Thursday, February 12, 2015

2-12-15

* Ukraine crisis: Leaders agree peace roadmap An agreement aimed at ending the fighting in Ukraine has been reached, following marathon talks in Belarus.

* New Al Qaeda Video Shows Steady Advance along Israeli Border The Nusra Front, Al Qaeda's official branch in Syria, has released a new propaganda video documenting its steady gains in southern Syria, along the border with Israel.

* Obama says special forces could target IS leaders United States - President Barack Obama said he would not hesitate to send US special forces to kill top Islamic State extremists, as he called on Congress Wednesday to authorize operations that stop short of a full-scale invasion.

* Steinitz Hints Israel Could Strike Iran as Nuclear Talks Drag On Intelligence Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz warned Thursday that Israel could act unilaterally against Iran over its nuclear drive, saying Tehran has failed to make concessions in talks with world powers.

* Yemen army base seized by Al-Qaeda linked fighters Al-Qaeda linked fighters have seized an army base in southern Yemen, militants and officials say.

* Mahmoud Abbas in Belgium to rally support for Palestinian statehood bid Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who is currently visiting Brussels, met with the Minister-President of the Flemish Government, Geert Bourgeois, on Thursday.

* Why is Erdogan asking Cuba to let him build a mosque in Havana? ISTANBUL - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has proposed to Cuba the construction of a mosque on the Caribbean island during a visit to Havana, pushing ahead with a plan apparently inspired by his belief that Muslims discovered the Americas.

* Greece bailout talks: No agreement in Brussels Greek and eurozone officials have failed to reach an agreement over Greece's debt crisis, though both sides said there was still hope for a deal.

* 'Half of names of Gaza journalist casualties are terror operatives, or members of Hamas media' Almost half of the names that appear on a Palestinian list of journalists killed during last summer's conflict with Israel actually belong to Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives and members of Hamas media outlets, who had various levels of involvement in Gazan terror organizations, a new report by an Israeli security and intelligence center has said.

* ISIS Claims to Have Caught an Israeli Arab Mossad Spy Islamic State (ISIS) made an as yet unverified announcement on Thursday claiming to have captured an Israeli Arab from Jerusalem who was recruited by the Mossad.