Monday, August 31, 2009

08/31/09

* US needs fresh Afghan strategy A top US general in Afghanistan has called for a revised military strategy, suggesting the current one is failing.

* FM: Bilateral steps will bring peace Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Quartet Middle East envoy Tony Blair and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana that bilateral initiatives, rather than unilateral steps taken by the Palestinian Authority, would promote peace in the region.

* Turks begin Iraq-Syria mediation Turkey has begun mediation between Iraq and Syria amid a deepening diplomatic row over insurgency bombings in Iraq.

* Japan's Hatoyama sweeps to power Japan's next leader, Yukio Hatoyama, is beginning a transition to power after winning a landmark general election.

* Geert Wilders: Prophet Mohammed Acted Like a Pig Dutch legislator Geert Wilders compared the prophet Mohammed with a pig after a report was published that Saudi Arabian authorities returned a runaway10-year-old bride to her 80-year-old husband.

* Taliban growth in northern Afghanistan threatens to expand war Taliban insurgents have taken over parts of two northern provinces from which they were driven in 2001, threatening to disrupt NATO's new supply route from Central Asia and expand a war that's largely been confined to Afghanistan's southern half.

* Prince Alwaleed Ranks as Richest Saudi on Arabian Business List Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Citigroup Inc.’s largest individual investor, was ranked the richest Saudi national by Arabian Business, even after losing 4.6 percent of his personal wealth in the past year.

* Released for Publication: Israeli-Arab Plotted to Kill IDF Chief An Israeli-Arab from Tira, Rawi Sultani, was indicted for conspiring to kill senior Israeli officials, among them IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi.

* Abbas aide: No talks without full settlement freeze Nabil Shaath, aide to Palestinian president says Abbas will reject any US initiative to resume peace talks with Israel unless construction in settlements frozen in full without exceptions or 'loopholes'.

* Putin Goes to Poland to Defend Memory of Soviet Army Prime Minister Vladimir Putin travels to Poland today as Russia seeks to defend the role of the Soviet Union in eastern Europe during World War II.