uncomfortable about the prospect of Saudi Arabia being an open ally of Iran. “This is not good for Israel,” one AFP commenter wrote.

In the genes? Seventh grader says bloodlines of 42 of 43 U.S. Presidents link back to King John of England
BridgeAnne d'Avignon traced the 43 presidents' male and female family lines and discovered that 42 are linked to King John Lackland, known for signing the Magna Carta in 1215, KCOY reported. "They all have the trait of wanting power," the 12-year-old told the local television station.

Arizona man sent to jail for holding Bible studies in his home
A Phoenix pastor who was jailed for holding a Bible study group on his private property is now holding one behind bars. Michael Salman is serving a 60-day sentence in Maricopa County's notorious Tent City jail for allegedly violating his probation by holding religious services on his property in violation of zoning and building codes.

Violence erupts at anti-Islam protest in Sweden
Some 400 leftists try to attack anti-Islam demonstration in Stockholm with bottles, fireworks; 10 arrested News agencies Swedish activists clashed with police amid a hail of bottles and fireworks in downtown Stockholm on Saturday as they tried to break through a police line and attack an anti-Islam demonstration.

Does audit show Federal Reserve Bank sitting on $21 billion in gold?
Now, according to the Times, the U.S. government has completed its audit – which included drilling holes in the bars to test their purity. The Treasury Department has refused to disclose any details of the audit, saying the results will be announced by the end of the year.

We have to prepare for the coming European storm
Economic and political reality points to the restructuring or fragmentation of the eurozone. For Britain, either outcome means economic risk, coupled with political opportunity. How should we prepare?

After defeat of Senate cybersecurity bill, Obama weighs executive-order option
Senate Republicans recently blocked cybersecurity legislation, but the issue might not be dead after all. The White House hasn't ruled out issuing an executive order to strengthen the nation's defenses against cyber attacks if Congress refuses to act. ..."Moving forward, the President is determined to do absolutely everything we can to better protect our nation against today’s cyber threats and we will do that," Carney said.

Underwater Volcano Found off West Iceland?
A mountain which the Icelandic Marine Research Institute (Hafró) discovered on the ocean floor west off the Snæfellsnes peninsula in West Iceland during an expedition earlier this summer may turn out to be a previously unknown volcano.

‘The clock is ticking’: ‘Megathrust’ West coast earthquake could resemble Japan’s, studies say
Two separate geological studies suggest the earthquake hazard in the transboundary region of the Pacific Coast of North America — including southern British Columbia — is significantly greater than previously believed, with both teams of U.S. scientists urging heightened readiness for a future offshore “megathrust” event that could compare with the one that triggered Japan’s catastrophe last year.

World On Alert For Massive Solar Storm
Power grids, communications and satellites could be knocked out by a massive solar storm in the next two years, scientists warn.

'Everybody thinks Europe is a Christian continent'
EU institutions avoid God. But for some religious leaders in EU-aspirant countries, member states' Christian origins are still politicaly important. The morning call to prayer at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul means different things to different people. For Muslims, it is an invitation to muster spiritual energy for the working day. For some Western visitors it is a sign that they are on the edge of an exotic world.

Israel's ambassador to U.S. accuses Iran behind Sinai attack
Israel's envoy to the United States on Monday blamed Iran for Sunday night's attack by Sinai militants against both Israel and Egypt, which left at least 15 Egyptian security personnel dead, the Israeli army on high alert, and thousands of Israelis in nearby communities in a night-long lockdown.

Greece's new pledges will take epic battle to implement
Greece's latest fiscal and reform pledges may be enough to convince international lenders weary after years of broken promises to keep Athens hooked to a 130 billion euro lifeline, but the battle to implement it will be epic.

Syrian prime minister sacked
Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab has been sacked just two months after his appointment, state television said on Monday. "Prime Minister Riad Hijab has been dismissed," the television reported. The director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP in Beirut that Hijab had fled Syria.

Syria TV 'hit by bomb attack' in Damascus
A bomb has exploded on the third floor of the Syrian state TV and radio building in the capital, Damascus, Syrian television reports. Three people were reported wounded and the explosion caused some damage but state TV continued broadcasting. Hours later, state TV reported that Prime Minister Riad Hijab had been fired. Appointed two months ago, he had been seen as a staunch loyalist.

Sikhs express shock after shootings at Wisconsin temple
Sikhs living in the United States have expressed their shock and fear after a shooting at a temple in Wisconsin on Sunday which left seven people dead. Some community members could not believe what happened. Others said they had feared such attacks since 9/11.

European shares steady as investors await next steps in euro crisis
European shares retreated from four-month highs and the euro slipped from a one-month peak on Monday, with investors reluctant to extend the recent gains without more clarity on the next steps in Europe's three-year long debt crisis.

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Michael Oren: The World Talks as Iran Acts to Destroy Israel
Michael Oren, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States' op-ed article in The Wall Street Journal was another implied hint that Israel cannot wait much longer before trying to delay Iran’s nuclear program with a military attack, and such articles by the ambassador to the United States presumably are coordinated with Israel's highest officials.

Emigration hits lowest mark in 40 years
Emigration from Israel is at its lowest in 40 years, according to figures released by the Central Bureau of Statistics on Monday. During 2010 a total of 15,600 Israelis left to live abroad, of whom 94 percent were Jewish and six percent Arab. The figure compares to 15,900 who left in 2009. The emigration rate is now 0.7 for every 1000 citizens, the lowest it has been since 1973.

Egypt deploys gunships in Sinai Peninsula following insurgent attack
Officials say Egypt has deployed at least two helicopter gunships to the Sinai Peninsula in the hunt for militants behind the killing of 16 Egyptian soldiers at a checkpoint along the border with Israel. Security and military officials said Monday that more aircraft were expected to arrive in the town of El-Arish ahead of a military campaign against the militants in the area. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

More than 1,300 Syrians, including general, flee to Turkey
A Syrian brigadier-general was among more than 1,300 refugees who fled to Turkey to escape escalating violence in Syria overnight, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. Another 11 military officers were also among the arrivals, bringing the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey to 47,500 people, the ministry said on Twitter.

Greece rounds up thousands of immigrants in weekend sweep
Greek police arrested more than 1,000 immigrants and detained thousands more in a massive weekend sweep that comes as the strapped nation has increasingly soured on hosting foreigners. The vast roundup in Athens was jarringly named Xenios Zeus -- after the Greek god known as the patron of hospitality. Police stopped and detained 6,000 immigrants, out of whom 1,600 were arrested for illegally entering Greece and sent to holding centers, according to the Associated Press. Greek media reported that similar sweeps are in the works for other cities.

Thousands of fish die as Midwest streams heat up
Thousands of fish are dying in the Midwest as the hot, dry summer dries up rivers and causes water temperatures to climb in some spots to nearly 100 degrees. About 40,000 shovelnose sturgeon were killed in Iowa last week as water temperatures reached 97 degrees. Nebraska fishery officials said they've seen thousands of dead sturgeon, catfish, carp, and other species in the Lower Platte River, including the endangered pallid sturgeon.

Floods paralyse Philippine capital Manila
At least eight people have been reported dead as torrential rain caused flooding that paralysed most parts of the Philippine capital, Manila. The flooding - neck-deep in some areas - forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes, closing schools, offices and the stock exchange. Eight members of one family died after a landslide hit shanty houses in Quezon City, reports said.

Trump renews push to unseal Obama records
Donald Trump is calling on Obama to release his sealed records in exchange for Gov. Mitt Romney’s tax returns, declaring it would be “a wonderful trade.” “I’ve said it a lot, that if Obama opened up his records, maybe Mitt should give his returns,” Trump told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.” “That would be a great trade. I guarantee it would be a really wonderful trade.”

World News Syndicated New Zealand's Mt Tongariro erupts, ash cloud causes disruptions
HUNDREDS of travellers have been left stranded after the eruption of Mt Tongariro on New Zealand's North Island caused road closures and flight cancellations.

Rule - We’re At Risk Of A Spectacular Collapse Of Confidence
“We have a serious issue in the United States. At the federal level, the shortfall in the US is $85 trillion and that doesn’t include state and local debt. They are trying to deal with this issue by pumping money into the system.” “If we have $85 trillion in net present liabilities at the Federal government level, how is it going to make it better by taking it up to $87 trillion or $88 trillion?

PM: If Iran goes nuclear, it may actually use bomb
If Iran gets a nuclear bomb it may actually use it, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Monday, rejecting the notion that Tehran would act responsibly if it became a member of the world’s nuclear “club.”

New intelligence reveals Iranian military nuclear program advancing faster than previously thought
New intelligence information obtained by Israel and four Western countries indicates that Iran has made greater progress on developing components for its nuclear weapons program than the West had previously realized, according to Western diplomats and Israeli officials who are closely involved in efforts to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb.

Floods paralyse Philippine capital Manila
At least eight people have been reported dead as torrential rain caused flooding that paralysed most parts of the Philippine capital, Manila. The flooding - neck-deep in some areas - forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes, closing schools, offices and the stock exchange. Eight members of one family died after a landslide hit shanty houses in Quezon City, reports said.

US responsible for hostages' lives in Syria: Iran
Iran said Tuesday that it was holding the United States responsible for the lives of 48 of its citizens taken hostage in Syria, following an unconfirmed report by a Syrian rebel group that three of them had been killed by shelling.

How Obama's Hollywood Backers Have Outsourced Jobs
Another week, another Hollywood fundraiser for President Obama. And why not? From George Clooney's house in Los Angeles to Sarah Jessica Parker's townhouse in Manhattan, the Hollywood crowd has been a virtual ATM for the Obama campaign. All that Hollywood cash has helped pay for ads hammering Mitt Romney for maximizing profits by shipping American jobs overseas during his time at the helm of Bain Capital. But Hollywood knows a thing or two about outsourcing too.

Syria defiant after PM Riad Hijab defection
Syria's new cabinet has begun work, after Prime Minister Riad Hijab defected and denounced Damascus's "terrorist regime". Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said Mr Hijab had not yet appeared in person and he rejected reports of other ministerial defections. Meanwhile, Iran's security chief has made an unexpected visit to Damascus in an apparent step change in diplomacy.

Nigeria church attack in Kogi state 'kills 15'
At least 15 people have been killed in a gun attack on a church in central Nigeria, officials say. Gunmen stormed the church near the city of Okene in Kogi state and fired on worshippers, they say. "I can confirm 15 ," a spokesman for Kogi state governor Jacob Edi is quoted by AFP as saying.

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US Drought Affecting Global Food Security
The United States is the leading producer of corn and soybeans – two commodities that developing countries rely on. However, over the past two months, prices have risen sharply as the U.S. experiences its worst drought since the 1950s. More than half the United States is experiencing the dual problems of too little rain and temperatures that are too high.

Moderate quake shakes Southern Calif.
There are no reports of damage from a late-night moderate earthquake widely felt in Southern California. The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude-4.4 quake struck at 11:23 p.m. Tuesday and was centered two miles east of Yorba Linda in northern Orange County.

‘Character Assassination Is Now A Way Of Life’ For The Left And Its Media Allies
since the Left has lost on all the issues, it has resorted to personal attacks and an “ends justify the means” approach (emphasis added): “What is the degree to which the left has gone to the strategy that ends justify the means? And increasingly they’ll do whatever they need to do to get their way. Character assassination is now a way of life with these people. “They can’t debate us on the issues; that’s the key. Their issues have all failed. They have only one weapon left, which is character assassination. And look how it happened. Candidate - whether it was Michele Bachmann, whether it was Herman Cain, whether it was Perry, Santorum- every single one of them was kneecapped. And in every single case it was a personal attack.”

Cardinal Timothy Dolan Will Host Obama at White-Tie Fundraiser for Health-Care Causes
President Barack Obama, who is moving ahead with a regulation that forces observant American Catholics to act against their consciences and the teachings of their faith, will be one of the keynote speakers at an Oct. 18 white-tie fundraiser hosted by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Claim: 'Absolute proof' Obama was Indonesian citizen
Obama attended school in the Asian nation registered as an Indonesian citizen and as a Muslim.

Army Reserve to do vehicle training in Sheboygan County
Geddes said the U.S. Army Reserve wanted to alert the public to the training dates so residents are not alarmed when a pack of heavily armored military vehicles is driving around the county. He urged drivers to be safe when they see the M1117s.

Full Spectrum Operations in the Homeland: A “Vision” of the Future
This scenario requires us to consider how domestic intelligence is gathered and shared, the role of local law enforcement (to the extent that it supports the operation), the scope and limits of the Insurrection Act--for example maintaining a military chain of command but in support of the Attorney General as the Department of Justice is the Lead Federal Agency (LFA) under the conditions of the Act--and the roles of the local, national, and international media.

U.S. sweetens Taliban prisoner proposal in bid to revive peace talks
The Obama administration, in a move aimed at reviving Afghan peace talks, has sweetened a proposed deal under which it would transfer Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay prison in exchange for a U.S. soldier held by Taliban allies in Pakistan. The revised proposal, a concession from an earlier U.S. offer, would alter the sequence of the move of five senior Taliban figures held for years at the U.S. military prison to the Gulf state of Qatar, sources familiar with the issue said.

Ankara strongly condemns Iran's threats against Turkey
Turkey's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday condemned comments by an Iranian official who blamed Ankara for the bloodshed in Syria and warned Turkey would be next, calling the comments unacceptable and inappropriate and urging Iran to honor its ties as neighbors. The strongly worded statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry came in response to recent threats and statements by Iranian officials regarding Turkey’s policies on Syria.

Israeli Scholar Completes Mission to ‘Fix’ 1,500 Inaccuracies in the Hebrew Bible
For the past 30 years, Israeli Judaic scholar Menachem Cohen has been on a mission of biblical proportions: Correcting all known textual errors in Jewish scripture to produce a truly definitive edition of the Old Testament. His edits, which focus primarily on grammatical blemishes and an intricate set of biblical symbols, mark the first major overhaul of the Hebrew Bible in nearly 500 years.

Obama Administration Paves the Way for Sharia Law
The most terrifying danger Americans face from a second Barack Obama term isn’t the economy, which is scary enough. The most harrowing prospect is the Obama Administration’s passivity in the face of attempts to introduce aspects of sharia law into our legal system. Now there is strong and open evidence of the Obama administration collaborating with Islamist activists to ensure the path toward sharia law is accelerated.

Syria: rebels pull back in Aleppo as Assad regime launches new assault
According to regime and rebel sources, the Syrian army has taken positions in the district in a major blow for insurgents. Reuters reported from Aleppo on Wednesday morning that Syrian rebels had abandoned their positions in a district that has been a frontline of fighting in recent days.

Obama White House told GSA to 'stand-down' on Occupy protesters
..."We now have a new GSA scandal - one that involves the Obama White House," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "These documents clearly show that federal agencies colluded with the Obama White House to allow the Occupy Wall Street protestors to violate the law with impunity. These documents tell us that the GSA and DHS can't be relied upon to protect federal workers or property."

Manila flood death toll rises to 16 as rain continues
At least 16 people have died in severe floods in the Philippine capital, Manila, officials say. More than 80,000 people are in emergency shelters, as torrential rain left low-lying areas under water. Soldiers and rescuers are using rubber boats to reach people stranded in their homes, but some are refusing to leave amid fears of looting.

Nigeria Kogi state curfew after church attack
A dusk-to-dawn curfew has been declared in parts of Kogi state in central Nigeria, after gunmen killed at least 19 worshippers at a church. Gunmen stormed the church near Okene city in Kogi state and fired on worshippers late on Monday. Kogi Governor Idris Wada said the "devilish" killers would be arrested.

Egypt launches Sinai air raids
Egyptian military helicopters have fired missiles on suspected Islamist militants in Egypt's northern Sinai peninsula, security officials say. Twenty people were reported killed in Touma village, while the Sheikh Zuwaid area to the west was also hit. The strikes came after security checkpoints were allegedly attacked by gunmen in the town of al-Arish, leaving a number of people injured.

Bank cuts growth forecast close to zero
The Bank of England has cut its growth forecast to close to zero from around 0.8% predicted in May, as the double-dip recession intensifies. The quarterly inflation report indicated no growth for 2012, compared with 2% predicted a year ago.

Hurricane Ernesto moves over Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula
Hurricane Ernesto is churning over Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, bringing heavy rain as it moves towards the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Ernesto, which has already drenched northern Honduras and Belize, is currently a category one hurricane with top sustained winds of 130km/h (80mph). Residents in low-lying areas took refuge in shelters and tourists moved to hotels further inland.

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FRANCE PREPARES FOR AN EVACUATION OF ITS NATIONALS LIVING IN ISRAEL
France has prepared a contingency plan to evacuate its citizens from Israel, La Tribune has learned. According to diplomatic sources, a plan to evacuate the 200,000 French nationals living in Israel has been drafted to prepare for the enventuality of conflict between Iran and Israel.

Austerity's Cost: Abandoned Children in Europe
As the euro zone debt crisis deepens and austerity measures take their toll across Europe, the number of young children and babies abandoned across the region has increased, according to local charities. The rise in the abandonment of infants across Europe is most visible in the spread of "baby hatches" or "boxes" across Europe, where unwanted infants are left anonymously.

Tony Blair Is 'Deeply Worried' That Britain Will Leave The EU
Mr Blair also told a German newspaper that the UK's exit from the EU could be sparked by too much power being transferred to Brussels.

Asian banks prepare for British exit from the EU
Japan's biggest bank Nomura has issued an 11-page study evaluating the likelihood that the UK will leave the European Union entirely or partly. Events could accelerate as soon as this autumn if eurozone woes force the Government to commit to a firm date for a BRIXIT referendum.

Residents seek answers on massive sinkhole
Scientists said a cavern owned by Texas Brine Co. of Houston may have been built closer to the edge of an underground salt dome than intended, causing the cavern to collapse. The hole engulfed cypress tress and swamp as it expanded to about 380 feet wide.

Seismologists studying swarm of earthquakes in Southern California
Experts said the cluster of earthquakes that began Tuesday night are far from out of the ordinary for Southern California, but that the region has not seen this type of sequence in a few years. At a news conference Wednesday morning, Kate Hutton of the U.S. Geological Survey at Caltech said there had been at least 30 quakes since Tuesday night, but only three could be felt by residents. She said officials are studying the quakes to understand whether it was a swarm or some other type of pattern.

Earthquake near a major city with death toll 'unprecedented in human history' a matter of time
Well-known Scottish scientist Iain Stewart delivered that grim prediction yesterday in Brisbane during an address to a global geology conference. Professor Stewart, a geologist and academic who has gained fame for multiple BBC television series on the planet, said the risk of disaster has grown because a growing number of mega-cities are built on or near major earthquake faults.

Diplomats blast 'forced transfer' of Palestinians
An Israeli plan to evict eight Palestinian villages in the south Mount Hebron area to make way for army training zones was condemned by a delegation of European Union diplomats Wednesday as a "forced transfer of ... people contrary to Israel's obligations as the occupying power."

Google to include people's Gmail in search results
Google is creating an information bridge between its influential Internet search engine and its widely used Gmail service in its latest attempt to deliver more personal responses more quickly. The experimental feature unveiled Wednesday will enable Google's search engine to mine the correspondence stored within a user's Gmail account for any data tied to a search request.

Syria: refugee crisis looms as 50,000 flee to Turkey
The total number of the refugees was 50,227 as of Thursday after more than 5,000 Syrians crossed into Turkey this week, the country's Disaster and Emergency Administration said in a statement posted on its website. A Turkish foreign ministry official at the border told AFP some 2,300 Syrians including low-ranking military defectors fled to Turkey in the last 24 hours.

China inflation rate dips to a 30-month low in July
China's inflation dipped to a 30-month low in July, giving policymakers a bigger cushion to boost stimulus measures to spur economic growth. Consumer prices rose by 1.8% in July, from a year earlier. That was down from a 2.2% growth rate in June and a 3% rise in May.

US, Israeli intel assessments on Iran closer than ever
Barak asserts that despite increased urgency in Washington, decisions about Israel's security will be made in Jerusalem, clarifies that any order to attack will be made by the cabinet. Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday said that a recently reported US intelligence report is closer than ever to Israel's own intelligence estimates on Iran.

Renewed clashes hit Egypt's Sinai: state TV
Police and gunmen traded fire in the Sinai town of El-Arish on Thursday as security forces pushed ahead with a campaign aimed at quelling a surge in Islamist militancy, state television reported. The state-owned Nile News television reported clashes outside a police station in the north Sinai town a day after reported air strikes killed 20 militants in a neighbouring village.

Syria conflict: Aleppo districts 'under fresh assault'
The Syrian city of Aleppo has come under fresh bombardment, activists say, as the government attempts to retake districts seized by rebel fighters. Several areas of the city were reported to have come under attack, including strafing from helicopter gunships.

U.S. Navy Rescues 10 From Iranian Ship on Fire
A U.S. Navy destroyer has rescued 10 sailors from an Iranian-flagged vessel that was on fire in the Gulf of Oman. The guided missile destroyer USS James E. Williams came upon the Iranian-flagged dhow as it was on fire Wednesday night. The 10 on board were picked up out of the water by the crew of the destroyer.

Over 100 Million Now Receiving Federal Welfare
A new chart set to be released later today by the Republican side of the Senate Budget Committee details a startling statistic: "Over 100 Million People in U.S. Now Receiving Some Form Of Federal Welfare."

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Bishop Calls on All Christians to Leave Democratic Party
Bishop E.W. Jackson is making a war cry: “Let God’s people go!” Jackson, a Marine Corps veteran, graduate of Harvard Law School and adjunct professor of law, is echoing the words of Moses in a campaign to persuade Christians of all races that the time has come for a wholesale exodus of Christians from the Democrat Party.

Iran’s nuclear program designed to ‘finish off’ Israel, Hezbollah MP says
Hezbollah MP Walid Sakariya told Lebanese television this week that the nuclear weapon Iran is allegedly developing is intended to annihilate Israel. In a segment recorded and translated by MEMRI (the Middle East Media Research Institute), Sakariya, also a retired general, told his interviewer on Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV Tuesday that should Iran acquire a nuclear weapon it would serve Syrian as well as Iranian interests, namely the eradication of the Jewish state.

NYPD unveils new $40 million super computer system that uses data from network of cameras, license plate readers and crime reports
The NYPD is starting to look like a flashy, forensic crime TV show thanks to a new super computer system unveiled Wednesday near Wall St. The Domain Awareness System designed by the NYPD and Microsoft Corp. uses data from a network of cameras, radiation detectors, license plate readers and crime reports, officials said.

More Abandoned Children as Europe Austerity Wears On
As the euro zone debt crisis deepens and austerity measures take their toll across Europe, the number of young children and babies abandoned across the region has increased, according to local charities.The rise in the abandonment of infants across Europe is most visible in the spread of “baby hatches” or “boxes” across Europe, where unwanted infants are left anonymously.

Obama: Let's repeat auto industry success
President Obama, while villifying Mitt Romney for opposing the auto industry bailout, bragged about the success of his decision to provide government assistance and said he now wants to see every manufacturing industry come roaring back. “I said, I believe in American workers, I believe in this American industry, and now the American auto industry has come roaring back,” he said. “Now I want to do the same thing with manufacturing jobs, not just in the auto industry, but in every industry.

Egypt tribes back offensive against militants in Sinai
Bedouin tribal leaders in Egypt's Sinai peninsula have agreed to help restore security in the lawless border area with the Gaza Strip and Israel. In talks with Interior Minister Ahmed Gamal al-Din, they also backed plans to destroy smuggling tunnels into Gaza. The move comes as Egyptian troops mass in the area in an operation to contain Islamist militants who have built up a presence there.

Syria conflict: UK to give extra £5m to rebels
Foreign Secretary William Hague says the UK's commitment of an extra £5m in non-lethal equipment to the Free Syrian Army is "the right thing to do". The extra practical support for the opposition FSA will include more radio and satellite equipment, as well as portable power generators. However, the assistance will not include any weapons.

US hurricane forecast upgraded to 17 storms
US weather officials have slightly increased their predictions for the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season to as many as 17 storms. Forecasters estimate 12 to 17 tropical storms, with five to eight reaching hurricane strength. The Atlantic basin has seen six named storms so far this year.

Georgia to EU: Putin is more 'dangerous' than you think
Four years after a war which shocked Europe, Georgia's EU ambassador has said that Russia is becoming "more dangerous." The Georgian envoy, Salome Samadashvili, spoke to EUobserver on Thursday (9 August), after Russian President Vladimir Putin endorsed an inflammatory film about the conflict.

Iran Plans To Stop Using The Internet By 2013
Iran is planning on on joining the list of nations abandoning the global internet for their own national intranet, and officials say that the transition may be completed by 2013. While many may perceive the move as a way to control content and perceptions in the authoritarian nation, recent events may have more to do with the shift. In 2010, the computer virus Stuxnet, an alleged joint operation between Israeli and American intelligence agencies, was used to disrupt about 1,000 centrifuges in Iran's nuclear program, a program that may have been tampering with said centrifuges as early as 2008, Wired reports.

Pressure on Romney to pick Ryan as VP
With Republican Mitt Romney on the verge of choosing a vice presidential running mate, conservatives have mounted a concerted campaign to boost the chances of Representative Paul Ryan, the architect of his party's controversial budget-cutting plan.

Rebels pull back in Syria's Aleppo, U.N. says no one will win
Syrian forces have pushed rebels back from a strategic district of Aleppo, but skirmishes continued in the city and the United Nations said the conflict engulfing Syria would have no winner. Diplomats told Reuters that veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi could be named next week to replace the U.N.-Arab League Syria envoy Kofi Annan, who resigned in frustration at the international deadlock on how to end the violence.

China trade decelerates in sign of global weakness
China's trade and domestic demand have weakened even faster than expected, adding to pressure on Beijing for a more aggressive stimulus to boost the world's second-largest economy out of its worst slump since the 2008 crisis.

Japan recalls envoy after S.Korea's Lee visits disputed islands
Japan recalled its ambassador to South Korea on Friday after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak visited disputed islands believed to contain frozen natural gas deposits potentially worth billions of dollars. Lee is the first South Korean leader to make the trip to the islands that have been a persistent irritant in relations between the two countries even after they moved on from Japan's colonial occupation to develop flourishing commercial ties.

3 U.S. troops killed by man in Afghan uniform, military says
A man in an Afghan army uniform shot and killed three American service members on Friday morning in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military command said. The Taliban claimed the shooter joined the insurgency after the attack.

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Iran earthquakes leave scores dead in Tabriz region
two strong earthquakes have struck north-western Iran, leaving at least 180 people dead and more than 1,300 injured, officials say. The quakes struck near the city of Tabriz and the town of Ahar, but most of the casualties are thought to be in outlying villages. Reports say phone lines to many villages have been cut off, making rescue efforts harder. The US Geological Service measured the quakes at magnitude 6.4 and 6.3.

Exclusive: U.S. banks told to make plans for preventing collapse
U.S. regulators directed five of the country's biggest banks, including Bank of America Corp and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, to develop plans for staving off collapse if they faced serious problems, emphasizing that the banks could not count on government help. The two-year-old program, which has been largely secret until now, is in addition to the "living wills" the banks crafted to help regulators dismantle them if they actually do fail.

Decision by Netanyahu, Barak to strike Iran is almost final — Israel TV
PM believes Iran’s regime is aiming to ‘destroy the Jewish people,’ does not think Obama will resort to force. Nuclear drive ‘further ahead’ than previously thought. In a year, Israeli action could have only ‘negligible effect’

US-Israel rift over Iran nuclear red line deepens
The red line for the U.S. is an Iranian decision to make a bomb • Israel's red line is preventing Iran from becoming a "nuclear threshold state" • Israel believes U.S. treating Iran like moderate, reasonable nuclear threshold states Japan and Germany

Obama spokesman declines to repudiate cancer ad
White House spokesman Jay Carney declined Friday to repudiate an independent ad that ties Mitt Romney to the cancer death of a laid-off steelworker's wife, as the controversy over that misleading commercial dragged into another day.

Truth as elusive as militants in Egypt's Sinai
As the sun set over his desert village in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, Abu Asma sat down to break his Ramadan fast when he heard gunfire from the army outpost down the road. He ignored it, and then a bullet hit his little brick home. The shooting was over in minutes. Neighbours went to the outpost near Israel's border to investigate and found more than a dozen dead soldiers. Some had been shot in the head.

End is near for Syria's Assad, says German spy chief
Germany's spy chief said Syria President Bashar al-Assad's government appeared to be in its final phase because its army had been depleted by casualties, deserters and defectors to the opposition. Gerhard Schindler, head of Germany's BND intelligence agency, said Assad's once 320,000-strong army had lost about 50,000 troops since the uprising against his rule began 17 months ago.

Romney picks Rep. Ryan as running mate, plans to make official at Va. rally
Mitt Romney has tapped Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan to be his running mate, the campaign confirmed Saturday morning. The Romney campaign formally announced the selection via its mobile-phone app. An alert that crossed shortly after 7 a.m. ET said: "Mitt's Choice for VP is Paul Ryan."

Second deadly attack on Nato-led troops in Afghanistan
Two separate gun attacks on Nato-led troops in south Afghanistan have left a total of six soldiers dead, coalition officials say. An Afghan civilian employee shot dead three soldiers, whose nationalities were not given, at a base in Helmand province on Friday.

Clinton meets Turkish leaders on Syria amid tales of new carnage
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Turkish leaders Saturday to discuss the spiraling crisis in Syria, where reports of deaths mount by the dozens every day. Clinton is also scheduled to meet with Syrian opposition activists Saturday in Istanbul.

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Egypt's Morsy cleans house, sacks top generals
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy fired defense minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi and chief of staff Gen. Sami Enan on Sunday. A spokesman for the Islamist president announced on television that the ejection of top military figures associated with the old regime represented the completion of the Egyptian revolution.-the move is widely seen as a signal by the Muslim Brotherhood that power is now firmly concentrated in the hands of the Islamist civilian government.

Bill calls for Jewish prayer times on Temple Mt.
On the heels of a US State Department report criticizing Israel for not allowing non-Muslim prayer on the Temple Mount, MK Arye Eldad (National Union) has drafted a bill mandating separate hours for Jews and Muslims to pray at the holy site. -The bill, which has yet to be officially submitted because the Knesset is on an extended summer recess, states that the site must be open to Jews every day, except for Friday, the Muslim holy day, and on other Muslim holidays. It will be open to Muslims every day except for Saturdays and Jewish holidays.

Egypt paper censored over insult to president
n Egyptian court ordered the Saturday editions of a newspaper confiscated over allegations it insulted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi and instigated sectarian discord, Egypt's official news agency said. Editions of Al-Dustour, a privately owned daily, were seized after several individuals filed lawsuits accusing it of "fueling sedition" and "harming the president through phrases and wording punishable by law," MENA said.

Strong earthquake reported in far-western China
Chinese officials say a strong earthquake has struck a remote area of the country's far-western Xinjiang region. The government earthquake monitoring center said the quake registered magnitude 6.2 and hit Sunday evening. It said it was centered 282 kilometers (175 miles) southeast of the oasis city of Hotan. The area is deep in the thinly populated Kunlun mountains.

Nine homeless shelters opened in NYC
New York City has opened nine new shelters in the last two months in efforts to handle the city's rapidly growing homeless population, officials said. The city recorded 43,731 homeless people in shelters this week, which is up 18 percent from the 37,143 at the same time last year, The New York Times reported.

Netanyahu warns again Iranian nukes
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Sunday warned threats on Israel's home front are small compared with the Iranian threat. "All threats against the home front are small in comparison to another threat -- a different kind of threat in scope and strength compared to any other threat, and therefore Tehran must not be allowed nuclear weapons," Israel Radio quoted Netanyahu saying at the weekly cabinet meeting.

Syria crisis: Arab League postpones Syria talks
Arab League foreign ministers have postponed a meeting in Saudi Arabia to debate the crisis in Syria. The ministers had been due to discuss a new envoy to Syria to replace Kofi Annan, who resigned earlier this month.

Iran quake toll hits 250; scores left homeless
Twin earthquakes in Iran have killed at least 250 people and injured over 2,000, Iranian state television said on Sunday, after thousands spent the night outdoors after their villages were leveled and homes damaged in the country's northwest.

Afghan officials met key Taliban figure in Pakistan
Afghan officials have held secret talks with the Taliban's former second in command who is in detention in Pakistan in a move which could help rekindle stalled peace talks with the insurgents, according to senior officials from both countries.

Afghan policeman kills 10 fellow officers, in wake of Afghan attacks on US partners
A member of the Afghan National Police opened fire at his colleagues at a checkpoint in southwestern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing at least 10 of his fellow policemen, officials said. The killings come a day after two Afghans, including a policeman, shot and killed six U.S. service members in separate attacks in neighboring Helmand province in the volatile south.

Gunmen execute 7 in Iraq, singling out Shiites
Gunmen singled out seven Shiite Muslims and shot them in Iraq's north while they were out swimming in a targeted sectarian attack, officials said Saturday.

US, Egypt negotiating Sinai security aid package
The United States and Egypt are negotiating a package of assistance to address what administration officials described as a worsening security vacuum in the Sinai Peninsula, the New York Times reported Sunday.

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Egypt's Morsy cleans house, sacks top generals
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy fired defense minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi and chief of staff Gen. Sami Enan on Sunday. A spokesman for the Islamist president announced on television that the ejection of top military figures associated with the old regime represented the completion of the Egyptian revolution.-the move is widely seen as a signal by the Muslim Brotherhood that power is now firmly concentrated in the hands of the Islamist civilian government.

Bill calls for Jewish prayer times on Temple Mt.
On the heels of a US State Department report criticizing Israel for not allowing non-Muslim prayer on the Temple Mount, MK Arye Eldad (National Union) has drafted a bill mandating separate hours for Jews and Muslims to pray at the holy site. -The bill, which has yet to be officially submitted because the Knesset is on an extended summer recess, states that the site must be open to Jews every day, except for Friday, the Muslim holy day, and on other Muslim holidays. It will be open to Muslims every day except for Saturdays and Jewish holidays.

Egypt paper censored over insult to president
n Egyptian court ordered the Saturday editions of a newspaper confiscated over allegations it insulted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi and instigated sectarian discord, Egypt's official news agency said. Editions of Al-Dustour, a privately owned daily, were seized after several individuals filed lawsuits accusing it of "fueling sedition" and "harming the president through phrases and wording punishable by law," MENA said.

Strong earthquake reported in far-western China
Chinese officials say a strong earthquake has struck a remote area of the country's far-western Xinjiang region. The government earthquake monitoring center said the quake registered magnitude 6.2 and hit Sunday evening. It said it was centered 282 kilometers (175 miles) southeast of the oasis city of Hotan. The area is deep in the thinly populated Kunlun mountains.

Nine homeless shelters opened in NYC
New York City has opened nine new shelters in the last two months in efforts to handle the city's rapidly growing homeless population, officials said. The city recorded 43,731 homeless people in shelters this week, which is up 18 percent from the 37,143 at the same time last year, The New York Times reported.

Netanyahu warns again Iranian nukes
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Sunday warned threats on Israel's home front are small compared with the Iranian threat. "All threats against the home front are small in comparison to another threat -- a different kind of threat in scope and strength compared to any other threat, and therefore Tehran must not be allowed nuclear weapons," Israel Radio quoted Netanyahu saying at the weekly cabinet meeting.

Syria crisis: Arab League postpones Syria talks
Arab League foreign ministers have postponed a meeting in Saudi Arabia to debate the crisis in Syria. The ministers had been due to discuss a new envoy to Syria to replace Kofi Annan, who resigned earlier this month.

Iran quake toll hits 250; scores left homeless
Twin earthquakes in Iran have killed at least 250 people and injured over 2,000, Iranian state television said on Sunday, after thousands spent the night outdoors after their villages were leveled and homes damaged in the country's northwest.

Afghan officials met key Taliban figure in Pakistan
Afghan officials have held secret talks with the Taliban's former second in command who is in detention in Pakistan in a move which could help rekindle stalled peace talks with the insurgents, according to senior officials from both countries.

Afghan policeman kills 10 fellow officers, in wake of Afghan attacks on US partners
A member of the Afghan National Police opened fire at his colleagues at a checkpoint in southwestern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing at least 10 of his fellow policemen, officials said. The killings come a day after two Afghans, including a policeman, shot and killed six U.S. service members in separate attacks in neighboring Helmand province in the volatile south.

Gunmen execute 7 in Iraq, singling out Shiites
Gunmen singled out seven Shiite Muslims and shot them in Iraq's north while they were out swimming in a targeted sectarian attack, officials said Saturday.

US, Egypt negotiating Sinai security aid package
The United States and Egypt are negotiating a package of assistance to address what administration officials described as a worsening security vacuum in the Sinai Peninsula, the New York Times reported Sunday.

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Obamacare Mandate: Sterilize 15-Year-Old Girls for Free--Without Parental Consent
Thanks to an Obamacare regulation that took effect on Aug. 1, health care plans in Oregon will now be required to provide free sterilizations to 15- year-old girls even if the parents of those girls do not consent to the procedure. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius finalized the regulation earlier this year.

As Muslim Brotherhood solidifies its grip on Egypt, trouble brews within
Mohammed Morsi's policies echo the way Hamas acted in Gaza after winning the 2006 election; yet his bold moves are creating new domestic enemies for the Brotherhood, with some calling for a second revolution against the Islamists.

6.3-magnitude quake reported in China
A 6.3-magnitude earthquake shook northwest China's Xinjiang-Uighur region Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake, which was measured by China's earthquake networks center at magnitude 6.2, struck at 6:47 p.m. local time.

Iran earthquake kills 306, injures 3,037
The toll from the two earthquakes that struck Iran has risen to 306 dead and 3,037 injured, Iranian Health Minister Marziyeh Vahid Dastjerdi said Monday. Dastjerdi told Iranian lawmakers Monday 116 aftershocks have been registered in the country's East Azerbaijan province since 6.4- and 6.3-magnitude earthquakes rumbled Saturday, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

Stratfor emails reveal secret, widespread TrapWire surveillance system
Every few seconds, data picked up at surveillance points in major cities and landmarks across the United States are recorded digitally on the spot, then encrypted and instantaneously delivered to a fortified central database center at an undisclosed location to be aggregated with other intelligence. It’s part of a program called TrapWire and it's the brainchild of the Abraxas, a Northern Virginia company staffed with elite from America’s intelligence community.

Israel demands nuclear ultimatum for Iran
Israel declared that international talks with Iran on its nuclear programme had failed as it demanded a deadline of "just a few weeks" be handed down to Tehran to scrap its atomic build-up. It emerged that new intelligence shared with Israel by the West indicated that Iran had moved several steps closer to developing a nuclear warhead that could be fitted on the Shahab-3 missile.

U.S. soldier gets life sentence for planning 'massive attack' on troops
Army Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo, a Muslim, had been planning a religious mission to win "justice" for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a recorded jail conservation with his mother played for jurors at trial.

Talk of military strike ‘makes Tehran nervous’
Iran is disturbed by threats emanating from Israel to strike its nuclear sites and takes such threats seriously, a senior Iran expert told The Jerusalem Post.

Islamist takeover complete: Morsi Fires Top Defense Brass
Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi has sacked the entire leadership of the country's defense establishment. Among the officials and officers fired are Defense Minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, and Chief of Staff Sami Anan. Morsi appointed Abdul-Fatah al-Sessi as Defense Minister and Lieutenant-General Sidki Sayed Ahmed as Army Chief of Staff.

Israel tests SMS missile alerts as Iran chatter grows
Israel on Sunday began testing an SMS system for warning the public of an imminent missile attack as chatter over a possible strike on Iran dominated the Israeli press headlines. As testing began, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had chalked up "a significant improvement" in its home front defence capabilities, mentioning its highly-vaunted anti-missile systems such as Iron Dome and Arrow 2.

Moscow to spend over $720 bln on new military aircraft
Russia’s air force will get 1,600 new warplanes and choppers by 2020, announced President Vladimir Putin. The program will cost Moscow some US $723 billion. ­“We are talking primarily about providing our forces with state-of-the-art modern technology,” Putin said at an air show in the Moscow Region ahead of the 100th anniversary of the country's air force.

Darrell Issa to Sue Eric Holder Monday
House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa plans to sue Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday for refusing to provide documents related to the "Fast and Furious" gun-smuggling operation. "The committee expects to file the civil contempt suit against the attorney general Monday," a Republican source said. The suit will be filed in the federal district court for the District of Columbia.

Iran steps up relief efforts after Saturday's quakes
Iran has raised the death toll from Saturday's twin quakes in the north-west to 306 people killed, after calling off the search for survivors and stepping up the relief effort. Iran's Red Crescent has taken over a sports stadium and provided 6,000 tents to some 16,000 people left homeless. Authorities say the search-and-rescue operations have ended because most residents are accounted for.

Japan's economic growth slows to 0.3% in second quarter
Japan's economic growth slowed in the second quarter as the eurozone crisis hurt exports and domestic consumption remained subdued. Gross domestic product grew by 0.3% during the period from the previous three months. That is down from 1% growth in the first quarter. Compared with the same period last year, the economy expanded by 1.4%.

EU referendum idea gains momentum in Germany
German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle on Sunday (12 August) became the latest in a line of politicians calling for a referendum on handing over more powers to Brussels as part of a new EU constitution. "I hope that we have a real European constitution and that there will also be a referendum on it," he told the Sunday edition of Germany's biggest-circulation newspaper


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Iran proposes military alliance of Muslim countries
It is necessary to create a military alliance of Muslim countries. It can be created in order to repel an attack on the Muslim countries, as well as to protect the Palestinian people, the Mehr news agency quoted Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi as saying at today's meeting at the Ministry of Defense.-He said the Muslim countries should unite for a just solution to the Palestinian problem.

GOP to Holder: See You in Court
In the lawsuit, lawyers representing House Republicans said Attorney General Eric Holder's "intransigency" and "contumacious refusal" to comply with a House subpoena have prevented congressional investigators from determining whether the Justice Department intentionally tried to obstruct their investigation.

Army must ‘side with the people,’ says Assad’s former PM, predicting regime’s imminent collapse
“The regime is on the verge of collapse morally and economically,” Riad Hijab told a news conference in his first public comments since leaving his post and fleeing to Jordan with his family last week. Hijab is the highest-ranking political figure to defect from Assad’s regime.

Major Fish Kill Reported On Texas Coast
Hundreds of thousands of dead fish have washed up on the beach in Galveston, where crews went to work Monday to remove the dead fish. Peter Davis of the Galveston Island Beach Patrol said Sunday the small shad fish likely were killed by low oxygen levels in the Gulf of Mexico. Davis estimated hundreds of thousands of fish have died.

7.7 magnitude earthquake strike off the remote northeastern coast of Russia
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck along a deep region of the sea-floor in the Sea of Okhotsk, between the remote island of Poronaysk and the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka.

G20 Plans Response to Rising Food Prices
The conversations behind closed doors among senior G20 and UN agriculture officials about calling a session of a new emergency forum come after the cost of corn, or maize, surged to an all-time high, surpassing the level seen during the 2007-08 food crisis. The US government on Friday stoked the fears of a price surge, saying the drought had forced the country’s farmers to abandon cornfields covering a larger area than Belgium and Luxembourg combined. The Department of Agriculture slashed its forecast for the crop and predicted record prices over the next year.

Chinese Warships Dock in Israel
Three Chinese warships from the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) docked in Haifa Aug. 13 for a five-day visit here as guests of the Israel Navy. Led by Rear Adm. Yang Junfei, deputy commander of the PLAN’s North China Sea Fleet, the Chinese contingent will tour multiple sites throughout the country in honor of the 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Jerusalem and Beijing.

New American Civil War coming in 2016?
The essay, “Full Spectrum Operations in the Homeland: A ‘Vision’ of the Future,” is in no way represented as a piece of pure truth, but its writers suggest that a civil war could happen much sooner than Americans may think of certain conditions occurring in the country today persist into the next few years. Benson and Weber paint a picture of what the not-so-distant future could hold if things aren’t changed for the better in a few years, and infer that current conditions could trigger a uprising in their piece, which presents a realistic take on what could be done in event of an “insurrection” launched by the Tea Party and its allies:

13--Ammunition and Shooting Targets
The DOC NOAA National Weather Service - Western Acquisition Division ? Boulder requires the following items, Purchase Description Determined by Line Item, to the following: LI 001, 16,000 rounds of ammunition for semiautomatic pistols to be factory-loaded .40 S&W caliber, 180-grain jacketed hollow point (JHP). No reloads may be used with these weapons. All service furnished ammunition for issued firearms will be U.S. factory production. ?Inside Delivery? to locations below:

No reports of damage after strong quake strikes water off far eastern Russia
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake that hit waters off Russia's Pacific island of Sakhalin on Tuesday inflicted no casualties or damage, Russian officials said. The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry's branch on Sakhalin said the quake was centered in the Sea of Okhotsk about 100 miles east of Poronaysk, Russia, at a depth of more than 373 miles.

In Putin’s Russia, little separation between church and state
The Russian Orthodox Church is enjoying its newfound prestige with the Russian government. The head of the church, Patriarch Kirill, was granted residence in the Kremlin, the elaborate historic fortress in Moscow and seat of the Russian government, late last year, and he openly supported Vladimir Putin, who won a third term as president in March.

Pro-Palestinian activists plan ‘flytilla’ via Jordan
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators are planning their third protest event to highlight Israel’s policy of banning foreign activists who it believes could cause a public disorder while visiting the area....Welcome to Palestine has organized a small group of 25 activists mostly from France who will fly into the airport in Amman on August 23.

Homeland Security finishing acquisition of millions of rounds of high-powered ammo
The Department of Homeland Security is rushing to finish the acquisition of 750 million rounds of high-power ammunition that has already raised many eyebrows. In one week, the DHS should start expecting an arsenal that will make some armies jealous. On paper the proposal says their request is to fulfill training exercise requirements, but why is the DHS equipping their officers with the know-how to shoot a basketball-size hole in a human body?

West stirs unrest in Syria to ultimately target Russia, China: Analyst
US Republican Congressman Ron Paul has warned that his country is driving Syria into a war by interfering with the ongoing unrest in the Middle East nation. “Last week the House passed yet another bill placing sanctions on Iran and Syria, bringing us closer to another war in the Middle East,” Paul wrote in an article on the Information Clearing House website.

Ahmadinejad arrives in Saudi for Islamic summit
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived on Monday in Saudi Arabia ahead of an extraordinary summit in Mecca expected to focus on the Syria conflict, on which Tehran and Riyadh have taken opposing sides. Ahmadinejad arrived in the Muslim holy city of Medina, in western Saudi Arabia, SPA state news agency said, adding that he visited the mosque and tomb of Islam's Prophet Mohammed.

Treasury: U.S. to lose $25 billion on auto bailout
The Treasury Department says in a new report the government expects to lose more than $25 billion on the $85 billion auto bailout. That's 15 percent higher than its previous forecast. In a monthly report sent to Congress on Friday, the Obama administration boosted its forecast of expected losses by more than $3.3 billion to almost $25.1 billion, up from $21.7 billion in the last quarterly update.

In Iowa, Obama to announce measures to soothe drought pain
President Barack Obama will announce on Monday that the Department of Agriculture intends to buy up to $170 million of pork, lamb, chicken and catfish to help support farmers suffering from the drought, a White House official said. The food purchases will go toward "food nutrition assistance" programs, like food banks.

Tunisian women protest to demand equality
Thousands of Tunisians have protested in the capital, Tunis, against moves by the Islamist-led government which they fear will reduce women's rights. The government has unveiled a draft constitution which refers to women as "complementary to men". The mostly women protesters held up placards which read: "Rise up women for your rights."

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Nearly 1,000 earthquakes recorded in Arizona over 3 years
Comprehensive analyses of seismicity within Arizona have not been previously possible due to a lack of seismic stations in most regions, contributing to the perception that widespread earthquakes in Arizona are rare. Debunking that myth, a new study published by Arizona State University researchers found nearly 1,000 earthquakes rattling the state over a three-year period.

The US Government Is More Invasive Of Your Twitter Privacy Than Any Country On Earth
To what end social media works depends on who controls it, and the recent transparency filings from Twitter reveal that the US is taking quick and concerted steps in court. The hope is to set legal precedents which will give the government unprecedented access to citizens' personal information and tidbits traded in 140 characters or less, or, to possibly dissuade people from organizing online.

The Army Now Has A Perfectly Functioning Eye In The Sky
The Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS) is an 243 helium filled balloon that Raytheon says is ideal for monitoring, "Swarming boats, anti-ship cruise missiles, and mine laying ships."

Hail of bullets? National Weather Service says ammo request was ‘clerical error’
A purchase order issued Thursday seeking to buy 46,000 rounds of ammunition for use in National Weather Service offices in four states, including hollow-point bullets designed to cause extensive damage on impact and “frangible” ammunition used for close-quarter shooting when ricochets are unacceptable, actually was a “clerical error.”

Russian attack submarine sailed in Gulf of Mexico undetected for weeks, U.S. officials say
A Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine armed with long-range cruise missiles operated undetected in the Gulf of Mexico for several weeks and its travel in strategic U.S. waters was only confirmed after it left the region, the Washington Free Beacon has learned. It is only the second time since 2009 that a Russian attack submarine has patrolled so close to U.S. shores.

Anti-Semitic Hungarian politician discovers he's Jewish
As a rising star in Hungary's far-right Jobbik Party, Csanad Szegedi was notorious for his incendiary comments on Jews: He accused them of "buying up" the country, railed about the "Jewishness" of the political elite and claimed Jews were desecrating national symbols.

Approval of Congress falls to all-time low
Just 10 percent of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, according to a Gallup poll released Tuesday, tying the lowest mark in the 38 years the poll has been conducted. That number was previously reached this past February, but bounced back a bit in subsequent months. Eighty-three percent of Americans disapprove of Congress, the poll shows.

Russian attack submarine sailed in Gulf of Mexico undetected for weeks, U.S. officials say
A Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine armed with long-range cruise missiles operated undetected in the Gulf of Mexico for several weeks and its travel in strategic U.S. waters was only confirmed after it left the region, the Washington Free Beacon has learned. It is only the second time since 2009 that a Russian attack submarine has patrolled so close to U.S. shores.

Dozens of Dead Birds Fall From the Sky in NJ
Residents in a Cumberland County community were left wondering Tuesday morning what caused dozens of birds to drop dead from the sky. Residents along Peach Drive in Millville found at least 80 birds -- mostly red-winged blackbirds -- on the ground dead having fallen from trees and the sky. One neighbor even said he saw the birds falling out of the air.

Al-Qaeda’s ‘suicide bombers wanted’ ad
Apparently low on bombers, al-Qaeda is running a (short-term) employment advertisement on its Shumukh al-Islam Internet forum. Under the heading “Area of activity: The planet Earth,” the ad seeks jihadists to carry out suicide attacks. Applicants must be Muslim, mentally mature, dedicated, able to listen, and utterly committed to completing their mission, the Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Tuesday.

West Nile virus spreads faster
West Nile virus is spreading faster than it has in years, and the pace of the mosquito-borne disease is getting worse, health officials report. States are reporting more cases than usual, says Marc Fischer, a specialist in mosquito-borne diseases with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Fort Collins, Colo. "There's been a lot of mosquito activity in most states" this year, Fischer says.

'Black box' standards coming for cars
New federal standards for "black boxes" that record information leading up to auto accidents will will take effect Sept. 1, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) ruled on Tuesday. The decision means the new standards for the devices will not be delayed by one year, as automakers had requested.

Syria crisis: Blast near Damascus military compound
A large explosion has struck close to a military compound in the Syrian capital, Damascus, near a hotel used by the UN's observer mission. Syrian state TV reported that three people had been injured in the blast, but that none of them were UN monitors. The intended target of the explosion was not immediately clear.

Brazil changes tack with new stimulus plan
Brazil's government is set to launch the first in a series of measures that could inject up to $50bn (£32bn) into the economy over the next five years. The first part of the plan, to be announced on Wednesday, includes privatising about 14,000 kilometres of railways and roads. The privatisation of ports, lower energy costs and incentives for industry will soon follow.

Scores of wildfires burn across western US
Wildfires raging across the western states of the US have destroyed dozens of homes and scorched thousands of acres of land, officials say. The US Forest Service reported 62 large uncontained fires, mostly in the states of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and California. A fire in the north-western US state of Washington has burned at least 60 houses and 24,000 acres (9,712 ha) since it started on Monday.

Eurozone slides deeper into recession, Germany grows
Eurozone economies continue to go separate ways, with overall recession of 0.2 percent, while Germany's economy is still growing by 0.3 percent, according to the latest Eurostat data comparing the three months from April to June to the previous quarter. The so-called flash estimate, which is expected to be confirmed by final data in September, puts the eurozone and the EU as a whole on a declining trend...

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Nearly 1,000 earthquakes recorded in Arizona over 3 years
Comprehensive analyses of seismicity within Arizona have not been previously possible due to a lack of seismic stations in most regions, contributing to the perception that widespread earthquakes in Arizona are rare. Debunking that myth, a new study published by Arizona State University researchers found nearly 1,000 earthquakes rattling the state over a three-year period.

The US Government Is More Invasive Of Your Twitter Privacy Than Any Country On Earth
To what end social media works depends on who controls it, and the recent transparency filings from Twitter reveal that the US is taking quick and concerted steps in court. The hope is to set legal precedents which will give the government unprecedented access to citizens' personal information and tidbits traded in 140 characters or less, or, to possibly dissuade people from organizing online.

The Army Now Has A Perfectly Functioning Eye In The Sky
The Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS) is an 243 helium filled balloon that Raytheon says is ideal for monitoring, "Swarming boats, anti-ship cruise missiles, and mine laying ships."

Hail of bullets? National Weather Service says ammo request was ‘clerical error’
A purchase order issued Thursday seeking to buy 46,000 rounds of ammunition for use in National Weather Service offices in four states, including hollow-point bullets designed to cause extensive damage on impact and “frangible” ammunition used for close-quarter shooting when ricochets are unacceptable, actually was a “clerical error.”

Russian attack submarine sailed in Gulf of Mexico undetected for weeks, U.S. officials say
A Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine armed with long-range cruise missiles operated undetected in the Gulf of Mexico for several weeks and its travel in strategic U.S. waters was only confirmed after it left the region, the Washington Free Beacon has learned. It is only the second time since 2009 that a Russian attack submarine has patrolled so close to U.S. shores.

Anti-Semitic Hungarian politician discovers he's Jewish
As a rising star in Hungary's far-right Jobbik Party, Csanad Szegedi was notorious for his incendiary comments on Jews: He accused them of "buying up" the country, railed about the "Jewishness" of the political elite and claimed Jews were desecrating national symbols.

Approval of Congress falls to all-time low
Just 10 percent of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, according to a Gallup poll released Tuesday, tying the lowest mark in the 38 years the poll has been conducted. That number was previously reached this past February, but bounced back a bit in subsequent months. Eighty-three percent of Americans disapprove of Congress, the poll shows.

Russian attack submarine sailed in Gulf of Mexico undetected for weeks, U.S. officials say
A Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine armed with long-range cruise missiles operated undetected in the Gulf of Mexico for several weeks and its travel in strategic U.S. waters was only confirmed after it left the region, the Washington Free Beacon has learned. It is only the second time since 2009 that a Russian attack submarine has patrolled so close to U.S. shores.

Dozens of Dead Birds Fall From the Sky in NJ
Residents in a Cumberland County community were left wondering Tuesday morning what caused dozens of birds to drop dead from the sky. Residents along Peach Drive in Millville found at least 80 birds -- mostly red-winged blackbirds -- on the ground dead having fallen from trees and the sky. One neighbor even said he saw the birds falling out of the air.

Al-Qaeda’s ‘suicide bombers wanted’ ad
Apparently low on bombers, al-Qaeda is running a (short-term) employment advertisement on its Shumukh al-Islam Internet forum. Under the heading “Area of activity: The planet Earth,” the ad seeks jihadists to carry out suicide attacks. Applicants must be Muslim, mentally mature, dedicated, able to listen, and utterly committed to completing their mission, the Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Tuesday.

West Nile virus spreads faster
West Nile virus is spreading faster than it has in years, and the pace of the mosquito-borne disease is getting worse, health officials report. States are reporting more cases than usual, says Marc Fischer, a specialist in mosquito-borne diseases with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Fort Collins, Colo. "There's been a lot of mosquito activity in most states" this year, Fischer says.

'Black box' standards coming for cars
New federal standards for "black boxes" that record information leading up to auto accidents will will take effect Sept. 1, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) ruled on Tuesday. The decision means the new standards for the devices will not be delayed by one year, as automakers had requested.

Syria crisis: Blast near Damascus military compound
A large explosion has struck close to a military compound in the Syrian capital, Damascus, near a hotel used by the UN's observer mission. Syrian state TV reported that three people had been injured in the blast, but that none of them were UN monitors. The intended target of the explosion was not immediately clear.

Brazil changes tack with new stimulus plan
Brazil's government is set to launch the first in a series of measures that could inject up to $50bn (£32bn) into the economy over the next five years. The first part of the plan, to be announced on Wednesday, includes privatising about 14,000 kilometres of railways and roads. The privatisation of ports, lower energy costs and incentives for industry will soon follow.

Scores of wildfires burn across western US
Wildfires raging across the western states of the US have destroyed dozens of homes and scorched thousands of acres of land, officials say. The US Forest Service reported 62 large uncontained fires, mostly in the states of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and California. A fire in the north-western US state of Washington has burned at least 60 houses and 24,000 acres (9,712 ha) since it started on Monday.

Eurozone slides deeper into recession, Germany grows
Eurozone economies continue to go separate ways, with overall recession of 0.2 percent, while Germany's economy is still growing by 0.3 percent, according to the latest Eurostat data comparing the three months from April to June to the previous quarter. The so-called flash estimate, which is expected to be confirmed by final data in September, puts the eurozone and the EU as a whole on a declining trend...

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Israel will vanish‚ says Khamenei
Israel is an artificial “outgrowth” in the Middle East that “will disappear,” Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said ahead of rallies on Friday against the Jewish state and supporting the Palestinians. -Also Wednesday, Gholam Reza Jalali, a former commander of the Revolutionary Guards and current head of Iran's Civil Defense Organization, said that Quds Day "is an expression of the fact that there is no other way but to stand firm and resist until Israel is destroyed."

Securing Syria chemical weapons may take tens of thousands of troops
The United States and its allies are discussing a worst-case scenario that could require tens of thousands of ground troops to go into Syria to secure chemical and biological weapons sites following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad's government, according to U.S. and diplomatic officials. These secret discussions assume that all of Assad's security forces disintegrate, leaving chemical and biological weapons sites in Syria vulnerable to pillaging.

2 additional anthrax cases identified in Colorado
Two more cows have died from anthrax exposure in northeast Colorado, expanding the first outbreak of the disease in the state in 31 years to three ranches. Last week, 60 cows died on a Logan County ranch, where anthrax was positively identified in one animal. Officials say it's likely they all died of the disease.

Court: No warrant needed to track phone
A U.S. appellate court has ruled police can track a suspect's location through his cellphone without first obtaining a warrant. Criminals cannot "complain" when police use a feature on the suspect's own device to catch them, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.

Virginia Bakery Refuses To Serve Biden; Angry Over 'You Didn't Build That'
The owner of Crumb and Get It in Roanoke says he doesn't agree with the Obama administration's policies.(Video)

Sun Dominates Space Weather Concerns for Next Decade:
"We really have a feeling that the next decade is one that really moves us from a decade focusing to understand drivers of space weather to one that is focused on the responses of that," Zurbuchen told reporters in a news briefing in Washington today.

Saudi king sits next to Iran's Ahmadinejad in goodwill gesture
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah seated Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at his side to welcome leaders to a summit on Wednesday, an apparent conciliatory gesture before the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation suspends the membership of Iran's ally Syria.

Dallas Approves Aerial Spraying to Fight West Nile
Dallas and other North Texas cities have agreed to the rare use of aerial spraying from planes to combat the nation's worst outbreak of West Nile virus so far this year. Dallas last had aerial spraying in 1966, when more than a dozen deaths were blamed on encephalitis. More than 200 cases of West Nile and 10 deaths linked to the virus have been reported across Dallas County, where officials authorized aerial spraying last week. State health department statistics show 381 cases and 16 deaths related to West Nile statewide.

The Mississippi River Is Drying Up As Food Prices Continue To Surge
The worst drought in more than 50 years is having a devastating impact on the Mississippi River. The Mississippi has become very thin and very narrow, and if it keeps on dropping there is a very real possibility that all river traffic could get shut down. And considering the fact that approximately 60 percent of our grain (NYSEARCA:JJG), 22 percent of our oil (NYSEARCA:USO) and natural gas (NYSEARCA:UNG), and and one-fifth of our coal travel down the Mississippi River, that would be absolutely crippling for our economy.

Forecast: Big snow in Eastern U.S. cities
Above-normal snowfall during winter 2012-2013 is forecast for the major I-95 cities including New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, AccuWeather.com reported Wednesday. "The I-95 cities could get hit pretty good," forecaster Paul Pastelok said. "It's a matter of getting the cold to phase in with the huge systems that we are going to see coming out of the southern branch of the jet stream this year."

DHS Classifies New Ammo Purchases Following Controversy
The Department of Homeland Security has redacted information relating to the quantity of bullets it is buying following a controversy concerning the agency’s purchase of over a billion rounds of ammo, which many fear is a sign the federal government is preparing for civil unrest in the United States. Despite the fact that documents are only supposed to be redacted if authorized by Congress or for national security reasons, a solicitation posted on the FedBizOpps website yesterday concerning ammunition purchases made by the DHS on behalf of Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) contains numerous blacked out sections.

Social Security Administration To Purchase 174 Thousand Rounds Of Hollow Point Bullets
First it was the Department of Homeland Security, then it was the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and now the Social Security Administration is set to purchase 174,000 rounds of hollow point bullets that will be delivered to 41 locations across the country. A solicitation posted by the SSA on the FedBizOpps website asks for contractors to supply 174,000 rounds of “.357 Sig 125 grain bonded jacketed hollow point pistol ammunition.” An online ammunition retailer describes the bullets as suitable “for peak performance rivaling and sometimes surpassing handloads in many guns,” noting that the ammo is “a great personal defense bullet.”

Are The Government And The Big Banks Quietly Preparing For An Imminent Financial Collapse?
Last week, it was revealed that the U.S. government has been secretly directing five of the biggest banks in America "to develop plans for staving off collapse" for the last two years. By itself, that wouldn't be that big of a deal. But when you add that piece to the dozens of other clues of imminent financial collapse, a very troubling picture begins to emerge.

2012 gas prices head for record
Gasoline prices are up sharply in the past month on surging crude oil costs and refinery woes, and now are likely to make 2012 the costliest year ever at the pump. Nationally, gasoline averages $3.70 a gallon — up 30 cents since mid-July and is now higher than year-ago levels in 39 states. Prices are likely to continue climbing through August, with little relief until after Labor Day.

TAU finds 12th century BCE image of biblical Samson
Tel Aviv University researchers uncovered an archeological depiction of the story of Samson, or at the very least an ancient depiction of an act of animal cruelty. The half-inch, 12th century BCE seal depicts what is, at least to a layman’s eyes, a crudely-rendered picture of a four-legged being facing off with a two-legged humanoid.

Labor Dept. Attempts to Stop Layoffs by Giving $100 Million to States to Subsidize Payrolls
The Labor Department announced on Monday that it will be awarding almost $100 million in grant funding to states to prevent layoffs by allowing businesses to pay employees as part-time workers and the federal government will pick up the tab for the cost of a full-time paycheck. The “work-sharing” program was passed as part of a Republican-led bill in the House, H.R. 3630, and Senate Amendment 1465 to extend the payroll tax deduction and unemployment benefits.

Israeli military: Blasts heard in southern city
Explosions rocked the southern Israeli city of Eilat late Wednesday, and the military said it suspected that rockets were fired from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. No casualties or damage were reported. Eilat is a Red Sea resort next to Sinai, scene of many militant attacks in recent months. On Aug. 5, Sinai militants killed 16 Egyptian soldiers where the borders of Egypt, Israel and Gaza converge.

Khamenei: Zionist regime will disappear from map
With the US sending clear public signals to Israel that it is opposed to military action now against Iran, and a cacophonous debate on the matter in Israel, senior Iranian officials continue to threaten Israel with destruction. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that he was confidant "the fake Zionist (regime) will disappear from the landscape of geography,” Iran's Mehr News Agency reported.

Israel 'prepared for 30-day war with Iran'
Israel's outgoing home front defence minister says an attack on Iran would likely trigger a month-long conflict that would leave 500 Israelis dead. Matan Vilnai told the Maariv newspaper that the fighting would be "on several fronts", with hundreds of missiles fired at Israeli towns and cities. Israel was prepared, he said, though strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities had to be co-ordinated with the US.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Kuwait urge Lebanon exodus
Four Arab states have urged their citizens to leave Lebanon amid signs that the conflict in Syria is spilling over into its western neighbour. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Kuwait urged immediate action after a string of kidnappings of Sunni Muslims by a powerful Shia clan. They were retaliating for the abduction of a clan member by rebels in Damascus.

US launches sweeping immigration reform
Undocumented immigrants are applying for the temporary right to live and work openly in the US, as a sweeping immigration policy reform takes effect. Up to 1.7 million people could be eligible for the programme, unveiled in June by President Barack Obama amid pressure from Hispanic voters. Republicans say Mr Obama has passed over Congress - and unemployed US citizens - with the programme.

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German court widens army's internal crisis role
The German military will in future be able to use its weapons on German streets in an extreme situation, the Federal Constitutional Court says.

Lethal snake viruses identified
The genetic analyses also revealed that one of the genes in the newly isolated virus group was more like that present in viruses belonging to a totally different family of haemorrhagic viruses called filoviruses. Ebolavirus belongs to this family.

Russian judge finds punk rock band members guilty
Three members of a feminist punk band were found guilty on Friday of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred for staging an anti-Kremlin protest in a church, in a case that supporters say put President Vladimir Putin's tolerance of dissent on trial.

Senior Israeli: ‘Home front is ready as never before in the country’s history
Israel has assessed that it must prepare for a month-long war with Iran and its proxies.

The End Is Near: December 21, 2012
This was a Reuters report May 1, 2012. Think about that. Ten percent of the world population thinks the world, as we know it, will end this year because of interpreted predictions of Mayan prophecy and the predictions of Nostradamus, Mother Shipton and the Hopi Indians, among others. That’s about 700,000,000 people. So how is the world preparing for the coming devastation? They’re partying!

Israeli minister warns of 30-day war with Iran
A strike on Iran’s nuclear sites would spark a 30-day war with missile attacks on Israel's cities and as many as 500 dead, according to the Israeli minister responsible for preparing home defences.

Israel's trigger finger grows itchy over the nuclear threat from Iran
If the rhetoric coming from the defence ministry in Tel Aviv is to be believed, the option of destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities with a series of air strikes is being considered more seriously than ever before. Indeed some anonymous briefings to the Israeli media come close to suggesting that a decision to launch a new Operation Opera has already been taken, with timing the only remaining issue.

Canada, the world less religious now than in 2005
Canada is one of many countries experiencing a significant decline in religiosity, according to a new report that found the number of people around the world who claim to be religious dropped 9% since 2005, while atheism rose 3%.

UN monitors quit, saying Syrians choose "path of war"
- Syria's government and rebels have "chosen the path of war", a U.N. peacekeeping chief said as the world body ended its doomed monitoring mission to Damascus and deadlock persists among world powers over how to contain the spreading conflict. Two weeks after former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan quit as mediator in frustration with the failure of a four-month-old truce, military observers have no peace on the ground to monitor and U.N. officials said on Thursday the last of the few dozen remaining team members would quit Damascus by August 24. "It is clear that both sides have chosen the path of war...

Iran's Ahmadinejad says no place for Israel in new Middle East
Many thousands of Iranians shouted "Death to America, death to Israel" during state-organized protests on Friday and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told them there was no place for the Jewish state in a future Middle East.

Humanity Responds to 'Alien' Wow Signal, 35 Years Later
The messages are intended as a response to what's called the Wow! signal, an intriguing radio signal detected on Aug. 15, 1977 that some thought was a call from extraterrestrials. The 72-second transmission was picked up by the Big Ear radio observatory at Ohio State University, coming from the direction of the constellation Sagittarius.

Close encounters: Manchester's UFO X-Files revealed by Ministry of Defence
Mera – who once worked for NATO as a telecommunications officer, and so signed the Official Secrets Act – firmly believes that the military has incredibly advanced craft which may explain some of those UFO sightings. Mera even ponders whether governments may be involved in a long campaign of drip-feeding populations with information about UFOs and extra-terrestrials to ensure there is not mass panic when we do finally come face to face with the aliens.

Ex-Navy SEALs' video attacks Obama for security leaks
In a story published Wednesday, the Times said the Obama campaign compared the video to "Swift Boat" advertisements by Vietnam veterans, which in 2004 questioned Democratic Party presidential candidate John Kerry's war record. The new video, entitled Dishonorable Disclosures, accuses the Obama administration of leaks about classified operations, including news briefings on the bin Laden raid in Pakistan and assistance to filmmakers who were making a movie about the operation.

How India’s drought could be catastrophic for its economy
For India which is already struggling with an economic slowdown, this would only stoke inflation limiting discretionary spending and curbing monetary tools at the disposal of its central bank.

Saudi Aramco hit by computer virus
Hackers have claimed responsibility for the spread of a computer virus that forced the world's largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, to isolate its production systems from infected PC workstations inside the company. It is still unclear whether the problem, which is thought to have affected thousands of the company's PCs, was the result of a hacker attack, a state-sponsored attack such as the Gauss or Stuxnet worms, or one of the millions of viruses found online.

Securing Syria chemical weapons may take tens of thousands of troops
The United States and its allies are discussing a worst-case scenario that could require tens of thousands of ground troops to go into Syria to secure chemical and biological weapons sites following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad's government, according to U.S. and diplomatic officials.

US, allies discuss worst-case scenario in Syria
Diplomatic sources say as many as 50,000 or 60,000 ground forces would be needed to prevent Syria's chemical weapons from reaching terror groups

Another Afghan police attack kills 2 US troops
A newly recruited Afghan village policeman opened fire on his American allies on Friday, killing two U.S. service members minutes after they gave him a new weapon as a present. It was the latest in a disturbing string of attacks by Afghan security forces on the international troops training them.

Yosemite tourist dies after contracting hantavirus
A popular lodging area in Yosemite National Park could be linked to a rare rodent-borne disease that has killed a California tourist who stayed there this summer, officials said. A man who stayed at Curry Village in June died after contracting hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. A woman who also stayed in a canvas tent cabin about 100 feet from him on overlapping days has become seriously ill, park officials said.

Exclusive: White House studying potential oil reserve release
The White House is "dusting off old plans" for a potential release of oil reserves to dampen prices and prevent high energy costs from undermining sanctions against Iran, a source with knowledge of the situation said on Thursday.


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Unemployment rates rose in 44 U.S. states in July
Unemployment rates rose in 44 U.S. states in July, the most states to show a monthly increase in more than three years and a reflection of weak hiring nationwide. The Labor Department said Friday that unemployment rates fell in only two states and were unchanged in four.

Hezbollah Says It Has Rockets to Kill 'Tens of Thousands' of Israelis
The Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah said on Friday it could kill tens of thousands of Israelis by striking specific targets in Israel with what it described as precision-guided rockets. "I tell the Israelis that you have a number of targets, not a large number ... that can be hit with precision rockets ... which we have," Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah said in a broadcast speech.

Ban Ki-moon joins US in condemning Iran’s ‘inflammatory’ comments on Israel
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the Iranian leadership’s “offensive and inflammatory” recent statements on Israel and called on the international community to condemn such provocations. ...“The secretary-general is dismayed by the remarks threatening Israel’s existence attributed over the last two days to the Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Khamenei] and the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the UN press office said, and he “condemns these offensive and inflammatory statements.”

Iran: Israel's existence 'insult to all humanity'
Israel's existence is an "insult to all humanity," Iran's president said Friday in one of his sharpest attacks yet against the Jewish state, as Israel openly debates whether to attack Iran over its nuclear program. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said confronting Israel is an effort to "protect the dignity of all human beings."

Arab Spring run amok: 'Brotherhood' starts crucifixions
The Arab Spring takeover of Egypt by the Muslim Brotherhood has run amok, with reports from several different media agencies that the radical Muslims have begun crucifying opponents of newly installed President Mohammed Morsi. Middle East media confirm that during a recent rampage, Muslim Brotherhood operatives “crucified those opposing Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi naked on trees in front of the presidential palace while abusing others.”

China warns Japan against 'illegal' trip to islands
The Chinese government has warned Japan to stop an "illegal" trip by politicians to a group of disputed islands under Japanese control. A flotilla of some 20 Japanese boats has set sail for the Senkaku (Chinese: Diaoyu) islands and is expected to anchor off them early on Sunday. The politicians plan to commemorate Japanese dead in World War II, when Japan occupied eastern China.

Israeli could attack Iran without causing a major war in the region
Over the last few days, Israeli newspapers have been consumed by reports that the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has decided to launch an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities some time this autumn. Although Netanyahu has an obvious interest in increasing pressure on Iran, it would be an error to regard these reports as simple rhetorical sensationalism. In my opinion, whether this year or next, Israel is likely to use its airforce to attack Iran.

No tsunami warning, damage reported after strong quake strikes Indonesia
A strong earthquake of 6.6 has rocked a north Indonesian island. No tsunami warning has been issued and there are no immediate reports of damages or casualties. The U.S. Geological Survey says Saturday's quake struck 35 miles south-east of Palu city on Sulawesi Island at a depth of 12.6 miles. It hit at 17:41 local time.

Dallas launches aerial defense to fight West Nile virus
The last time Dallas used aerial spraying to curb the mosquito population, Texas' Lyndon Johnson was in the White House, Mission Control in Houston was launching Gemini missions and encephalitis was blamed for more than a dozen deaths.

Tropical Storm Helene swirls toward Mexican coast
Tropical Storm Helene is expected to make landfall in Mexico on Saturday, dumping heavy rains and strong winds to an area recovering from Hurricane Ernesto.

Kim warns troops to prepare for 'sacred war' during US-South Korea exercises
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told his troops to be vigilant during upcoming training exercises between South Korea and the United States, saying they should be ready to lead a "sacred war," state media reported Saturday.

In UK threat to Ecuador, experts see mistake
It was a warning meant to remind Ecuador that Britain's patience has limits. But as the stalemate over Julian Assange settled, it appeared London's veiled threat that it could storm Ecuador's embassy and drag Assange out has backfired — drawing supporters to the mission where the WikiLeaks founder is holed up and prompting angry denunciations from Ecuador and elsewhere.

Russian punk band verdict draws criticism around globe
European nations and the United States, as well as some celebrities, voiced sharp criticism of Russia on Friday over jail sentences handed to three members of the punk band ***** Riot who protested against President Vladimir Putin in a church.

Suicide car bomber kills 5 Pakistani security troops at checkpoint in southwest
A Pakistani official says a suicide car bomber has killed five security troops at a road checkpoint in the country's volatile southwest. Spokesman Murtaza Baig says the attacker detonated his explosives early on Saturday after he was stopped at the checkpoint in a Quetta suburb. The killed troops were members of Pakistan's paramilitary Frontier Corps.

South Africa Lonmin mine killings: Zuma announces inquiry
South African President Jacob Zuma has announced an inquiry into violence at a mine in the north-east of the country, calling the deaths there "tragic". Thirty-four people were killed when police opened fire on striking platinum miners on Thursday. At least 78 people were injured in the confrontation.

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Dozens cancel move to Israel due to Iran threats
Dozens of Jews have postponed their decision to immigrate to Israel because of the threat of war with Iran, Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky said on Sunday morning.

US drones kill 10 militants in northwest Pakistan
American drones fired a flurry of missiles in a Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan Sunday, killing a total of 10 suspected militants, Pakistani officials said. In the first strike, missiles fired from unmanned American spy planes hit two vehicles near the Afghan border, killing at least seven militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

New Pressure on Obama to Visit Israel to Reassure US Support
Barack Obama needs to make his first visit to Israel since winning the White House to ease fears that the United States is not fully committed to stopping Iran from developing the nuclear bomb, former Israeli military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin says.

Assange to break silence amid diplomatic row between Britain, Ecuador
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is expected to break his silence Sunday from the Ecuador Embassy in Britain, where he is holed up amid a diplomatic row between the two nations over his asylum.

Syria's Assad Makes Rare Public Appearance
Syria's state-run TV aired footage of President Bashar Assad performing Eid prayers in a mosque in Damascus on Sunday, his first appearance in public after a bombing in the Syrian capital last month that killed the country's defense minister and three other top security officials

Twin car bombs kill two in Libya capital
Twin car bombs near security force buildings in the Libyan capital early on Sunday killed two people and wounded four as Mulims marked the start of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, a security official said.

Hurricane Gordon heads toward eastern Azores
Hurricane Gordon sped across the Atlantic early Sunday toward the eastern Azores islands, where a hurricane warning is in effect, U.S. forecasters in Miami said. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Gordon was centered about 395 miles (635 kms) west-southwest of the Azores at 2 a.m. EDT (0600 GMT) Sunday. It added that Gordon was a Category 2 hurricane with top sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph) and higher gusts.

Egypt president to visit Iran, a first in decades
Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi will attend a summit in Iran later this month, a presidential official said on Saturday, the first such trip for an Egyptian leader since relations with Tehran deteriorated decades ago. The visit could mark a thaw between the two countries after years of enmity, especially since Egypt signed its 1979 peace treaty with Israel and Iran underwent its Islamic revolution. Under Morsi's predecessor Hosni Mubarak, Egypt, predominantly Sunni Muslim, sided with Saudi Arabia and other Sunni-dominated Arab states in trying to isolate Shiite-led Iran.

Texas mall shooting results in one dead, two injured
One man was killed and two wounded early Saturday in a shooting at a shopping mall in the west Texas town of Odessa, police say. Police say officers went to the Music City Mall on a report that people were refusing to leave a sports bar inside, which was then followed by reports of shots fired.

Report: Iraqis helping Iran skirt sanctions
Iraq has been helping Iran skirt economic sanctions imposed because of its nuclear program, using a network of financial institutions and oil-smuggling operations that are providing Tehran with a crucial flow of dollars, the New York Times said on Saturday.

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Down's Syndrome Pakistani girl accused of blasphemy
Police arrested Rimsha, who is recognised by a single name, on Thursday after she was reported holding in public burnt pages which had Islamic text and Koranic verses on them, a police official told AFP. A conviction for blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan.

Quake strikes Indonesia, child injured, houses damaged
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 35 miles southeast of Palu on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Saturday injuring a child and damaging at least 48 houses just as residents were breaking the Ramadan fast, authorities said.

Mobile phone companies can predict future movements of users by building a profile of their lifestyle
From telling us when our train is coming, helping us when we're lost and letting us watch our favourite TV shows, there seems no limit to how involved our smartphone is with our day-to-day life. Now the gadget ...will know exactly what we're doing tomorrow. Scientists have found a way of predicting an individual's future movements by analysing information their mobile phone.

U.S. Says Iraqis Are Helping Iran to Skirt Sanctions
When President Obama announced last month that he was barring a Baghdad bank from any dealings with the American banking system, it was a rare acknowledgment of a delicate problem facing the administration in a country that American troops just left: for months, Iraq has been helping Iran skirt economic sanctions imposed on Tehran because of its nuclear program.

United Nations observer mission in Syria ends
The United Nations observer mission in Syria has formally ended, in line with Thursday's Security Council decision. The team was deployed to monitor a ceasefire between rebels and the government agreed as part of former UN envoy Kofi Annan's six-point peace plan, but the truce never took hold. The UN decided to end the mission in response to growing levels of violence.

US general holds talks on Afghanistan 'insider attacks'
The top US military officer is visiting Afghanistan to discuss a growing number of attacks against Nato soldiers by members of the Afghan security forces. Gen Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, met Nato commanders and officials for talks on the so-called "green on blue" attacks. His visit follows an incident on Sunday in which an Afghan in a police uniform shot dead a Nato soldier.

Somali: MPs to be sworn in to historic parliament
Somalia's first formal parliament in more than 20 years is to be sworn in the capital, Mogadishu, marking an end to an eight-year transitional period. Security is reported to be heavy across the city with troops and police officers patrolling the streets. After choosing a Speaker, the MPs' main task will be to elect a new president - a vote expected within a week or two.

Volcano news: Popocatepetl Volcano (Mexico)
A sharp increase in activity has been observed at Popocatépetl since yesterday. During 17-18 August, 176 mostly small explosions were observed...

Nine waterspouts spotted on Lake Michigan; forecasters say more possible Sunday
The National Weather Service said three of the tornado-like vortices were reported to them shortly before noon on Saturday, by people who were out on a fishing boat in Lake Michigan this morning.

Deadly Ebola outbreak: Nine killed in DR Congo
Nine people have died from an outbreak of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo, only weeks after the virulent disease was declared “under control” in neighboring Uganda, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported. The new cases of the Ebola virus were detected near the country’s northwestern town of Isiro, the Congolese health minister said.

Magnitude 5.6 quake hits off coast of Washington state: USGS
The depth was reported at 6.3 miles and the quake was located 190 miles west of Neah Bay, the USGS said. There was no immediate statement from the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center based in Hawaii on the quake.

Morsi: Cairo stands by Gaza's side
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi told Hamas Prime Minister in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh that "Egypt's support is unwavering, Cairo stands by Gaza's side." Morsi telephoned Haniyeh on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Israel Radio reported that Haniyeh told Morsi that Hamas wants to cooperate with Egypt in combating terrorism in Sinai, and stressed that Hamas does not want to be a force of instability in the region. Haniyeh, however, noted that he has no intention of cooperating with the "Zionist enemy."

Iron Dome deployed after rocket firing
Israel deployed an Iron Dome missile defense battery on the outskirts of Eilat after the remains of a Grad rocket were found near the city, the army said. The missile defense system deployed at the southern city is undergoing assessments and being tested in locations around Israel, a military spokesman told United Press International.

Intense fighting rages in Syria's city of Aleppo
Syrian government forces on Monday marked the second day of a major Muslim holiday with heavy shelling of the cities of Aleppo and Daraa and a suburb of the capital Damascus, killing up to 30 people, rights groups and activists said.

Christianity & gun owners in the crosshairs: Chilling tactic exposed
And if you are a Christian gun owner who disagrees with the Progressive anti-Christian agenda in America and have a platform to inform others, you better believe that you are under intense scrutiny. Sound like paranoid propaganda? Read on. It’s one thing to say that there is a war against Christianity and an active agenda to disarm Americans, but it’s another thing altogether to watch it unfold, up close and personal.

Northern California fire forces evacuation of some 2,000 homes
A lightning-sparked wildfire roared unchecked on Sunday through tinder-dry grass, brush and timber in north-central California, where an estimated 3,000 people were forced from their homes in several small, rural communities, authorities said.

California law barring parents from 'curing' gay children moves through legislature
A first-of-its-kind state law that would restrict parents from trying to "cure" their minor children's same-sex attractions seems headed to the governor's desk. If both state houses can agree on the final language, the legislation, which would ban all sexual orientation change effort (SOCE) treatment for minors, will be sent to Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature sometime in September. B

Global Warming: Drought linked to Weather Warfare?
Is the drought currently gripping much of the United States the result of greenhouse emissions and global warming, or is there a more sinister reason behind it? The makers of a documentary, which repeats on the History Channel, are convinced that drought, floods, hurricanes and even earthquakes are the result of weather manipulation by apparent Archons, including those in the United States, and Russia. Does this mean that the weapon of mass destruction of the future is the weather?

Israel Attack on Iran Runs Risk of Massive Missile Retaliation
If Israel attacks Iran, the Israeli heartland could face retaliation from more than 10,000 missiles based in Iran, Syria, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, according to Uzi Rubin, the founder and first director of Israel’s Missile Defense Organization.

Germany Returning to Deutsche Mark? € Sculpture Removed from Frankfurt Intl Airport
Does € sculpture’s removal from the Frankfurt Airport indicate Germany is preparing for a surprise return to the Deutsche Mark?

Finland prepares for break-up of eurozone
The Nordic state is battening down the hatches for a full-blown currency crisis as tensions in the eurozone mount and has said it will not tolerate further bail-out creep or fiscal union by stealth.

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Egyptian Cleric: People Thirst for Jews' Blood
Al Aqsa TV has aired sermons by an Egyptian cleric in which he says that people he meets everywhere "thirst for the blood of the Jews." The video was monitored and translated by MEMRI. The sermons by cleric Sallah Sultan, who founded the Ohio-based American Center for Islamic Research, were aired on July 27 and August 3.

‘Mark of the Beast’?: Elementary School Mulling Plan to Scan Kids’ Palms in the Lunch Line
Parents of students at a Lake Charles, La. elementary school are upset over new technology that officials hope to use in the lunch room, believing it would expedite payment in the cafeteria line giving students more time to eat. KPLC TV reported last week that Moss Bluff Elementary School officials sent a letter home to parents explaining a new system that would scan students’ palms, which in turn would identify the student and the subsequent individual payment plan.

Missile Hits US Military Chief’s Plane; Dempsey not On Board
Two missiles were fired at the C-17 plane overnight as it stood on the runway, and one of them caused serious damage. Dempsey left the Bagram military base in another plane.

GOP convention session to be themed "We Built This!"
The theme and list of speakers are meant to directly contrast comments President Obama made in Roanoke, Virginia last month. Describing what he noted as the federal government’s role in helping the private sector, the president pointed to infrastructure and education. “Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive,” the president said of business owners. “Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.”

Amid mounting pressure, Iran looks to Armenia to skirt bank sanctions
With international sanctions squeezing Iran, the Islamic Republic is seeking to expand its banking foothold in the Caucasus nation of Armenia to make up for difficulties in countries it used to rely on to do business, according to diplomats and documents. Iran's growing interest in its neighbor Armenia, a mountainous, landlocked country of about 3.3 million people, comes at a time of ...increasing scrutiny by Western governments and intelligence agencies...as they attempt to stifle the country's nuclear program.

Cleveland Sees 20th Explosion Since Christmas
Cleveland Volcano experienced yet another explosion on Friday morning – its twentieth since Christmas.

US seizes $150m 'linked to Hezbollah money-laundering'
The US authorities say they have seized $150m (£95m) from a bank allegedly linked to a money-laundering scheme of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Last year, US officials accused the Lebanese Canadian Bank (LCB) of helping the group launder profits from drug trafficking and other crimes. The funds were allegedly used to ship cars from the US to West Africa, with the proceeds smuggled back to Lebanon.

Deadly clashes over Syria in Lebanese city of Tripoli
Three people have been killed in the Lebanese city of Tripoli in clashes between opponents and supporters of Syria's president, officials say. Exchanges of gunfire continued through the night, involving the Sunni Muslim district of Bab al-Tabbana and the Alawite district of Jabal Muhsin. At least 25 people were injured, including 10 soldiers.

Scientists Discover New Super Volcano
Scientists report there’s a “super volcano” hidden near the same location where the notorious Mount Vesuvias eruption of 79 A.D. occurred and killed thousands of Pompeii residents. Only now this area of Italy is inhabited by 3 million residents, and the volcano is located in the tourist-heavy Campi Flegrei. This means an exponential number of casualties would arise if a similar event were to occur today.

Eurozone woes tilt financial power in Asia’s favour
As European banks retrench to recover from the global financial meltdown, they are finding ready buyers in Asia for everything from loans to entire insurance and broking operations. There are other tell-tale signs of a shift in power: this year’s two biggest initial public offerings after Facebook were launched not in the United States or Europe, but in Malaysia.

Syria: Barack Obama 'red line' warning over chemical weapons
Last month, Mr Assad’s government shocked the West by openly threatening to use its significant chemical weapons stockpiles, although it insisted they would only be deployed against foreign troops and would not be used in Syria’s internal conflict.

'Egypt preparing to send aircraft, tanks into Sinai'
The plans to step up the operation were being finalized by Egypt's newly appointed Defense Minister General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as he made his first visit to Sinai on Monday following the killing of 16 border guards on Aug.5.

NHS hospital trusts invited to expand abroad
High-profile NHS hospitals in England are to be encouraged by the government to set up profit-making branches abroad to help fund services in the UK. An agency will aim to link hospitals such as Great Ormond Street with foreign governments that want access to British-run health services.

Russia warns West on Syria after Obama threats
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the West on Tuesday against any unilateral action on Syria after President Barack Obama said U.S. forces could act if the Syrian leader deployed chemical weapons against rebels trying to topple him. Russia and China have opposed military intervention in Syria throughout 17 months of bloodshed and have vetoed three U.N. Security Council resolutions...

Chesterfield man held in hospital on concerns over Internet posts
A Chesterfield County man and Marine veteran is in a local hospital after being picked up by federal and local law enforcement officials concerned about threatening Internet postings. Brandon J. Raub, 26, was in Hopewell's John Randolph Medical Center on Saturday. "I'm currently in John Randolph in the psychiatric ward being held against my will," Raub said in a telephone interview. Reports of his detention Thursday have gone viral on the Internet.

Who Does The Government Intend To Shoot?
Those against whom the hollow point bullets are to be used — those causing the civil unrest — must be American citizens; since the SSA has never been used overseas to help foreign countries maintain control of their citizens. What would be the target of these 174, 000 rounds of hollow point bullets? It can’t simply be to control demonstrators or rioters. Hollow point bullets are so lethal that the Geneva Convention does not allow their use on the battle field in time of war. Hollow point bullets don’t just stop or hurt people, they penetrate the body, spread out, fragment and cause maximum damage to the body’s organs. Death often follows.

Obama warns Syria chemical weapons use may spark US action
US President Barack Obama has said the use of chemical weapons by Syria would be a "red line" that would change his thinking on intervention in the crisis. He said he had "at this point not ordered military engagement".

Netanyahu ‘determined to attack Iran’ before US elections, claims Israel’s Channel 10
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is determined to attack Iran before the US elections,” Israel’s Channel 10 News claimed on Monday night, and Israel is now “closer than ever” to a strike designed to thwart Iran’s nuclear drive.

Bacon found at NY Muslim celebration probed as possible hate crime
Authorities were investigating as a possible hate crime the discovery of uncooked bacon scattered on the grounds of a New York City park where Muslims gathered to celebrate the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, police said on Monday.

Afghan militants hit US military chief's plane
Militants fired rockets into a U.S. base in Afghanistan and damaged the plane of the chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff while he was on a visit, but the general was not near the aircraft, a spokesman for the U.S.-led military coalition said Tuesday.

Could hurricane wreak havoc at Republican convention?
For three straight simulations, NOAA’s Global Forecast System (GFS) model has tracked a tropical system right over the Florida peninsula through or close to Tampa just as the Republican National Convention is ramping up. Assuming this system - presently a little swirl in the open Atlantic - strengthens some, it will be named Isaac.

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New Vatican ambassador to Tel Aviv gets bad Israeli press
An article in Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot, written by the paper's Rome correspondent, called the appointment of Monsignor Giuseppe Lazzarotto as new papal nuncio, as the Ambassador is known, to Israel and apostolic delegate in Jersaulem and Palestine "a slap in the face to Israel". The paper said the appointment, made official by Pope Benedict XVI on August 18, was "an embarrassment and humiliation" to Israel because Lazzarotto's name has been tied to the case of pedophile priests that exploded in Ireland in 2005 and whose culprits "he did everything possible to defend".

Radical Islam Joins the DNC
Starting at the end of this month the Democratic National Convention will open with a focus on Islam. 20,000 Muslims are expected to attend according to the Bureau of Indigenous Muslim Affairs (BIMA), the national Muslim American non-profit coordinating the two days of events they claim are non-political. The leaders of this event – Jibril Hough and Imam Siraj Wahhaj as advertised are no moderates. They are radicals. These individuals embrace Islamist supremacy and have demonstrated support for radical ideologies.

Shas leader prays for God to thwart Iranian plans for death and destruction in Israel
Days after receiving briefing on nuclear threat from Netanyahu adviser, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef compares Iranian regime to biblical Haman, who sought to wipe out the Jews of Persia.

Cost of Israeli Iran attack: $41.4 billion
The BDI estimate includes the direct and indirect financial damage to the Israeli economy from an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. BDI costs the immediate cost to the Israeli economy from such an attack at $11.66 billion, plus $5.95 billion annually in lost gross domestic product for five years in the wake of the attack because of the collapse of businesses.

From late-night arrests in the USSR to Soros-funded ‘progressive’ assaults on freedom in the U.S.
It is now that I again am worried about the future destiny of this exceptional country: Will the American Constitution survive Obama’s desperate attempts at chipping away its very foundation on which it was built by the Founding Fathers? Look at the list of those liberal, “progressive” organizations — there are hundreds of them! — all sponsored by that overnight billionaire, socialist mediocrity George Soros — all of them supporting Obama’s liberal, destructive socialist policies.

Congress asks how Russian sub went undetected in Gulf of Mexico
A senior senator has sought details from the U.S. Navy and raised concerns that the Akula-class nuclear submarine could mark a new policy by the Kremlin to intervene in the Gulf. “This submarine activity reportedly occurred in June and July, simultaneously with incursions by Russian strategic bombers into restricted U.S. airspace,” Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said.

Egyptian official calms fears over Sinai deployment
Israeli state officials expressed concerns over the fact that Egypt failed to notify Israel about the deployment of tanks in Sinai, but a member of Egypt's Higher Military Council on Monday said the move does not breach the peace treaty with Israel. The Egyptian official, who refused to be named, told al-Masry al-Youm newspaper that Egypt is committed to the peace treaty, but is determined to protect itself even at the cost of amending the treaty.

Iran's supreme leader orders fresh terror attacks on West
Iran's Supreme Leader has ordered the country's Revolutionary Guards to intensify its campaign of terror attacks against the West and its allies in retaliation for supporting the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. According to Western intelligence officials, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave the order to the elite Quds Force unit following a recent emergency meeting of Iran's National Security Council in Tehran...

No peace or security until settlers leave Jerusalem, Abbas says
Jerusalem is a Muslim and Christian city, and there will be neither peace nor security until the Israeli occupation, settlements, and settlers leave the city, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday. Abbas made the remarks in a statement published in commemoration of the 43rd anniversary of the torching of Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque by Denis Michael Rohan, an Australian Christian, Israel Radio reported.

Typhoon Tembin might make landfall Thursday
If the typhoon turns as forecast, its eye may make landfall on Taiwan's east coast Thursday, according to the weather bureau. As of 8 a.m., the eye of Tembin was located 620 kilometers southeast of Eluanbi, off the southernmost tip of Taiwan, moving at a speed of 8 km per hour in a northerly direction. Tembin, the 14th storm of the Pacific typhoon season, is packing winds of 119 kph, with gusts of up to 155 kph, and has a radius of 150 km, the bureau said.

Is the US government helping cyber crooks?
...security firm Kaspersky hinted that such a nightmare situation may have taken one step closer to reality. Kaspersky revealed that a sophisticated program had been used to record instant messaging and social networking logins and bank account information and passwords -- including targets such as Citibank and PayPal accounts -- on some 2,500 infected PCs.

Top Iran official: If Israel attacks, it will bring about its own 'annihilation'
The comment, by former head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Mohsen Rezaei, came after, last week, the head of the Revolutionary Guard's air force said that a possible Israeli airstrike against his country's nuclear facilities is "welcome" because it would give Iran a reason to retaliate and "get rid of" the Jewish state "forever."

Lesbian who reported 'hate crime' attack staged incident, Nebraska police say
A Nebraska "hate crime" that targeted an openly gay woman and that triggered responses from candlelight vigils locally to Facebook postings of support nationwide was staged by the alleged victim, authorities said...

Military Vet Detained For Psych Evaluation Over Anti-Government Facebook Posts
A former Marine involuntarily detained for psychiatric evaluation for posting strident anti-government messages on Facebook has received an outpouring of support from people who say authorities are trampling on his First Amendment rights. ...The big concern, Whitehead said, is that government officials are apparently monitoring citizens’ private Facebook pages and arresting people with whom they disagree.

Hank Williams Jr. calls Obama a Muslim who ‘hates the U.S.’ at Iowa concert
Playing before a crowd of 8,500 at the Iowa State Fair on Friday night, Williams once again ripped the president, labeling him a Muslim who "hates the U.S.," the Des Moines Register reported. After playing his song “We Don’t Apologize For America,” Williams made his political views clear about Obama - who's actually Christian, but whose father practiced Islam. “We’ve got a Muslim president who hates farming, hates the military, hates the U.S. and we hate him,” he told the crowd,

Barack Obama dismisses attacks on national security record from ‘birther-linked’ anti-leak group
Obama shrugged off attacks about his national security record yesterday from a group of former U.S. spies and commandos who have accused him of taking too much credit for the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund Inc, which says it is a non-partisan group, launched a media campaign accusing Obama of leaking information to “the enemy” and taking undue credit for the May 2011 operation in which U.S. Navy SEALs killed bin Laden.

U.S. testing "talking" cars to avoid crashes, congestion
Michael Knight in the television series "Knight Rider" had one. Pixar made a movie about them. Now the U.S. government is testing a fleet of so-called "talking" cars that may help American drivers avoid crashes and traffic jams. Over the next year, U.S. officials and the University of Michigan will fit nearly 3,000 cars, trucks and buses with wireless devices that track other vehicles' speed and location, alert drivers to congestion or change a traffic light to green.

Iran begins construction of $300 million anti-aircraft missile base
Amid increasing talk of a possible Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities, Iran has begun construction of a new, state-of-the-art, anti-aircraft missile base. The new base, located near the city of Abadeh, in southern Iran, will cost $300 million, be home to 6,000 personnel, and host seven battalions, Iran’s Fars news agency reported Tuesday.

IMF chief in Egypt for talks on emergency loan
The head of the International Monetary Fund is in Egypt to discuss an urgently-needed financial aid package for the country's struggling economy. Christine Lagarde will meet President Mohammed Mursi and his new cabinet. Finance Minister Mumtaz al-Said has said Egypt will be looking for a loan of $4.8bn (£3bn), up from the $3.2bn that had been mooted since last year.

US corn, soy prices hit records as drought lingers
US corn and soybean prices closed at new record highs Tuesday as a new survey showed worse-than-expected crop damage from a brutal drought across the country's central breadbasket. The price of corn jumped 1.7 percent to $8.3875 a bushel, while soybeans finished at $17.3025 a bushel, up 2.8 percent from Tuesday.

Egypt deployment of armor in Sinai worries Israel
Israel is concerned about the deployment of Egyptian armor in a push against militants in the neighboring Sinai desert, saying the vehicles' entry wasn't coordinated and is in violation of a 1979 peace treaty, an Israeli official said

Report: RBS probed by US on Iran sanctions
U.S. officials are investigating possible violations of sanctions against Iran by Royal Bank of Scotland, Britain's Financial Times reported Wednesday.. The part-nationalized bank declined to comment except to repeat previous disclosures that it is in contact with U.S. and British authorities "to discuss its historical compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including U.S. economic sanctions regulations."

Court: Texas can cut off Planned Parenthood funds
Texas officials are vowing to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood after a federal court sided with the state in a challenge over a new law that bans clinics affiliated with abortion providers from getting money through a health program for low-income women.

Syria envoy says Assad resignation is up for discussion
Syria's deputy prime minister has said the government is prepared to discuss the exit of Bashar al-Assad, but that the president's resignation cannot be a pre-condition for talks. Speaking on a visit to Moscow, Qadri Jamil also said the West "is looking for a pretext to intervene militarily".

Deadly fighting over Syria grips north Lebanon
Seven people have been killed and more than 70 wounded after fighting in northern Lebanon between two Muslim communities divided over Syria. Street battles between Sunnis and Alawites in the city of Tripoli continued for a second night running.

Greece needs more time for cuts, says PM Samaras
Greece's Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras, has called for more time to implement tough spending cuts and reforms, ahead of talks on its bailout. Mr Samaras told German daily Bild that Greece needed "breathing space".

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Immigration Agents File Suit Over Obama 'Amnesty' Program
Ten employees at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are suing the Obama administration to block a new program to let many young illegal immigrants avoid deportation and get a work permit. The suit also claims that directives from the Department of Homeland Security and its secretary, Janet Napolitano, force agents to break the law by not arresting certain illegal immigrants.

Germany: "Islamists Want to Bring Jihad to Europe"
German Intelligence Chief Gerhard Schindler has issued a warning saying that Europe is at great risk of terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists.

Technology's Dark Side: Devious Devices Designed to Harm You
Hackers can unlock your car and even start the engine. They can steal your credit card just by walking past you—without touching your wallet. They can hijack a lifesaving insulin pump and turn it against the user.

Atheists' road signs attack faiths of Romney, Obama ahead of Democratic convention
The signs, paid for by American Atheists Incorporated (AAI) and appearing along keylocal highways, include messages such as: "Christianity: Sadistic God, Useless Savior" and "Mormonism: Magic Underwear, Baptizes Dead People, Big Money, Big Bigotry."

Risk of US double-dip recession rises: S&P
The US ratings firm raised the chance of the US falling into recession to 25 percent, up from a 20 percent chance estimated in February, as the world's largest economy struggles to recover from a severe 2008-2009 slump. It also pointed to the looming possibility of the government being forced by existing law to severely cut spending and increase taxes on January 1, the so-called fiscal cliff that would crunch the economy.

Tungurahua Volcano, Ecuador, activity update: increasing explosive activity
Tungurahua's eruption continues. This morning, a tall ash plume was rising to 32,000 ft (ca. 10 km) altitude and drifting west. A slight decrease in tremor is visible on the latest seismograms. So far, effects of the eruption have been limited to ash fall. In canton Quero, the ash fall during the past days has damaged more than 5000 hectares of plant cultivations and hit about 2.000 families.

Curiosity Rover spots mysterious 'UFO' zooming across the red planet's horizon
So far, Nasa has not commented on any of the strange sightings, but alien hunters have suggested these are alien ships monitoring our baby steps into the universe.

West Nile outbreak 'one of largest' in US
The current West Nile outbreak is one of the largest in the U.S., with four times the usual number of cases for this time of year, federal health officials said Wednesday. It's still too early to say how bad the year will end up because most infections are reported in August and September. But never before have so many illnesses been reported this early, said Dr. Lyle Petersen, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ex-Navy SEAL defends group's Obama attacks, condemns Obama's bin Laden ad
a group of former military and intelligence operatives and creators of a long-form political ad that blames President Obama for a series of national security leaks, is firing back against criticisms from the nation's highest ranking military officer.

MILITARY INSIDER: President Obama – “By Any Means Necessary”
...these individuals who are warning of an impending manufactured crisis within the United States by powers desperate to secure a second term for “the man calling himself Obama”.

Mark your calendar: U.S. Fed stimulus expected ‘fairly soon’
You might want to mark Sept. 13 on your calendar — that could be the day the U.S. Federal Reserve finally offers up another round of monetary stimulus for the stunted American economy. And it might be enough to get the country past another hurdle, the so-called “fiscal cliff” that lawmakers face by the end of the year. If they don’t break that budget impasse, the U.S. could plunge back into recession.

Global Elite Telegraph Western Banking Collapse at Olympic Closing Ceremonies?
The closing ceremony was all about nations blending together into one giant global community – one of the goals of the New World Order. While, at the beginning of the games, athletes entered the stadium behind their national flag and a banner bearing the name of their countries, all of that was gone at closing ceremony. Everyone was mixed together. We then witnessed a wierd segment. Performers used blocks to build a pyramid at the center of the stage…and began literally revering it.

Radical Islam Joins the DNC
It is troubling that the Democratic National Convention has decided to promote and lend its name and national political platform to the organizers of the “Jummah at the DNC”. The leaders of this event – Jibril Hough and Imam Siraj Wahhaj as advertised are no moderates. They are radicals. These individuals embrace Islamist supremacy and have demonstrated support for radical ideologies.

Brotherhood taking total control of Egypt
Having gotten rid of the army old guard, he replaced them with his own men – officers belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood or known sympathizers. Then he turned his attention to the media, replacing 50 editors working for the government’s extensive and influential press empire –

'2016' filmmaker: Obama driving U.S. toward vulnerability
Barack Obama systematically is undermining America economically and militarily – leaving it vulnerable to financial collapse, and even as unlikely as the possibility may seem, nuclear attack.

Syria crisis: UK joins US in chemical weapons warning
The UK has joined the US in warning Syria that the use or threat of chemical weapons would force them "to revisit their approach". The warning came after a telephone call between Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama.

California declares emergency as wildfire advances on town
California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in three Northern California counties on Wednesday after a wildfire that has already destroyed 64 homes advanced with 75-foot flames on a tiny community at the doorstep of a national park.

New 'Berlin Wall': Warnings of EU north-south split
European ministers warned Thursday that the debt crisis risks splitting Europe between north and south in an echo of the east-west division of the Cold War, as pressure mounted on Greece.

What Happened To The Debt?
Alright, OK, so we have new sorts of relative highs in European and US stock markets, even as we keep a weary eye on Shanghai's new lows. The western highs seem to have a lot to do with all kinds of expectations of ECB sovereign bond purchases and/or cooling German resistance against them.

Going hungry in America: ‘Distressing,’ ‘humbling’ and ‘scary’
Dave Krepcho, director of the Second Harvest Food Bank, checks inventory at the food bank warehouse in Orlando, Fla. In the past four years, food distribution to 500 pantries, shelters, and other relief agencies in the six-county area has jumped about 60 percent. In the last year alone, that amounted to 36 million pounds of food. Krepcho estimates about 30 percent of those seeking help are first-timers.

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Syria crisis: Number of refugees rises to 200,000
The United Nations refugee agency says that more than 200,000 Syrian refugees have fled to neighbouring countries as the conflict has intensified. The UNHCR said the figure was already more than its projection of 185,000 for the end of this year. About 30,000 arrived in Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan in the past week.

Libya seizes tanks from pro-Gaddafi militia
More than 100 tanks have been seized from a militia group loyal to former Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, government officials say. Nearly 30 rocket launchers were also captured when security forces raided a camp in Tarhuna, near Tripoli. The officials say the Brigade of the Faithful group was behind last Sunday's car bombings which killed two people.

Immigration agents file suit against Napolitano over 'amnesty' program
Ten federal immigration agents have filed suit against Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano claiming recent directives are forcing them to break the law and ignore their duties when it comes to deporting illegal immigrants. The suit was filed Thursday in Texas federal court by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

U.S. Incomes Fell More in Recovery, Sentier Says
American incomes declined more in the three-year expansion that started in June 2009 than during the longest recession since the Great Depression, according an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by Sentier Research LLC. ...Household income is 7.2 percent below the December 2007 level, the former Census Bureau economic statisticians wrote.

U.S. sends aircraft carrier back to Gulf to face Iran, Syria
The U.S. Navy is cutting short home leave for the crew of one of its aircraft carriers and sending them back to the Middle East next week to counter any threat from Iran, according to the official Navy News Service. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta told sailors aboard the USS Stennis in their home port of Seattle on Wednesday they were needed back in the Middle East soon, after approving calls from the U.S. Central Command for Stennis to return to the region.

Syrian envoy: We'll destroy Israeli nuclear facilities with 20 missiles
Speaking during a meeting with a Jordanian-Syrian delegation at the embassy in Amman, Syria's Ambassador to Jordan Bahjat Suleiman said that Syria is capable of destroying Israel's nuclear facilities with 20 missiles, should Syria be attacked, in spite of the many casualties Syria would incur over such a move, Jordanian media reported Thursday. The delegation arrived at the embassy in order to wish the ambassador and his country a happy Eid el-Fitr holiday and express support for Bashar Assad's regime.

Merkel and Hollande unite in tough message for Greece
Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande presented a united front towards Greece on Thursday, telling Athens it should not expect leeway on its bailout agreement unless it sticks to tough reform targets.

Drone attacks kill 16 in Pakistan: officials
Missile-firing U.S. drone aircraft killed at least 16 people on Friday in an attack in northwest Pakistan, two Pakistani intelligence officials. The attacks targeted three walled compounds in the Shawal Valley, which is in the South Waziristan region on the border with Afghanistan, the officials said. The area has long been known as a sanctuary for militants.

Court finds Norwegian mass killer Breivik sane
A Norwegian court found Anders Behring Breivik sane on Friday and gave him a maximum jail term for murdering 77 people in a shooting and bombing last year, offering closure to a Nordic nation devastated by its worst attack since World War Two. Breivik, who has admitted blowing up the Oslo government headquarters with a fertilizer bomb, killing eight, before gunning down 69 at the ruling party's summer youth camp, was sentenced to 21 years in prison, the maximum penalty in Norway.

Rodney King Had Alcohol, PCP, Cocaine And Marijuana In His System When He Died
Rodney King had been drinking and was on drugs when he plunged into a swimming pool and accidentally drowned in June, a coroner's report released Thursday concluded.

Obama's Budget to Add $4.4 Trillion to Debt in Next Four Years
By the end of this year, the federal debt is expected to be $16.2 trillion, which is $6.2 trillion more than when President Obama first came into office four years ago. Moreover, new analysis by the Republican side of the Senate Budget Committee finds that, over the next 4 years, if Barack Obama remains president and his budget is enacted, $4.4 trillion will be added to the federal debt.

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Thousands demonstrate in Egypt in first sizable protest against Morsi regime
Thousands demonstrated Friday in Cairo against President Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, in the first protest of such scope since the new Egyptian president took office in June. The protesters marched from Tahrir Square to the president's office in Cairo, while a similar procession took place in Alexandria. Both demonstrations ended in clashes between supporters and opponents of the Muslim...

Burma floods leave 85,000 homeless in Irrawaddy Delta
The Burmese government has said that 85,000 people have been driven from their homes by heavy flooding. The Irrawaddy Delta - where 130,000 people died in a cyclone in 2008 - has been worst affected. Unusually heavy monsoon rains have inundated around 250,000 hectares of rice fields.

Mexico police fire on US embassy staff
Two people employed at the US embassy in Mexico have been wounded after their car was mistakenly fired on by police south of Mexico City, officials say. The Mexican Navy said the US personnel were on a main road to the city of Cuernavaca when the shooting happened. Details are still unclear, but the navy said the US vehicle had been fleeing from gunmen in another car.

Analysis: Brotherhood taking total control of Egypt
While the world persists in looking for signs of pragmatism in the Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsy is quietly taking over all the power bases in the country. Having gotten rid of the army old guard, he replaced them with his own men – officers belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood or known sympathizers.

Report: Iran advancing Syria power transition
Senior Arab diplomats said the governments of Iran, Russia, China and other Syrian allies have concluded that there is no solution to the Syrian crisis that will see President Bashar Assad stay in power, Kuwaiti newspaper al-Rai reported on Saturday. The report quoted the Arab diplomats as saying that the countries are now trying to advance a proposal by which Assad will leave Syria and receive asylum elsewhere.

Christians victims of rising 'hostility' from gov't and secular groups, report says
A new report by the Family Research Council and the Liberty Institute claims that there's been a rising pattern of hostility toward Christians in America over the past decade.

EU ponders how to hold off on Greek pleas
Eurozone leaders had consultations Friday on how best to hold off Greek pleas for more time to implement reforms that are tied to Athens continuing to receive cash as part of a multibillion-dollar bailout, the second since its debt crisis began last year.

Floods cause damage in eastern Russia
Flooding caused by heavy rain has destroyed a power line and at least 10 bridges in Primorye Territory in eastern Russia, officials said Friday. Mountain rivers overflowing their banks have also clogged bridge underpasses and are washing out roads and bridge supports, administrators of the Partizansky District of the Territory reported.

Tropical Storm Isaac makes landfall in Haiti
Gale-force winds and driving rain are lashing the coast of Haiti after Tropical Storm Isaac made landfall. The US National Hurricane Centre said the heavy rainfall is a "major threat" and may cause floods and mudslides. Aid groups warn that some 400,000 Haitians still living in makeshift camps after the deadly earthquake of 2010 are extremely vulnerable.

Federal debt nears $16 trillion, with no easy way to pay it down
In the time it takes you to read this story, the U.S. debt will have grown by about $4.4. million. The debt is now lurking just under the $16 trillion mark -- a number huge enough to be almost incomprehensible to the layperson. One way to visualize its magnitude: If you were to spend a dollar every second, it would take you 32,000 years to spend $1 trillion, or a mere one-16th of the debt.

Air strike kills Pakistani Taliban commander in Afghanistan
A NATO air strike in eastern Afghanistan has killed a commander of the Pakistani Taliban, both NATO and the Taliban said on Saturday. Both sides identified the dead commander as Mullah Dadullah and said several of his comrades were also killed in the attack on Friday. A NATO statement did not say who carried out the assault but the alliance is alone in having the air power to conduct such an operation. It said Dadullah's deputy, Shakir, was also killed.

'Lebanese home front virtually defenseless'
The residents of southern Lebanon are worried. Should the brewing winds of war between Iran and Israel escalate to an actual conflict, they are likely to be caught in the middle – literally. Israel is investing in its home front readiness, but the residents of southern Lebanon have but a mere fraction of the civilian defenses available to Israelis.

Iran covering up building IAEA wants to visit
Institute for Science and International Security says satellite images show 'pink colored material' covering up buildings in complex IAEA says is nuclear base Reuters A US think-tank published satellite imagery on Friday which it said showed "pink colored material" covering a building at a sensitive military site in Iran which UN nuclear inspectors want to visit.

Blast rocks Venezuela's largest refinery, kills 7
A large gas explosion shook Venezuela's biggest refinery, the 645,000-barrels-per-day Amuay facility, in the early hours of Saturday, killing seven people, authorities said. Another 48 people were injured by the blast, which originated in a gas leak and caused damage both within the facility and to nearby houses, the local governor said.

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Brit brother: Drones to watch over UK streets
Unmanned police drones, comparable to those used in war zones such as Afghanistan, could soon be secretly watching over the streets of UK cities, according to a National Police Air Service director. ­The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are being considered to monitor crowded events in Britain, such as concerts and festivals, as soon as the aerial units become cost-effective.

FCC eyes tax on Internet service
The Federal Communications Commission is eyeing a proposal to tax broadband Internet service. The move would funnel money to the Connect America Fund, a subsidy the agency created last year to expand Internet access. The FCC issued a request for comments on the proposal in April. Dozens of companies and trade associations have weighed in, but the issue has largely flown under the public's radar.

Rockets hit southern Israel towns
Palestinian terrorists operating out of the Gaza Strip fired three missiles at the southern Israel town of Sderot on Sunday morning. Two of the rockets slammed into local factories, injuries two Israelis and causing extensive damage. One of the factories had been hit in previous attacks form Gaza. The third missile landed in the same area, but caused no damage or injuries.

Iran opens developing nations summit
Iran welcomed a group of 120 developing nations on Sunday to a summit it says proves that Washington has failed to isolate it from the rest of the world. Opening the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) meeting in Tehran, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said he hoped for a show of solidarity against sanctions the West has imposed to punish Iran for its nuclear activities.

Israeli rabbi calls for prayers for Iran's destruction
An influential Israeli rabbi has called for prayers for Iran's destruction, a week after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to court his support for a possible attack on a nuclear programme Israel sees as an existential threat. "(When) we ask God to 'bring an end to our enemies', we should be thinking about Iran, those evil ones who threaten Israel. May the Lord destroy them," (Rabbi Ovadia) Yosef was quoted as saying by Israeli media on Sunday.

New York Ex-Mayor 'Delighted' By ***** Riot Verdict
The Russian justice system got a show of support this week from an unlikely source -- former New York Mayor Ed Koch, who said the hooliganism verdict handed down last week to ***** Riot was "just and to be applauded." The 87-year-old former mayor argued PR's actions -- performing a "punk prayer" protesting Vladimir Putin in the middle of Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral -- was less a matter of free speech and more a matter of religious hatred.

Powerful Typhoon Bolaven nears Japanese island of Okinawa, residents told to stay indoors
The strongest typhoon to approach Okinawa in several years was bearing down on the southern Japanese island on Sunday as residents were told to stay indoors and warned its strong gusts could overturn cars and cause waves of up to 12 meters (40 feet). Slow-moving Typhoon Bolaven was centered about 150 kilometers (93 miles) southeast of Okinawa and was expected to pass over the island Sunday evening, dumping as much as 500 millimeters (20 inches) of rain over a 24-hour period, weather officials said.

Isaac disrupts presidential election campaign
Tropical Storm Isaac nudged the presidential election campaign off course, forcing Republicans to delay the start of Mitt Romney's national convention in Florida and Vice President Joe Biden to cancel a campaign trip to the state.

Romney open to US troops securing Syrian WMDs
Republican US presidential candidate Mitt Romney suggested Friday that he would be prepared to send ground troops into Syria in order to secure loose chemical weapons. Speaking to CBS News, Romney said, "I think we have to also be ready to take whatever action is necessary to assure that we do not have any kind of weapons of mass destruction falling into the hands terrorists

Frankfurt to award US advocate of Israel boycott
he city of Frankfurt is slated to present the prestigious Theodor Adorno Prize, which comes with a 50,000 euro award, to a US professor who advocates a sweeping boycott of ties with Israel’s cultural and academic establishment and has defended Hezbollah and Hamas as progressive organizations.

Mahmoud Abbas and Meretz's Gal-On plan to meet in Ramallah
PA president agrees to meeting with Meretz leader despite three-years of refusing to negotiate with Netanyahu; gov't official: Only way to achieve peace and Palestinian statehood is through an agreement with the government.

Assad's forces accused of massacre near Syrian capital
Syrian opposition activists accused President Bashar al-Assad's forces on Sunday of committing a massacre of scores of people in a town close to the capital that the army had just retaken from rebels. More than 200 bodies were found in houses and basements around Daraya, a working-class Sunni Muslim town to the southwest of Damascus, according to activists who said most had been killed "execution-style" by troops on house-to-house raids.

Ecuador says Britain withdraws threat to raid embassy in Assange standoff
Britain has withdrawn a threat to enter Ecuador's embassy in London to arrest WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange who has taken refuge there, President Rafael Correa said on Saturday, taking the heat out of the diplomatic standoff.

Obama-Romney race is focused on 7 states
On the eve of their national party conventions, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are locked in a close race to amass the requisite 270 Electoral College votes for victory. And the contest is exactly where it was at the start of the long, volatile summer: focused on seven states that are up for grabs.

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Abbas Denies Jewish Temple and Christian Theology
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas frequently refers to the “alleged” Jewish Temple, but if it was not Jewish, there is no basis for Christian belief, as written in the New Testament in Matthew (21:12), that Jewish “moneychangers" chased Jesus from the Holy Temple. However, Christians so far have not reacted to the implicit denial of their belief.

California earthquake swarm 'pretty bad,' buildings damaged
Some buildings were damaged by the earlier quakes, including 20 mobile homes that shifted from their foundations, according to the Imperial County Office of Emergency Services. The office was working with the American Red Cross to set up a shelter for displaced families at the Imperial Valley College gymnasium. The quakes cause scattered power outages, including at Pioneers Memorial Hospital, which lost power for about three hours. Assistant hospital administrator Art Mejia said generators immediately kicked in, but officials decided to evacuate patients as a precautionary measure in case the facility had suffered structural damage.

Defense Ministry Seeks 'Volunteers' to Help with Evictions
The Defense Ministry is planning for massive evictions of outposts in Judea and Samaria, including Migron, according to an e-mail distributed to department heads at the Ministry of Defense and received by Arutz Sheva on Friday.-Earlier this week, the left-leaning State Attorney's Office and Attorney General's Office defeated Israel's elected leaders in the matter of Migron. The two announced that the State’s response to the Supreme Court motion filed by residents of Migron will determine that they must be evicted from their land.

US Christians under assault - report
A new 140-page report released by the Family Research Council and Liberty Institute reveals a pattern of hostility toward Christians and Christianity in the US. The report was released earlier this week and includes over 600 incidents over a 10-year period. The attacks range from rulings from the judiciary branch to an elementary school student who was physically lifted from his seat and reprimanded for praying before eating his lunch.

'Vengeance massacre' in Syria leaves 320 dead
Syrian soldiers loyal to President Bashar Assad stormed a town out-side Damascus over the week-end, killing more than 300 people in what the activists opposed to the regime called "the worst single atrocity of the 17-month conflict." The activists claimed Sunday to have found more than 200 bodies, mostly killed "execution-style," in houses and basements in Dariya, a rebel holdout, after government troops stormed it early Saturday.

Indian PM to hold talks with Ayatollah Khamenei, Ahmadinejad
'Peace and security is, indeed, our primary concern given just how important the entire West Asia region, Persian Gulf region, in particular, is for India's security and for Indian economy, both in terms of oil imports and our exports. So, this is our own concern and we don't have to take anybody else's concern,' he said. India attaches great importance to ties with Iran and the PM will also seek to boost cooperation in key areas, including trade during his meetings with the Iranian leadership'

Obama Email to Supporters: If I Lose, It's Your Fault
Obama sent out a campaign email essentially blaming his supporters if he loses. See, he’s supposedly being outspent. And because he’s supposedly being outspent, he’s losing. And he can’t spend more money unless his supporters fork it over. This is the campaign version of Obama’s entire economic argument: he can’t fix the economy unless he spends more money. And unless we give him more money, he can’t spend it. So if the economy fails, it’s our fault.

Key Obama supporters now turning on him
Among the key constituencies for Obama, only 34 percent of women believe the nation is going in the right direction, along with only 42 percent of blacks and only 2 percent of Hispanics. Among young voters, only 33 percent of those 20 or younger think Obama is leading the nation in the right direction, and only 29 percent of those in their 30s agree. The results aligned closely with the job rating that voters give Obama. Only 18 percent think he is doing an excellent job and another 28 percent a good job. A dominant 45 percent of respondents put his performance at “poor” and another 9 percent say his performance was “only fair.”

Britain and US plan a Syrian revolution from an innocuous office block in Istanbul
Dozens of dissidents have been ferried out of Syria to be vetted for foreign backing. Recipients of the aid are given satellite communications and computers so that they can act as a local "hub" linking local activists and the outside world. The training takes place in an Istanbul district where handsome apartment blocks line the steep slopes and rooftop terraces boast views over the Golden Horn waterway.

Researchers Find Mysterious New AIDS-Like Disease
Researchers have identified a mysterious new disease that has left scores of people in Asia and some in the United States with AIDS-like symptoms even though they are not infected with HIV. The patients’ immune systems become damaged, leaving them unable to fend off germs as healthy people do. What triggers this isn’t known, but the disease does not seem to be contagious.

Netanyahu: Israel will strike Lebanese state in case of Hezbollah provocation
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned the Lebanese government that Israel would strike the Lebanese state if Hezbollah attempted any provocation against Israel.

Scientists Successfully ‘Hack’ Brain To Obtain Private Data
It sounds like something out of the movie “Johnny Mnemonic,” but scientists have successfully been able to “hack” a brain with a device that’s easily available on the open market. Researchers from the University of California and University of Oxford in Geneva figured out a way to pluck sensitive information from a person’s head, such as PIN numbers and bank information.

Massive Typhoon Bolaven slams Okinawa, heads for Koreas
Typhoon Bolaven, with wind gusts that reached as high as 259 kilometers per hour (161 mph), is the strongest to strike the region in nearly 50 years. And with a cloud field of 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles), it is 20 times larger than Okinawa's length.

Seventeen civilians killed in Afghanistan's Helmand
Seventeen civilians have been killed by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, reportedly for attending a party. The bodies of two women and 15 men were found by the side of a road in the Musa Qala district. They were either beheaded or had had their throats cut. Some showed signs of beatings or had gunshot wounds.

"Earthquake storm" continues to rattle Imperial County, surrounding areas
The majority of the quakes were low-intensity, but two reached magnitudes above 5.0 -- 5.3 and 5.5 respectively -- early in the afternoon. "Obviously, all this activity is related or interconnected, but it doesn't really follow the typical main shock, aftershock activity," said Rob Graves, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological survey.

Tropical Storm Isaac: New warning for Louisiana
A new tropical storm warning has been issued for Louisiana's Gulf Coast as Tropical Storm Isaac approaches. After lashing Florida, Isaac - which has killed nine people - is heading towards the northern Gulf Coast. Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi and Alabama have all declared a state of emergency.

Strong earthquake hits off El Salvador coast
A strong magnitude-7.3 earthquake struck off the coast of El Salvador followed an hour later by a magnitude-5.4 aftershock, authorities said early Monday. There were no immediate reports of damages or injuries. A tsunami warning was put into effect for Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama and Mexico after the quake struck at 10:37 p.m. Sunday. The warning was later rescinded.

Merkel wants EU treaty convention by end of year
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is pressing for a new EU treaty convention by December, despite opposition from many countries, Der Spiegel reports... Merkel's push for a new EU treaty is in line with her demand for a true political union in return for debt being pooled in the eurozone and Germany's own constitution being changed to allow for more power transfers to Brussels.

California border hit by earthquake swarm
The first quake -- a magnitude 3.9 temblor -- occurred at 10:02 a.m. northwest of Brawley and was followed by a series of other quakes in the same general area, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of serious damage or injuries, authorities said.

7 years after Katrina, NOLA braces for Isaac
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Mississippi-Louisiana border, forever changing the region and the way officials react to incoming storms. With Tropical Storm Isaac now projected to potentially hit the area on almost the exact same day of the month - probably as a hurricane - the lessons from the disaster that followed Katrina have not been lost. Local officials are taking an extremely cautious approach to weather threats.

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Dnc Proceeds With 2-Hour Islamic ‘Jumah’ Prayers After Rejecting Cardinal’s Blessing (And You Won‘t Believe Who’s Invited)
The Democratic National Committee is raising a number of eyebrows after choosing to proceed with hosting Islamic “Jumah” prayers for two hours on the Friday of its convention, though it denied a Catholic cardinal’s request to say a prayer at the same event.

Female suicide bomber kills six in Russia's Dagestan
A female suicide bomber posing as a pilgrim killed a top Islamic scholar and at least five others in Russia's restive Muslim region of Dagestan. President Vladimir Putin immediately reacted saying such attacks would fail to undermine Russia's spirit of religious tolerance. The Caspian Sea region's interior ministry said the attack claimed the life of one of Dagestan's most respected religious leaders who defended moderate Islam against the rise of radical militancy.

'The Government Doesn't Care About the Temple Mount'
The government of Israel does not care about the Temple Mount, attorney Yisrael Caspi alleged Tuesday during a meeting of the State Control Committee. The committee met to discuss the Muslim Waqf’s ongoing unauthorized digs on the Temple Mount and the government’s response to the problem. The meeting was attended by senior city and government officials'

Iran ready to expand ties with DPRK
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said that the Islamic republic is ready to expand bilateral relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in all arenas, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Monday. Salehi made the remarks when meeting with his DPRK counterpart, Pak Ui-chun, here on Sunday.

Pig fever sweeps across Russia
Russian authorities have incinerated tens of thousands of pigs and closed roads in the past few weeks, in an attempt to contain an emerging outbreak of African swine fever, a viral disease so lethal to the animals that it has been likened to Ebola. The spread of the disease comes with a heavy economic toll — last year, the Russian Federation lost 300,000 of the country’s 19 million pigs to swine fever, at an estimated cost of about 7.6 billion roubles (US$240 million).

Earthquake swarm isn't an omen of the Big One, experts say
Ever since hundreds of earthquakes began rippling through southeastern California over the weekend, many asked the question: Could this be a precursor to the Big One? The answer: Probably not — at least, if this swarm of quakes follows past patterns. Certainly, the weekend's quakes were troubling for Imperial County, which is located in one of California's most earthquake prone regions. More than 400 earthquakes have been detected since Saturday evening, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

SEAL Ad to Excoriate Obama for Bowing to Foreign Leaders
The ad is sure to provoke massive consternation on the left, which has been in a frenzy ever since Special Operations for America launched.

France confirms it is working to establish buffer zone within Syria
As government forces launched a devastating aerial and artillery assault on the eastern outskirts of Damascus, Francois Hollande, the French president, declared on Monday night that he and his international partners were closer than ever before to a formal intervention in Syria. “We are working … [on] the initiative of buffer zones proposed by Turkey,” Mr Hollande said.

Arctic sea ice reaches record low
"The arctic used to be dominated by multiyear ice, or ice that stayed around for several years," he said in a statement. "Now it's becoming more of a seasonal ice cover and large areas are now prone to melting out in summer."

Feds: Too few Americans ‘turn to government for assistance’
More Americans rely on their families for assistance than the government, so federal officials have undertaken an effort to help people to apply for federal assistance. “Given that only 15 percent of you turn to government assistance in tough times, we want to make sure you know about benefits that could help you,” USA.gov announced today.

Turkey accuses Israel of ‘exploiting’ Syrian civil war to advance settlements
Turkey has accused the Israeli government of exploiting the ongoing Syrian civil war to advance its settlement enterprise, a move likely to deepen the diplomatic rift between the two nations. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry on Monday released a statement “strongly condemn[ing]” Israel for its plans to build 130 new housing units in East Jerusalem’s Har Homa neighborhood...

Caution reigns along Gulf Coast as Katrina's lessons in play
Levees are stronger, flood walls higher and residents and cities better prepared. But how much safer is the Gulf Coast from a catastrophic storm like Hurricane Katrina, which slammed the region in 2005, killing more than 1,800 people and drowning 80% of New Orleans?

Merkel liaison pledges to safeguard circumcision
The German government will ensure that Jews can perform circumcisions, a top aide to German Chancellor Angela Merkel wrote the European Jewish Association on Sunday. The letter was sent to Menachem Margolin, director of the Rabbinical Center of Europe.

Merkel Pushes for Convention to Draft New EU Treaty
Germany is pushing for a new treaty governing the construction of the European Union, and it is calling for a convention to draft the pact to be convened before the end of the year. The treaty would pave the way for deeper European integration and would create a new legal foundation for the bloc.

WARNING: We Are Heading For A Market Shock In Septmber or October
“The problem is a shortage of liquidity – that is what is causing the problems with the banks. It feels exactly as it felt in 2008,” said one senior London-based bank executive. “I think we are heading for a market shock in September or October that will match anything we have ever seen before,” said a senior credit banker at a major European bank.

New DHS Informant Leaks a Shocker
...there’s talk inside Homeland Security offices that Russian Spetsnaz commandos are infiltrating into the U.S.A from Canada. He said it’s been underway all summer, and he estimated the number of commandos at the present time inside the U.S.A to be in excess of 20,000.”

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PM: NAM summit in Tehran is a disgrace to humanity
PM Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening strongly condemned the Non-Aligned Movement summit taking place in Tehran, calling it a disgrace. "Today, over 120 countries are meeting in Tehran, while the regime there denies the Holocaust, and works to destroy the Zionist state - this is a disgrace to humanity," the PM said.-- "the presence of these 120 states in Iran is a sign that the world's pledge "never again" after the Holocaust, is hollow.'

UN chief to see Iran leaders ahead of summit
UN chief Ban Ki-moon to meet Iran's top leaders in Tehran on Wednesday on a visit hailed by the Islamic republic as a diplomatic coup over arch-foes the United States and Israel.-The US State Department said such a visit "sends a very strange signal with regard to support for the international order," stressing that Iran was "in violation of so many of its international obligations and posing a threat to neighbours." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month told Ban he would be making "a big mistake" if he attended.

Italy hosts international talks on Syria future
Italy hosted international talks in Rome on Wednesday on the future of Syria after President Bashar al-Assad leaves power, the foreign ministry said AFP reeported The ministry's press office confirmed the talks were taking place but said they were being held behind closed doors with no access for journalists.-Contacted by AFP, the foreign ministry said the meeting would be "at a level of senior officials from like-minded countries."

Apophis Asteroid Strike Practically Nil – Scientist
Scientists with the Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences have recalculated the path of a large asteroid, Apophis; the refined data indicates a significantly low likelihood of a hazardous encounter with Earth, the institute’s leading research fellow Viktor Shor said on Wednesday.

Russia, China 'weakening' UN over Syria: France's Hollande
The opposition of Russia and China to action against the Syrian regime is weakening the United Nations, French President Francois Hollande said on Monday. "I am saying to Russia and to China that their attitude in the Syria crisis is weakening our capacity to fulfill the mandate given us by the United Nations charter," Hollande told a meeting of French ambassadors.

French minister says Syria buffer zone would require no-fly zone
French FM Laurent Fabius admitted Wednesday that setting up a Western-imposed buffer zone inside Syria would be "very complicated" and would require the implementation of a no-fly zone. France, which has the rotating chair of the UN Security Council, is working on a Turkish proposal for the establishment of a safe area for people fleeing the fighting. Fabius told France Inter radio that if refugees assembled in areas controlled by Syria‘s rebels, "it will be necessary to protect them. That‘s called a buffer zone."

Syria needs more time to win ‘regional and global battle,’ says Assad
Syrian President Bashar Assad said Wednesday that his gov't forces need time to win the country’s civil war, which he says has drawn in regional and international powers. The remarks were a sign Assad’s regime may be hunkering down for a drawn out struggle against rebels on a multitude of fronts, including Damascus, the capital and Assad’s seat of power, Aleppo, the nation’s largest city, and a string of cities and towns across the Arab nation.

Syrian Rebels Claim to Take Over Chemical Weapons
The Supreme Military Council of the Syrian rebels released on a statement on Tuesday which said that the rebel forces took control of an army missile base in Damascus, in which ten ready-to-launch missiles were found. Some of the missiles, according to the statement, were converted to carry non-conventional warheads.-The Council warned that these facts indicate that the Assad regime is getting ready to bomb cities in Syria using these missiles, and the possibility that he will use missiles with unconventional warheads cannot be ruled out.

Syrian army drops leaflets over Damascus, urging rebels to surrender or face 'inevitable death'
Syrian military helicopters dropped thousands of leaflets over Damascus and its suburbs Tuesday, urging rebels to hand over their weapons or face 'inevitable death.' The leaflets appear to be part of the regime's psychological warfare against the rebels, but are highly unlikely to have any effect on fighters intent on toppling President Bashar Assad's regime.

Isaac thrashes New Orleans, overtops levee
Authorities say a storm surge driven by Hurricane Isaac is overtopping a levee in a thinly populated part of mostly rural Plaquemines Parish, south of New Orleans. Parish spokeswoman Caitlin Campbell said water was running over an 18-mile stretch of the levee early Wednesday and some homes had been flooded.

Peru’s El Misti Volcano is active, says IGP
Engineer Orlando Macedo told El Comercio that 224 earthquakes were registered at El Misti - an event known as an earthquake swarm - and which signaled that the volcano was no longer dormant. El Misti, he said, experienced 143 volcano tectonic earthquakes, which were caused by the fracture of rock inside the volcano, due to sudden changes in pressure and temperature.

Unusual earthquake swarm shakes Southern California
An unusual swarm of hundreds of mostly small earthquakes has struck Southern California over the last three days and shaken the nerves of quake-hardy residents...

Carrier strike group rushes to PersianGulf
The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis is being rushed to the Persian Gulf as tensions between Israel and Iran edge closer to the boiling point. The Nimitz class carrier, with an air wing of about 90 aircraft, sets sail Monday on an eight-month deployment to the region -- four months ahead of schedule.

China tests new generation ICBM capable of carrying 10 nuclear warheads
"China last month tested a new generation of intercontinental ballistic missile, the Dongfeng-41, or DF-41, which is believed to have a maximum strike distance of 14,000 km," the state-run CCTV said in a brief report.

Downtown Mpls. Becomes Black Hawk Helicopter Training Zone
The U.S. Special Operations Command will be conducting exercises until the beginning of September. This week they’re using helicopters, including Black Hawks.

Homeland Security tests to begin at T stops in Cambridge, Somerville
The federal government Wednesday will begin releasing bacteria at Red Line MBTA stations in Cambridge and Somerville at set times to test sensors designed to detect biological agents that could be released in a terrorist attack.

27 killed by Damascus car bomb
State television said the bomb was hidden in a taxi that exploded when mourners were passing along a street in Jaramana, a mainly Druze and Christian area on the south-eastern outskirts of Damascus that the London-based opposition group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described as generally supportive of the government. Hours earlier, state television had put the toll at 12, adding that another 48 were injured.

Vitamin B3 'helps kill superbugs'
Vitamin B3 could be the new weapon in the fight against superbugs such as MRSA, researchers have suggested. US experts found B3, also known as nicotinamide, boosts the ability of immune cells to kill Staphylococcus bacteria. B3 increases the numbers and efficacy of neutrophils, white blood cells that can kill and eat harmful bugs.

Typhoon Bolaven: North Korea reports storm damage
Typhoon Bolaven has caused damage to western parts of North Korea, already hit hard by flooding in recent weeks. Hundreds of trees were felled and power supply cut as the storm struck, state media said. The typhoon left a trail of damage in South Korea, killing 15 people and leaving almost two million temporarily without power.

Hantavirus warning to 1,700 Yosemite campers
Yosemite National Park is warning 1,700 visitors who stayed in some of its tent cabins this summer that they may have been exposed to a deadly virus. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome has been blamed for the deaths of two campers who stayed at the Californian park. The disease can be carried in the urine, saliva and faeces of infected deer mice, and symptoms can appear as late as six weeks after exposure.

Hurricane Isaac bears down on New Orleans, Louisiana
Thousands of people have fled the US city of New Orleans as Hurricane Isaac makes its slow approach. The hurricane will hit the Louisiana city exactly seven years after it was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, but it is a much less powerful storm. The city has closed its new floodgates in a bid to protect it from the effects of high waters brought by sustained winds of up to 80mph (130km/h).

Spain in wait-and-see mode as recession worsens
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Tuesday (28 August) said his government has not yet taken a decision on asking for European help in refinancing its debt, pending a key meeting of the European Central Bank next week. ...Fresh data published on Tuesday by the country's statistics office showed that recession is now at 1.3 percent of GDP, compared to previous estimates that suggested the economy would contract by one percent.

Egypt broadens Sinai campaign to root out terror
Egypt's military said on Wednesday it would broaden its offensive against militants in the Sinai Peninsula, a campaign that has raised concerns in Israel about the movement of heavy armor into the area near its border. ...Analysts say Islamists with possible links to al-Qaeda have gained a foothold. This has alarmed Israel.

'Iran installed 350 new underground centrifuges'
A new report to be circulated to IAEA member states later this week is expected to say that Iran installed 350 new centrifuges in its underground Fordow facility since May... Iran is enriching uranium to a fissile concentration of 20 percent -- easily upgraded to the 90 percent needed for bombs -- at Fordow, buried deep inside a mountain near the holy Shi’ite city of Qom to protect it from foreign attack.

http://www.raptureready.com/rapnews_db.php

"Fair Use for Information & Discussion Purposes"

PM: NAM summit in Tehran is a disgrace to humanity
PM Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening strongly condemned the Non-Aligned Movement summit taking place in Tehran, calling it a disgrace. "Today, over 120 countries are meeting in Tehran, while the regime there denies the Holocaust, and works to destroy the Zionist state - this is a disgrace to humanity," the PM said.-- "the presence of these 120 states in Iran is a sign that the world's pledge "never again" after the Holocaust, is hollow.'

UN chief to see Iran leaders ahead of summit
UN chief Ban Ki-moon to meet Iran's top leaders in Tehran on Wednesday on a visit hailed by the Islamic republic as a diplomatic coup over arch-foes the United States and Israel.-The US State Department said such a visit "sends a very strange signal with regard to support for the international order," stressing that Iran was "in violation of so many of its international obligations and posing a threat to neighbours." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month told Ban he would be making "a big mistake" if he attended.

Italy hosts international talks on Syria future
Italy hosted international talks in Rome on Wednesday on the future of Syria after President Bashar al-Assad leaves power, the foreign ministry said AFP reeported The ministry's press office confirmed the talks were taking place but said they were being held behind closed doors with no access for journalists.-Contacted by AFP, the foreign ministry said the meeting would be "at a level of senior officials from like-minded countries."

Apophis Asteroid Strike Practically Nil – Scientist
Scientists with the Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences have recalculated the path of a large asteroid, Apophis; the refined data indicates a significantly low likelihood of a hazardous encounter with Earth, the institute’s leading research fellow Viktor Shor said on Wednesday.

Russia, China 'weakening' UN over Syria: France's Hollande
The opposition of Russia and China to action against the Syrian regime is weakening the United Nations, French President Francois Hollande said on Monday. "I am saying to Russia and to China that their attitude in the Syria crisis is weakening our capacity to fulfill the mandate given us by the United Nations charter," Hollande told a meeting of French ambassadors.

French minister says Syria buffer zone would require no-fly zone
French FM Laurent Fabius admitted Wednesday that setting up a Western-imposed buffer zone inside Syria would be "very complicated" and would require the implementation of a no-fly zone. France, which has the rotating chair of the UN Security Council, is working on a Turkish proposal for the establishment of a safe area for people fleeing the fighting. Fabius told France Inter radio that if refugees assembled in areas controlled by Syria‘s rebels, "it will be necessary to protect them. That‘s called a buffer zone."

Syria needs more time to win ‘regional and global battle,’ says Assad
Syrian President Bashar Assad said Wednesday that his gov't forces need time to win the country’s civil war, which he says has drawn in regional and international powers. The remarks were a sign Assad’s regime may be hunkering down for a drawn out struggle against rebels on a multitude of fronts, including Damascus, the capital and Assad’s seat of power, Aleppo, the nation’s largest city, and a string of cities and towns across the Arab nation.

Syrian Rebels Claim to Take Over Chemical Weapons
The Supreme Military Council of the Syrian rebels released on a statement on Tuesday which said that the rebel forces took control of an army missile base in Damascus, in which ten ready-to-launch missiles were found. Some of the missiles, according to the statement, were converted to carry non-conventional warheads.-The Council warned that these facts indicate that the Assad regime is getting ready to bomb cities in Syria using these missiles, and the possibility that he will use missiles with unconventional warheads cannot be ruled out.

Syrian army drops leaflets over Damascus, urging rebels to surrender or face 'inevitable death'
Syrian military helicopters dropped thousands of leaflets over Damascus and its suburbs Tuesday, urging rebels to hand over their weapons or face 'inevitable death.' The leaflets appear to be part of the regime's psychological warfare against the rebels, but are highly unlikely to have any effect on fighters intent on toppling President Bashar Assad's regime.

Isaac thrashes New Orleans, overtops levee
Authorities say a storm surge driven by Hurricane Isaac is overtopping a levee in a thinly populated part of mostly rural Plaquemines Parish, south of New Orleans. Parish spokeswoman Caitlin Campbell said water was running over an 18-mile stretch of the levee early Wednesday and some homes had been flooded.

Peru’s El Misti Volcano is active, says IGP
Engineer Orlando Macedo told El Comercio that 224 earthquakes were registered at El Misti - an event known as an earthquake swarm - and which signaled that the volcano was no longer dormant. El Misti, he said, experienced 143 volcano tectonic earthquakes, which were caused by the fracture of rock inside the volcano, due to sudden changes in pressure and temperature.

Unusual earthquake swarm shakes Southern California
An unusual swarm of hundreds of mostly small earthquakes has struck Southern California over the last three days and shaken the nerves of quake-hardy residents...

Carrier strike group rushes to PersianGulf
The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis is being rushed to the Persian Gulf as tensions between Israel and Iran edge closer to the boiling point. The Nimitz class carrier, with an air wing of about 90 aircraft, sets sail Monday on an eight-month deployment to the region -- four months ahead of schedule.

China tests new generation ICBM capable of carrying 10 nuclear warheads
"China last month tested a new generation of intercontinental ballistic missile, the Dongfeng-41, or DF-41, which is believed to have a maximum strike distance of 14,000 km," the state-run CCTV said in a brief report.

Downtown Mpls. Becomes Black Hawk Helicopter Training Zone
The U.S. Special Operations Command will be conducting exercises until the beginning of September. This week they’re using helicopters, including Black Hawks.

Homeland Security tests to begin at T stops in Cambridge, Somerville
The federal government Wednesday will begin releasing bacteria at Red Line MBTA stations in Cambridge and Somerville at set times to test sensors designed to detect biological agents that could be released in a terrorist attack.

27 killed by Damascus car bomb
State television said the bomb was hidden in a taxi that exploded when mourners were passing along a street in Jaramana, a mainly Druze and Christian area on the south-eastern outskirts of Damascus that the London-based opposition group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described as generally supportive of the government. Hours earlier, state television had put the toll at 12, adding that another 48 were injured.

Vitamin B3 'helps kill superbugs'
Vitamin B3 could be the new weapon in the fight against superbugs such as MRSA, researchers have suggested. US experts found B3, also known as nicotinamide, boosts the ability of immune cells to kill Staphylococcus bacteria. B3 increases the numbers and efficacy of neutrophils, white blood cells that can kill and eat harmful bugs.

Typhoon Bolaven: North Korea reports storm damage
Typhoon Bolaven has caused damage to western parts of North Korea, already hit hard by flooding in recent weeks. Hundreds of trees were felled and power supply cut as the storm struck, state media said. The typhoon left a trail of damage in South Korea, killing 15 people and leaving almost two million temporarily without power.

Hantavirus warning to 1,700 Yosemite campers
Yosemite National Park is warning 1,700 visitors who stayed in some of its tent cabins this summer that they may have been exposed to a deadly virus. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome has been blamed for the deaths of two campers who stayed at the Californian park. The disease can be carried in the urine, saliva and faeces of infected deer mice, and symptoms can appear as late as six weeks after exposure.

Hurricane Isaac bears down on New Orleans, Louisiana
Thousands of people have fled the US city of New Orleans as Hurricane Isaac makes its slow approach. The hurricane will hit the Louisiana city exactly seven years after it was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, but it is a much less powerful storm. The city has closed its new floodgates in a bid to protect it from the effects of high waters brought by sustained winds of up to 80mph (130km/h).

Spain in wait-and-see mode as recession worsens
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Tuesday (28 August) said his government has not yet taken a decision on asking for European help in refinancing its debt, pending a key meeting of the European Central Bank next week. ...Fresh data published on Tuesday by the country's statistics office showed that recession is now at 1.3 percent of GDP, compared to previous estimates that suggested the economy would contract by one percent.

Egypt broadens Sinai campaign to root out terror
Egypt's military said on Wednesday it would broaden its offensive against militants in the Sinai Peninsula, a campaign that has raised concerns in Israel about the movement of heavy armor into the area near its border. ...Analysts say Islamists with possible links to al-Qaeda have gained a foothold. This has alarmed Israel.

'Iran installed 350 new underground centrifuges'
A new report to be circulated to IAEA member states later this week is expected to say that Iran installed 350 new centrifuges in its underground Fordow facility since May... Iran is enriching uranium to a fissile concentration of 20 percent -- easily upgraded to the 90 percent needed for bombs -- at Fordow, buried deep inside a mountain near the holy Shi’ite city of Qom to protect it from foreign attack.

http://www.raptureready.com/rapnews_db.php

"Fair Use for Information & Discussion Purposes"

PM: NAM summit in Tehran is a disgrace to humanity
PM Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening strongly condemned the Non-Aligned Movement summit taking place in Tehran, calling it a disgrace. "Today, over 120 countries are meeting in Tehran, while the regime there denies the Holocaust, and works to destroy the Zionist state - this is a disgrace to humanity," the PM said.-- "the presence of these 120 states in Iran is a sign that the world's pledge "never again" after the Holocaust, is hollow.'

UN chief to see Iran leaders ahead of summit
UN chief Ban Ki-moon to meet Iran's top leaders in Tehran on Wednesday on a visit hailed by the Islamic republic as a diplomatic coup over arch-foes the United States and Israel.-The US State Department said such a visit "sends a very strange signal with regard to support for the international order," stressing that Iran was "in violation of so many of its international obligations and posing a threat to neighbours." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month told Ban he would be making "a big mistake" if he attended.

Italy hosts international talks on Syria future
Italy hosted international talks in Rome on Wednesday on the future of Syria after President Bashar al-Assad leaves power, the foreign ministry said AFP reeported The ministry's press office confirmed the talks were taking place but said they were being held behind closed doors with no access for journalists.-Contacted by AFP, the foreign ministry said the meeting would be "at a level of senior officials from like-minded countries."

Apophis Asteroid Strike Practically Nil – Scientist
Scientists with the Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences have recalculated the path of a large asteroid, Apophis; the refined data indicates a significantly low likelihood of a hazardous encounter with Earth, the institute’s leading research fellow Viktor Shor said on Wednesday.

Russia, China 'weakening' UN over Syria: France's Hollande
The opposition of Russia and China to action against the Syrian regime is weakening the United Nations, French President Francois Hollande said on Monday. "I am saying to Russia and to China that their attitude in the Syria crisis is weakening our capacity to fulfill the mandate given us by the United Nations charter," Hollande told a meeting of French ambassadors.

French minister says Syria buffer zone would require no-fly zone
French FM Laurent Fabius admitted Wednesday that setting up a Western-imposed buffer zone inside Syria would be "very complicated" and would require the implementation of a no-fly zone. France, which has the rotating chair of the UN Security Council, is working on a Turkish proposal for the establishment of a safe area for people fleeing the fighting. Fabius told France Inter radio that if refugees assembled in areas controlled by Syria‘s rebels, "it will be necessary to protect them. That‘s called a buffer zone."

Syria needs more time to win ‘regional and global battle,’ says Assad
Syrian President Bashar Assad said Wednesday that his gov't forces need time to win the country’s civil war, which he says has drawn in regional and international powers. The remarks were a sign Assad’s regime may be hunkering down for a drawn out struggle against rebels on a multitude of fronts, including Damascus, the capital and Assad’s seat of power, Aleppo, the nation’s largest city, and a string of cities and towns across the Arab nation.

Syrian Rebels Claim to Take Over Chemical Weapons
The Supreme Military Council of the Syrian rebels released on a statement on Tuesday which said that the rebel forces took control of an army missile base in Damascus, in which ten ready-to-launch missiles were found. Some of the missiles, according to the statement, were converted to carry non-conventional warheads.-The Council warned that these facts indicate that the Assad regime is getting ready to bomb cities in Syria using these missiles, and the possibility that he will use missiles with unconventional warheads cannot be ruled out.

Syrian army drops leaflets over Damascus, urging rebels to surrender or face 'inevitable death'
Syrian military helicopters dropped thousands of leaflets over Damascus and its suburbs Tuesday, urging rebels to hand over their weapons or face 'inevitable death.' The leaflets appear to be part of the regime's psychological warfare against the rebels, but are highly unlikely to have any effect on fighters intent on toppling President Bashar Assad's regime.

Isaac thrashes New Orleans, overtops levee
Authorities say a storm surge driven by Hurricane Isaac is overtopping a levee in a thinly populated part of mostly rural Plaquemines Parish, south of New Orleans. Parish spokeswoman Caitlin Campbell said water was running over an 18-mile stretch of the levee early Wednesday and some homes had been flooded.

Peru’s El Misti Volcano is active, says IGP
Engineer Orlando Macedo told El Comercio that 224 earthquakes were registered at El Misti - an event known as an earthquake swarm - and which signaled that the volcano was no longer dormant. El Misti, he said, experienced 143 volcano tectonic earthquakes, which were caused by the fracture of rock inside the volcano, due to sudden changes in pressure and temperature.

Unusual earthquake swarm shakes Southern California
An unusual swarm of hundreds of mostly small earthquakes has struck Southern California over the last three days and shaken the nerves of quake-hardy residents...

Carrier strike group rushes to PersianGulf
The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis is being rushed to the Persian Gulf as tensions between Israel and Iran edge closer to the boiling point. The Nimitz class carrier, with an air wing of about 90 aircraft, sets sail Monday on an eight-month deployment to the region -- four months ahead of schedule.

China tests new generation ICBM capable of carrying 10 nuclear warheads
"China last month tested a new generation of intercontinental ballistic missile, the Dongfeng-41, or DF-41, which is believed to have a maximum strike distance of 14,000 km," the state-run CCTV said in a brief report.

Downtown Mpls. Becomes Black Hawk Helicopter Training Zone
The U.S. Special Operations Command will be conducting exercises until the beginning of September. This week they’re using helicopters, including Black Hawks.

Homeland Security tests to begin at T stops in Cambridge, Somerville
The federal government Wednesday will begin releasing bacteria at Red Line MBTA stations in Cambridge and Somerville at set times to test sensors designed to detect biological agents that could be released in a terrorist attack.

27 killed by Damascus car bomb
State television said the bomb was hidden in a taxi that exploded when mourners were passing along a street in Jaramana, a mainly Druze and Christian area on the south-eastern outskirts of Damascus that the London-based opposition group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described as generally supportive of the government. Hours earlier, state television had put the toll at 12, adding that another 48 were injured.

Vitamin B3 'helps kill superbugs'
Vitamin B3 could be the new weapon in the fight against superbugs such as MRSA, researchers have suggested. US experts found B3, also known as nicotinamide, boosts the ability of immune cells to kill Staphylococcus bacteria. B3 increases the numbers and efficacy of neutrophils, white blood cells that can kill and eat harmful bugs.

Typhoon Bolaven: North Korea reports storm damage
Typhoon Bolaven has caused damage to western parts of North Korea, already hit hard by flooding in recent weeks. Hundreds of trees were felled and power supply cut as the storm struck, state media said. The typhoon left a trail of damage in South Korea, killing 15 people and leaving almost two million temporarily without power.

Hantavirus warning to 1,700 Yosemite campers
Yosemite National Park is warning 1,700 visitors who stayed in some of its tent cabins this summer that they may have been exposed to a deadly virus. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome has been blamed for the deaths of two campers who stayed at the Californian park. The disease can be carried in the urine, saliva and faeces of infected deer mice, and symptoms can appear as late as six weeks after exposure.

Hurricane Isaac bears down on New Orleans, Louisiana
Thousands of people have fled the US city of New Orleans as Hurricane Isaac makes its slow approach. The hurricane will hit the Louisiana city exactly seven years after it was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, but it is a much less powerful storm. The city has closed its new floodgates in a bid to protect it from the effects of high waters brought by sustained winds of up to 80mph (130km/h).

Spain in wait-and-see mode as recession worsens
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Tuesday (28 August) said his government has not yet taken a decision on asking for European help in refinancing its debt, pending a key meeting of the European Central Bank next week. ...Fresh data published on Tuesday by the country's statistics office showed that recession is now at 1.3 percent of GDP, compared to previous estimates that suggested the economy would contract by one percent.

Egypt broadens Sinai campaign to root out terror
Egypt's military said on Wednesday it would broaden its offensive against militants in the Sinai Peninsula, a campaign that has raised concerns in Israel about the movement of heavy armor into the area near its border. ...Analysts say Islamists with possible links to al-Qaeda have gained a foothold. This has alarmed Israel.

'Iran installed 350 new underground centrifuges'
A new report to be circulated to IAEA member states later this week is expected to say that Iran installed 350 new centrifuges in its underground Fordow facility since May... Iran is enriching uranium to a fissile concentration of 20 percent -- easily upgraded to the 90 percent needed for bombs -- at Fordow, buried deep inside a mountain near the holy Shi’ite city of Qom to protect it from foreign attack.

http://www.raptureready.com/rapnews_db.php

"Fair Use for Information & Discussion Purposes"

PM: NAM summit in Tehran is a disgrace to humanity
PM Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening strongly condemned the Non-Aligned Movement summit taking place in Tehran, calling it a disgrace. "Today, over 120 countries are meeting in Tehran, while the regime there denies the Holocaust, and works to destroy the Zionist state - this is a disgrace to humanity," the PM said.-- "the presence of these 120 states in Iran is a sign that the world's pledge "never again" after the Holocaust, is hollow.'

UN chief to see Iran leaders ahead of summit
UN chief Ban Ki-moon to meet Iran's top leaders in Tehran on Wednesday on a visit hailed by the Islamic republic as a diplomatic coup over arch-foes the United States and Israel.-The US State Department said such a visit "sends a very strange signal with regard to support for the international order," stressing that Iran was "in violation of so many of its international obligations and posing a threat to neighbours." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month told Ban he would be making "a big mistake" if he attended.

Italy hosts international talks on Syria future
Italy hosted international talks in Rome on Wednesday on the future of Syria after President Bashar al-Assad leaves power, the foreign ministry said AFP reeported The ministry's press office confirmed the talks were taking place but said they were being held behind closed doors with no access for journalists.-Contacted by AFP, the foreign ministry said the meeting would be "at a level of senior officials from like-minded countries."

Apophis Asteroid Strike Practically Nil – Scientist
Scientists with the Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences have recalculated the path of a large asteroid, Apophis; the refined data indicates a significantly low likelihood of a hazardous encounter with Earth, the institute’s leading research fellow Viktor Shor said on Wednesday.

Russia, China 'weakening' UN over Syria: France's Hollande
The opposition of Russia and China to action against the Syrian regime is weakening the United Nations, French President Francois Hollande said on Monday. "I am saying to Russia and to China that their attitude in the Syria crisis is weakening our capacity to fulfill the mandate given us by the United Nations charter," Hollande told a meeting of French ambassadors.

French minister says Syria buffer zone would require no-fly zone
French FM Laurent Fabius admitted Wednesday that setting up a Western-imposed buffer zone inside Syria would be "very complicated" and would require the implementation of a no-fly zone. France, which has the rotating chair of the UN Security Council, is working on a Turkish proposal for the establishment of a safe area for people fleeing the fighting. Fabius told France Inter radio that if refugees assembled in areas controlled by Syria‘s rebels, "it will be necessary to protect them. That‘s called a buffer zone."

Syria needs more time to win ‘regional and global battle,’ says Assad
Syrian President Bashar Assad said Wednesday that his gov't forces need time to win the country’s civil war, which he says has drawn in regional and international powers. The remarks were a sign Assad’s regime may be hunkering down for a drawn out struggle against rebels on a multitude of fronts, including Damascus, the capital and Assad’s seat of power, Aleppo, the nation’s largest city, and a string of cities and towns across the Arab nation.

Syrian Rebels Claim to Take Over Chemical Weapons
The Supreme Military Council of the Syrian rebels released on a statement on Tuesday which said that the rebel forces took control of an army missile base in Damascus, in which ten ready-to-launch missiles were found. Some of the missiles, according to the statement, were converted to carry non-conventional warheads.-The Council warned that these facts indicate that the Assad regime is getting ready to bomb cities in Syria using these missiles, and the possibility that he will use missiles with unconventional warheads cannot be ruled out.

Syrian army drops leaflets over Damascus, urging rebels to surrender or face 'inevitable death'
Syrian military helicopters dropped thousands of leaflets over Damascus and its suburbs Tuesday, urging rebels to hand over their weapons or face 'inevitable death.' The leaflets appear to be part of the regime's psychological warfare against the rebels, but are highly unlikely to have any effect on fighters intent on toppling President Bashar Assad's regime.

Isaac thrashes New Orleans, overtops levee
Authorities say a storm surge driven by Hurricane Isaac is overtopping a levee in a thinly populated part of mostly rural Plaquemines Parish, south of New Orleans. Parish spokeswoman Caitlin Campbell said water was running over an 18-mile stretch of the levee early Wednesday and some homes had been flooded.

Peru’s El Misti Volcano is active, says IGP
Engineer Orlando Macedo told El Comercio that 224 earthquakes were registered at El Misti - an event known as an earthquake swarm - and which signaled that the volcano was no longer dormant. El Misti, he said, experienced 143 volcano tectonic earthquakes, which were caused by the fracture of rock inside the volcano, due to sudden changes in pressure and temperature.

Unusual earthquake swarm shakes Southern California
An unusual swarm of hundreds of mostly small earthquakes has struck Southern California over the last three days and shaken the nerves of quake-hardy residents...

Carrier strike group rushes to PersianGulf
The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis is being rushed to the Persian Gulf as tensions between Israel and Iran edge closer to the boiling point. The Nimitz class carrier, with an air wing of about 90 aircraft, sets sail Monday on an eight-month deployment to the region -- four months ahead of schedule.

China tests new generation ICBM capable of carrying 10 nuclear warheads
"China last month tested a new generation of intercontinental ballistic missile, the Dongfeng-41, or DF-41, which is believed to have a maximum strike distance of 14,000 km," the state-run CCTV said in a brief report.

Downtown Mpls. Becomes Black Hawk Helicopter Training Zone
The U.S. Special Operations Command will be conducting exercises until the beginning of September. This week they’re using helicopters, including Black Hawks.

Homeland Security tests to begin at T stops in Cambridge, Somerville
The federal government Wednesday will begin releasing bacteria at Red Line MBTA stations in Cambridge and Somerville at set times to test sensors designed to detect biological agents that could be released in a terrorist attack.

27 killed by Damascus car bomb
State television said the bomb was hidden in a taxi that exploded when mourners were passing along a street in Jaramana, a mainly Druze and Christian area on the south-eastern outskirts of Damascus that the London-based opposition group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described as generally supportive of the government. Hours earlier, state television had put the toll at 12, adding that another 48 were injured.

Vitamin B3 'helps kill superbugs'
Vitamin B3 could be the new weapon in the fight against superbugs such as MRSA, researchers have suggested. US experts found B3, also known as nicotinamide, boosts the ability of immune cells to kill Staphylococcus bacteria. B3 increases the numbers and efficacy of neutrophils, white blood cells that can kill and eat harmful bugs.

Typhoon Bolaven: North Korea reports storm damage
Typhoon Bolaven has caused damage to western parts of North Korea, already hit hard by flooding in recent weeks. Hundreds of trees were felled and power supply cut as the storm struck, state media said. The typhoon left a trail of damage in South Korea, killing 15 people and leaving almost two million temporarily without power.

Hantavirus warning to 1,700 Yosemite campers
Yosemite National Park is warning 1,700 visitors who stayed in some of its tent cabins this summer that they may have been exposed to a deadly virus. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome has been blamed for the deaths of two campers who stayed at the Californian park. The disease can be carried in the urine, saliva and faeces of infected deer mice, and symptoms can appear as late as six weeks after exposure.

Hurricane Isaac bears down on New Orleans, Louisiana
Thousands of people have fled the US city of New Orleans as Hurricane Isaac makes its slow approach. The hurricane will hit the Louisiana city exactly seven years after it was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, but it is a much less powerful storm. The city has closed its new floodgates in a bid to protect it from the effects of high waters brought by sustained winds of up to 80mph (130km/h).

Spain in wait-and-see mode as recession worsens
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Tuesday (28 August) said his government has not yet taken a decision on asking for European help in refinancing its debt, pending a key meeting of the European Central Bank next week. ...Fresh data published on Tuesday by the country's statistics office showed that recession is now at 1.3 percent of GDP, compared to previous estimates that suggested the economy would contract by one percent.

Egypt broadens Sinai campaign to root out terror
Egypt's military said on Wednesday it would broaden its offensive against militants in the Sinai Peninsula, a campaign that has raised concerns in Israel about the movement of heavy armor into the area near its border. ...Analysts say Islamists with possible links to al-Qaeda have gained a foothold. This has alarmed Israel.

'Iran installed 350 new underground centrifuges'
A new report to be circulated to IAEA member states later this week is expected to say that Iran installed 350 new centrifuges in its underground Fordow facility since May... Iran is enriching uranium to a fissile concentration of 20 percent -- easily upgraded to the 90 percent needed for bombs -- at Fordow, buried deep inside a mountain near the holy Shi’ite city of Qom to protect it from foreign attack.

http://www.raptureready.com/rapnews_db.php

"Fair Use for Information & Discussion Purposes"

Tropics Watch: Isaac, Kirk, and Invest 98-L
Areas to Watch. In addition to Isaac we are also tracking Kirk and Invest 98-L in the Atlantic basin. We also have an active tropical system in the eastern Pacific.

Is DOJ 'Community Organizing' Occupy Activists at the RNC?
What are uniformed field representatives of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Community Relations Service (CRS) doing assisting Occupy/anarchist activists outside the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Tampa?

Khamenei: Time for new world order
The world, Khamenei said "Is in transition towards a new international order and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) can and should play a new role."

Thousands flee eastern Damascus after attacks: activists
Syrian air and ground bombardment killed at least 27 people in eastern neighborhoods of Damascus on Wednesday, prompting thousands of people to flee the area, opposition activists said.

California Heatwaves to Move Toward Coastal Areas: Researchers Reassess Heatwaves Against the Backdrop of Rising Temperatures
... relative to local warming, the mid-summer heatwaves are getting stronger in generally cooler coastal areas. This carries implications for the millions of Californians living near the ocean whose everyday lives are acclimated to moderate temperatures.

Mars Rover Curiosity Begins 1st Long Martian Drive
Curiosity headed off eastward Tuesday (Aug. 28) toward a spot called Glenelg, where three different types of terrain come together in one place. The 52-foot (16-meter) drive marks the rover's first big move away from "Bradbury Landing," where Curiosity touched down on the night of Aug. 5.

Yorba Linda earthquake a likely aftershock from earlier cluster
The jolted area included southeastern Los Angeles County, Orange County and the Inland Empire. The quake occurred in about the same location of an earthquake doublet, two 4.5 quakes that occurred on Aug. 7 at 11:23 p.m. and Aug. 8 at 9:33 a.m. The area was also hit by a 4.0 quake on June 14.

Southern California town declares emergency over quake swarm
The southern California town of Brawley has taken the unusual step of declaring a state of emergency after a swarm of earthquakes rattled nearly 20 mobile homes off their blocks and forced a slaughterhouse to close, the mayor said on Wednesday. It is uncommon for quake-hardy California cities to declare emergencies due to tremors, but Brawley mayor George Nava said the earthquake swarm is a unique case because it has lasted for days and caused millions of dollars in damage.

CDC Says Worst Nile Outbreak in US
According to the CDC, this is the worst West Nile virus outbreak ever in the United States, with 1,590 cases reported so far in 2012. Sixty-six deaths have been reported so far. Except for Alaska and Hawaii, every state has found evidence of the virus in mosquitoes, birds or people. More than 70 percent of the cases come from just six states - South Dakota, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Michigan and Texas...

Eerie Bible coincidence for Hurricane Isaac?
The arrival of Hurricane Isaac exactly seven years after Hurricane Katrina blasted New Orleans has some people wondering if there’s more to it than random chance, and suggesting the popular homosexual festival Southern Decadence may be part of a judgment from God. “A hurricane hitting a celebration of decadence … twice in seven years. What are the odds?” Now seven years later, to the day, another hurricane is heading towards this city. The fact the events are seven years apart is very significant as this number is biblically important. It is the number of completion: God created the universe in seven days. The church, city and nation have not repented and the homosexual agenda is far worse than it was in 2005.

Iranian Leader: What called “paralyzing sanctions” makes Iran stronger
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during his speech in inauguration of 16th summit of heads of Non-Aligned Movement said the western countries know very well that they lie about Iran's military-related nuclear program.

Iraq violence: Police general shot dead in Baghdad
Five security forces members, including two senior officers, have been killed in a series of shootings and bombings in Iraq, officials say. Police Brig-Gen Nadhim Tayeh was driving to work in the capital Baghdad when gunmen fire on his car. Later, an army colonel died in a bombing.

'Our Own Little Katrina': Tropical Storm Isaac Sends Louisiana Locals to Attics and Roofs Awaiting Rescue
Isaac continues to spin slowly through Louisiana, pushing huge amounts of sea water, dumping torrents of rain and leaving locals scrambling up to attics and onto roofs as floodwaters threaten to overtake them. "It's our own little Katrina," said Tania Trege, wife of St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff Mike Trege, describing the situation in Laplace, La.

West Nile Virus Cases Hit 1,590; Death Toll at 66
Reports of West Nile virus infection in the country now total 1,590, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday - an increase of more than 40 percent in one week alone. CDC officials also reported during a Wednesday afternoon teleconference that 66 people have died from the disease so far. Of all of the cases reported thus far, 889 - or 56 percent - are classified as neuroinvasive, meaning patients develop meningitis, encephalitis or paralysis.

Five Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan
Five Australian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan in two separate incidents, defence officials say. Three soldiers were killed by a man in Afghan army uniform in Uruzgan province on Wednesday, the latest in a series of so-called "green-on-blue" attacks.

Non-Aligned Summit: Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has opened a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement by saying his country is not seeking nuclear weapons. Speaking as leaders and delegates of 50 countries gathered in Tehran, he also accused the US of "bullying" the world.

Tim Pawlenty calls Obama ‘the tattoo president’
I've come to realize that Barack Obama is the tattoo president. Like a big tattoo, it seemed cool when you were young. But later on, that decision doesn't look so good, and you wonder: what was I thinking? But the worst part is you're still going to have to explain it to your kids.

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