Wednesday, September 09, 2009

09/09/09

* US Admits Iran near 'Breakout Point' for Nuclear Bomb The United States has confirmed long-time Israeli intelligence reports that Iran is close to achieving the ability to produce a nuclear bomb.

* PM's 'military installation' tour was 'secret trip to Russia' The reason for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's mysterious 10-hour disappearance from the media radar on Monday was a clandestine trip to Russia.

* PA Calls Building for Jews 'Incitement' The Palestinian Authority official who oversees the "settlement portfolio" has charged that Israeli building of homes for Jews in Judea and Samaria is "incitement".

* Hamas, Fatah set to reconcile by 2010 Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal's recent visit to Egypt has brought the Islamist movement and Fatah closer to ending their differences.

* Transport Minister promises to invest millions in Jewish Hebron Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) on Tuesday visited the West Bank city of Hebron, where he promised settlers he would invest millions of shekels to improve the road connecting Kiryat Arba to the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

* EU Criticizes Israeli Settlements The European Union has expressed concern about Israel's decision to approve new settler homes in the occupied West Bank.

* The Emerging Axis of Iran and Venezuela The diplomatic ties between Iran and Venezuela go back almost 50 years and until recently amounted to little more than the routine exchange of diplomats.

* Market crisis 'will happen again' The world will suffer another financial crisis.

* Underwater laser pops in navy ops US military researchers are developing a method for communication that uses lasers to make sound underwater.

* Top defense official: Syria losing clout over 'Hezbollahstan' Syria may not be able to curb Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas, a senior Israeli defense official said on Tuesday.