Wednesday, October 26, 2011

10/26/11

* International envoys seek to restart Mideast talks International mediators will sit down with Palestinian and Israeli officials in Jerusalem on Wednesday in the hope of finding a formula to restart the deadlocked peace talks.

* Euro crisis: EU leaders hope to reach debt plan EU leaders are gathering for an emergency summit in Brussels aimed at tackling the eurozone debt crisis.

* Mecca pilgrimage ripe for sectarian clash The Hajj – The annual pilgrimage in which some three million Muslims converge on the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia – is threatening to become the next flashpoint in the Sunni-Shiite cold war.

* Ahmadinejad on Zionists: They Exist but There Are Only 10,000 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran is friendly to Jews.

* Saudi cleric: Kidnap soldier - get $100,000 A week after the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, top Saudi cleric Dr. Awad al-Qarni is offering a $100,000 reward to anyone who kidnaps Israeli soldiers.

* 'Chemical weapons in Libya under guard' Chemical weapons have been found in Libya by National Transitional Council forces.

* UN highlights economic cost of organised crime in Italy With Italy increasingly being seen by markets as the next Greece, a major UN report has highlighted how organised crime is harming the Italian economy.

* Palestinian bid for statehood faces rocky road as new UN Security council members announced After 16 rounds voting, going back to last weekend, Azerbaijan was voted in as the fifth non-permanent Security Council member.

* Panetta warns Iran not to meddle in Iraq US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Wednesday warned Iran that it should not meddle in Iraq.

* Posters back Egypt's military ruler for president Hundreds of posters calling on Egypt's military ruler to run for president have appeared in several districts of Cairo and the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.