China announces support for Palestinian UN statehood bid
China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday that Wu Sike, its special envoy on the Middle East, told Palestinian leaders in a meeting in Ramallah that Beijing and the Chinese people have always supported the Palestinian cause. The Foreign Ministry statement said Wu expressed understanding, respect and support for the Palestinians' bid for statehood.
Hurricane Irene set to hit New York this weekend: City 'preparing for the worst' says Bloomberg
New York is getting ready to face Hurricane Irene, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday. Speaking at a press conference outside St. Luke's Baptist Church in Queens, Bloomberg said the city was keeping a close eye on the storm's progression and making sure it could cope if heavy rains and up to 60-mph winds arrive this weekend. "The city has already seen the power of Mother Nature this week," Bloomberg said, referring to the earthquake which shook the city Tuesday.
Rocket Fire on Southern Israel Continues. Iron Dome Activated Again
More than 20 rockets were fired on southern Israel from Gaza during the night with strikes on Beersheva, Ashkelon, Sderot, Ofakim, Netivot and villages in the region. An 11-month old baby was lightly injured by the blast on one of the kibbutzim in the area. Damage was reported to a house in Sderot this morning. The Iron Dome defense system successfully intercepted rockets that were fired on Beersheva and Ashkelon.
China's navy adding 'high-tech' weaponry, Pentagon warns
CHINA's military is increasingly focused on naval power and has invested in high-tech weaponry that will extend its reach in the Pacific and beyond, the Pentagon says. China has ramped up efforts to produce anti-ship missiles that could knock out aircraft carriers, improved targeting radar, expanded its fleet of nuclear-powered submarines and warships and made advances in satellite technology and cyber warfare, the Pentagon wrote in an annual report to Congress.
Ahmadinejad to Syria: Killings 'serves Zionist interests'
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the Damascus regime to engage in dialogue with the Syrian people in order to put a stop to the violence and reach an understanding regarding the political reforms in the country, Lebanese Al-Manar television reported on Thrusday. "The people and government of Syria must come together to reach an understanding," he told the station, which is run by the Iranian and Syrian-backed Hezbollah movement.
Quake Exposes Post-9/11 Cracks in Cellphone Coverage, Emergency Response
As dazed workers streamed out of evacuated office buildings Tuesday following an earthquake along the East Coast, many resorted to Tweet, email and text to communicate with the rest of the world. In the immediate aftermath of the 5.9 magnitude quake, cellphone service was a traffic jam.
Israeli experts near completion of Jerusalem walls restoration
Israeli experts are nearing completion of an ambitious restoration of the five-century-old walls of Jerusalem, the holy city's dominant architectural feature and a unique record of its eventful and troubled history. ...Israeli archaeology and other work in east Jerusalem has often been contentious, because it implicitly asserts Israel's ownership over a part of the city where Palestinian leaders hope to establish a capital.
Ahmadinejad: Iran is determined to eradicate Israel
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Iran was determined to eradicate Israel, ISNA news agency reported Thursday. "Iran believes that whoever is for humanity should also be for eradicating the Zionist regime (Israel) as symbol of suppression and discrimination," Ahmadinejad said in an interview with a Lebanese television network, carried by ISNA.
Strong 7.0-magnitude quake shakes Peruvian Amazon
The 7.0-magnitude quake's epicenter was near the town of Pucallpa, which lies some 370 miles from Lima in a sparsely populated central-eastern region close to the Brazilian border, the U.S. Geological Survey said. "There have been no damages reported, either to structures or to people," said Javier Urrelo, head of the government's civil defense agency in the Ucayali region, where Pucallpa is located.
Five killed in Gaza as rockets hit Israel despite truce
Israeli air strikes have killed five people in Gaza, while a barrage of rockets fired by Palestinian militants into Israel has wounded a baby. Two Islamic Jihad leaders died and three civilians, one of them a tunnel smuggler, Palestinian medics said. Meanwhile, Gaza militants have fired 19 rockets and mortar shells into southern Israel since Wednesday, the army said.
Is Germany a true friend?
Next month, New York will host an event marking the 10th anniversary of another dark hour, the notorious UN-sponsored Durban world conference on racism, which became a platform for some of the world’s worst human rights abusers to call for Israel’s destruction.
Aftershock rattles US east coast
A 4.5 magnitude aftershock has jolted the US east coast, two days after an earthquake left building inspectors assessing damage to national monuments. It struck five miles (8km) south of Mineral, Virginia - the epicentre of Tuesday's 5.8 magnitude quake, said the National Earthquake Information Center. The latest tremor, at 01:07 local time (06:07 BST), was the strongest of four aftershocks, the US monitors said.
Virginia Earthquake a Sign of the End Times? Public Looks to Pat Robertson
"The earth moved," Robertson said ominously, describing the earthquake that struck Virginia Tuesday, "and then it moved all over this part of the country."
Hurricane Irene Batters Smaller Islands of Bahamas
There were no immediate reports of major injuries or deaths but property damage appeared likely to be extensive. Acklins and Crooked islands, in the southern part of the chain, got hit particularly hard, with an estimated 90 percent of the homes in two settlements severely damaged or destroyed...
Gold falls hard on Fed
Gold futures prices in New York tumbled more than US$100 on Wednesday, the worst one-day loss in three years as investors engaged in profit-taking ahead of a critical speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday.
Market crash 'could hit within weeks', warn bankers
"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.
Michael Stone
Michael Stone
