Noam Chomsky: No change in U.S. ‘mafia principle’
January 15th, 20110 Top American intellectual sees no significant change of U.S. foreign policy under Obama LONDON - As civilized people across the world breathed a sigh of relief to see the back of former US president George W. Bush, top American intellectual Noam Chomsky warned against assuming or expecting significant changes in the basis of...Israeli Mossad-linked Fash confesses in Iran scientist’s murder
TEHRAN — The alleged killer of a top nuclear scientist who was murdered last year said he was trained in Israel by the Mossad spy agency, state-television reported on its website on Monday. On Thursday, Majid Jamali Fash, who was the lead suspect among ten arrested, confessed to being behind last year's assassination of nuclear...Wikileaks cables: Israel exposed through Norwegian newspaper
Bribes charged at crossing for goods to Gaza A June 2006 diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks last Thursday by the Aftenposten daily newspaper in Norway said that American companies told U.S. officials that large bribes were demanded in order to get goods into the blockaded Gaza Strip at an important cargo crossing. One distributor...Turks see U.S., Israel as top threats
ANKARA (Middle East Online) – The United States and Israel top the list of countries that Turks see as a threat, according to an opinion poll Wednesday. The survey, conducted by the Ankara-based Metropoll research company last month, found that 42.6 percent saw the United States as "the greatest external threat," with another 23.7...Iran to launch two new satellites
(PressTV.ir) – Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi says the country will launch two new domestically made satellites by March 2011. "Two satellites named 'Fajr' and 'Rasad' will be launched into space by the end of the year," Vahidi was quoted by Fars news agency as saying on Saturday. "Different satellites are...Women lead increase in U.K. converts to Islam
LONDON (Middle East Online) – The number of Muslim converts in Britain has almost doubled in ten years with an estimated 5,200 men and women adopting Islam last year alone, according to a study by the think tank Faith Matters. The study found that nearly two-thirds of the converts were women and over 70 per cent were white. The...2010 International Year In Review
• U.S. poised to increase aid to Yemen following airstrikes against alleged militants • Dubai unveils Burh Khalifa, world's tallest tower, as area's debts continue to pile up • Egypt blocks aid to Gaza as thousands of local, international activists rally in Cairo • Disastrous earthquake strikes in Haiti, death toll...
Season for Jews, Christians and Muslims to look back at 2010
December 29th, 20100 Amman — At the time of Eid ul-Adha, which marks the end of the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca; Hanukkah, when Jews commemorate the dedication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem; and Christmas, when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, we look back, yet again, on a year "that could have been." Muslims, Jews and Christians are bound by a...Iran, Turkey boost ties despite Western pressure
Turkey's President Abdullah Gul (R) shakes hands with his Iranian counterpart Ahmadinejad before their meeting in Istanbul December 23, 2010. REUTERS/Osman OrsalTEHRAN – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad heads to Turkey on Thursday for a regional summit, as the two neighbors bolster ties in the face of international...Sweden’s far-right wants Islamist debate after blasts
STOCKHOLM — The far-right Sweden Democrats on Tuesday demanded a debate in parliament on Islamic extremism following the weekend's twin blasts in Stockholm that probably aimed to wreak carnage among Christmas shoppers. "The Sweden Democrats demand a current debate in parliament about violence-prone Islamic extremism," said the party,...Europe must emerge from U.S.’ shadow
Several senior European politicians have urged the European Union (E.U.) to threaten Israel with sanctions if it continues to build Jewish settlements on occupied Palestinian territory. A letter signed by, among others, Mary Robinson, the former E.U. commissioner, and Javier Solana, the organization's former foreign affairs chief, calls...Israeli firms see a global market for their anti-terrorism products
TEL AVIV (LA Times) — As he inspected the Taj Mahal hotel after the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, and listened to a hotel manager bemoan the lack of adequate security preparations, Israeli export official Avi Hefetz saw a growth market in the making. A photo of Israeli security technology, MagShoe, a machine used in...A nuclear-free Mideast demands policy change on Israel
There are two things one can say regarding U.S. policy toward Israel's nuclear weapons program: First, it is consistent with the rational, common-sense notion that both accession to the NPT and establishment of regional nuclear weapons-free zones can only be achieved when the concerned states are persuaded that both are in their...The truth will always win
In 1958 a young Rupert Murdoch, then owner and editor of Adelaide's The News, wrote: "In the race between secrecy and truth, it seems inevitable that truth will always win." WikiLeaks founder Julian AssangeHis observation perhaps reflected his father Keith Murdoch's expose that Australian troops were being needlessly sacrificed by...WikiLeaks’ harsh lesson on imperial hubris
The WikiLeaks disclosure this week of confidential cables from United States embassies has been debated chiefly in terms either of the damage to Washington's reputation or of the questions it raises about national security and freedom of the press. The headlines aside, most of the information so far revealed from the 250,000 documents......
Wikileaks saga: No top secrets, but damaging nonetheless
December 4th, 20100 WASHINGTON – While the massive dump of some 250,000 internal U.S. diplomatic communications by Wikileaks includes none marked "top secret," their dissemination is already causing considerable embarrassment and may well inflict longer-term damage on Washington's foreign relations. A combination of pictures show the front pages of...
Wikileaks reveals treacherous terrain for Iran policy
December 4th, 20100 WASHINGTON (IPS) – The leaked reports sent by U.S. officials abroad to Washington reveal a treacherous playing field for the United States in the Middle East. A combination photo shows world leaders mentioned in cables released by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks on November 28, 2010. The leaders are (top row L-R) Libya's leader......
Qatar puts Middle East soccer on map
December 4th, 20100 Qatari fans celebrate at Souk Waqif in Doha December 2, 2010, after the announcement that Qatar will host the 2022 World Cup. Summer temperatures which can soar to above 50 degrees Celsius and a concern about lack of infrastructure did not deter FIFA on Thursday from awarding the 2022 World Cup to the tiny Gulf state of Qatar....Iran laptop papers showed wrong missile warhead
WASHINGTON (IPS) — The most important intelligence documents used to argue that Iran had a covert nuclear weapons research and development program in 2003 — a set of technical drawings of efforts to fit what appears to be a nuclear payload into the reentry vehicle of Iran's medium-range ballistic missile, the Shahab-3 — turn out to...Obama foreign policy likely to face Republican challenges
WASHINGTON (IPS) — While foreign policy issues played almost no role in Tuesday's election results, the historic Republican landslide will almost certainly make Barack Obama's vision of a more positive U.S. role in international affairs more difficult to pursue. The Republicans, who won control of the House of Representatives and...
Ahmadinejad addresses crowds in Beirut and Bint Jebail at Israeli border
October 19th, 20100 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waves his hands as he greets Lebanese Hizbullah supporters upon his arrival to the main airport road in Beirut, October 13, 2010. Tens of thousands of Lebanese Shia gave Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a tumultuous welcome on Wednesday at the start of a visit which has highlighted Western......
U.N. faces threat of irrelevancy amid big power politics
President Barack Obama talks with Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada at the G20 Summit opening Plenary Session at the Toronto Convention Center, Toronto, Canada June 27, 2010. Photo: Pete Souza.UNITED NATIONS (IPS) — The 192-member General Assembly began its 65th session under a perceived new threat: that the United Nations...
UN report: Gaza flotilla attack “unlawful, unnecessary and incredibly violent”
September 25th, 20100 A panel of three experts on human rights released a 56-page report on Wednesday accusing Israel of war crimes stemming from willful killing, unnecessary brutality, and torture in what was deemed a “clearly unlawful” assault on a ship that was attempting to break the blockade of Gaza on May 31, 2010 during which nine Turkish activists......
PAKISTAN sinking in despair
September 25th, 20100 U.S. boosts aid amid doubts about Pakistan's recovery WASHINGTON (IPS) — The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has announced it will provide an additional 75 million dollars in food aid to help Pakistan cope with floods that have affected about one-fifth of the country – including some 20 million people – since they...Kucinich says peace, not war, is inevitable
Almost nine years into longest war in U.S. history, at a time when the U.S. spends more on its military budget than the rest of the world combined and endless war seems a frighteningly realistic possibility, I spoke with Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), a long-time advocate for peace. Kucinich reminds us that there is another way: that......
