10/19/12

* Car bomb blast in Beirut kills at least eight A huge car bomb exploded in a street in central Beirut during rush hour on Friday, killing at least eight people and wounding about 80.

* Bounty on Al Qaeda The State Department on Thursday announced that it is offering $12 million in rewards for help in capturing two al Qaeda terrorist financiers in Iran who are helping fund and arm terrorists in Syria.

* Hezbollah jeopardizing regional peace, UN chief says in report UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday condemned Hezbollah’s continued armament in violation of UN resolutions and blamed the militant group for jeopardizing regional peace and stability.

* 'Al-Qaida ideals entrenched in Sinai jihadi groups' Dr. Mohammed Ghazlani, official mediator between the Sinai authorities and extremists, said Thursday that Salafist-Jihadi groups have embraced extremist ideology in the troubled peninsula.

* Iran: How long can debt-laden US remain world power? Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad predicted the impending downfall of the "US empire," blaming the collapse on a combination of the country's massive debt and its loss of legitimacy within the international community.

* EU summit: Compromise deal on eurozone bank supervisor EU leaders have agreed to set up a single eurozone banking supervisor - a major step towards a banking union.

* East China Sea tension: China conducts naval exercises China is conducting naval exercises in the East China Sea, state media report, amid heightened tensions with Japan over islands both claim.

* Alleged Maker of "Muslims" Movie Speaks From Safe House Eric Allen Bell originally wrote for the liberal Daily Kos and worked with leftist documentary filmmaker Michael Moore.

* Keeping cyberterrorists out of our 'digital Pearl Harbors' With America on the verge of experiencing a "digital Pearl Harbor" and Israel facing daily attempts to destroy its infrastructure - as described by US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described in separate speeches in recent days - it’s just a matter of time before cyberterrorists are able to reach a critical target.

* IDF tank battalion practices racing to war An IDF tank battalion stationed in the Jordan Valley held a major drill this week to practice racing to a war front during a simulated outbreak of hostilities.