Tuesday, November 18, 2008

11/18/08

* Iran opens fourth navy base in Gulf The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) announced the opening of its fourth navy base on the shores of the Persian Gulf, opposite the United States Navy Base in Bahrain.

* Seized tanker anchors off Somalia A huge Saudi oil tanker hijacked in the Indian Ocean on Saturday is believed to have anchored off the coast of Somalia.

* Palestinian PM: Settlement building will destroy peace process Palestinian Prime Minister and Finance Minister Salam Fayyad called on the international community to up the pressure on Israel to suspend all construction in the settlements.

* Global gloom depresses oil price Oil prices have drifted below $55 a barrel amid worries over falling demand and slowing global growth.

* Mass Emergency Meeting in Hevron The large Jewish community of Hevron – close to 800 people, including some 90 families – is awaiting the invasion of a large police/army force for the purpose of emptying Peace House of its Jews.

* 'Assad ready for peace, if he gets what he wants' "(Syrian) President Assad is willing to reach a peace agreement, if Israel and the United States give him what he wants."

* Poll: Across the Board, Americans Support Israel According to poll data released on Sunday, fully 66 percent of American voters - Democrats, Republicans and others - believe that the United States should support Israel over the Palestinian Authority.

* Syria dismisses uranium traces report A Syrian official disputed on Tuesday that the UN nuclear agency's discovery of uranium traces at a bombed site was an indication that Syria was building a nuclear reactor.

* Iran sends mixed signals on US-Iraq pact Reaction in Iran to the approval by Baghdad of a controversial military pact with Washington has been mixed.

* Israeli tanks move into Gaza, level farmland Israeli tanks forged into the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, drawing mortar fire from Palestinian militants and intensifying violence that has chipped away at a tenuous cease-fire.