Thursday, March 04, 2010

03/04/10

* Mideast peace talks could begin as early as Sunday Indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority may begin as early as Sunday.

* Jerusalem's Master Plan May Endanger United Capital Jerusalem's revised master plan favors Arab housing, may lead to eliminating a Jewish majority in the capital.

* U.S. Fears Election Strife in Iraq Could Affect Pullout The deadly suicide bombings in Iraq on Wednesday highlight the central quandary facing President Obama as he tries to fulfill his campaign pledge to end the war there.

* China slows rise in military spending China has said its military spending will increase by 7.5% in 2010, ending a long run of double-digit growth.

* 'Heritage decision not political' During an address to the Knesset on Wednesday afternoon, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu attempted to alleviate tensions between the opposition and the coalition and stop the fragile calm in Jerusalem and the West Bank from shattering completely.

* Brussels sets out new economic strategy for EU The European Commission set out its long-awaited proposals for a new European economic strategy on Wednesday.

* Dutch anti-Islamists makes key gains in local elections Preliminary results in Dutch local polls suggest an anti-Islam party has made major gains and may pose a serious challenge in June parliamentary polls.

* Saudi FM: Israel a religiously oriented culture Prince Saud al-Faisal tells New York Times about enlightened 'liberal' trends in his country, compared to 'extreme' conservative religious movement in Jewish state.

* U.S., EU urge Syria to drop nuclear secrecy The U.S. and the European Union are urging Syria to stop stonewalling attempts by the International Atomic Energy Agency to investigate its nuclear activities.

* Golan Residents on the Alert Though Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced that he "knows nothing" about reports of Syria’s "willingness" to accept the Golan in stages.