Tuesday, May 26, 2009

05/26/09

* North Korea 'will pay' over tests North Korea will "pay a price" for the nuclear and missile tests it has carried out in recent days.

* EU-Israel relations set to stay in limbo The EU is unlikely to upgrade relations with Israel when its foreign minister comes to Brussels in June, after a six month break in normal bilateral relations.

* PA minister: Hand Temple Mount over to global Islamic group The newly appointed minister for Jerusalem affairs in the Palestinian Authority cabinet, Hatem Abdel Khader, has released a statement Monday noting that he favors transferring control of the Temple Mount to the 57-member Islamic Conference Organization.

* Muslim nations link better ties with Israel to peace Muslim countries meeting in the Syrian capital criticized Israel on Monday but said they were open to better ties with the Jewish state.

* Pope urges China reconciliation The Pope has told Chinese Catholics of the officially tolerated Patriotic Church and those who worship secretly to take steps towards reconciliation.

* The Jihadist's guide to the galaxy "I see 16, 17-year-olds who have been indoctrinated on the Internet turn up on the battlefield," says US Army Brigadier-General John Custer.

* Obama Set to Create A Cybersecurity Czar With Broad Mandate President Obama is expected to announce late this week that he will create a "cyber czar," a senior White House official who will have broad authority to develop strategy to protect the nation's government-run and private computer networks.

* France Opens First Military Bases in the Gulf President Nicolas Sarkozy opened France’s first military facilities in the Gulf on Tuesday.

* Iran's Presidential Election Campaign Heats Up The four contenders in Iran's presidential election campaign have been criss-crossing the country in an effort to gain support ahead of the June 12 vote.

* Medvedev's Grim Prognosis on Russian Economy Months of infighting between Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev over Russia's budget ended on Monday - with Medvedev on top.