Busy tonight, so no particular order.

Tropical Storm Norbert Continues to Weaken; 1 Person Missing

Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Tropical Storm Norbert continued to weaken and was likely to become a tropical depression after closing ports in Mexico and forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes yesterday.



Gideon Levy / Acre Jews warn: Arabs will kill you with knives

Acre driver apologizes for incident

Gaza groups hold support rally for Akko's Arabs

Jews and Arabs trade blame after riots divide town


Another first for Dubai: World's tallest LED screen


BBC 'horror film' faces religious outcry
The BBC is likely to face a Christian backlash over a new drama series featuring a graphic murder, homosexual sex and the exorcism of Mother Teresa.



Russia Tests Intercontinental Missiles

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has watched his military test new long-range missiles and says the country's missile defense system is strong.

Russia fired two missiles Sunday from submarines in the Pacific Ocean and the Barents Sea, and one from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia.



Fire burns 750 acres northeast of Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Firefighters backed by water-dumping helicopters and planes gained ground Sunday on a wildfire that destroyed two homes and forced the evacuation of about 1,200 people in a rugged area 20 miles north of downtown.

Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman Ron Haralson said the blaze charred up to 750 acres and also burned a garage, several sheds and three motor homes.

No one was seriously injured. A firefighter and one resident reported minor breathing problems.




Toxic cloud passes, residents allowed home

(CNN) -- Residents of a western Pennsylvania neighborhood can return home Sunday after a chemical leak forced them to evacuate the night before.

Authorities surveyed the neighborhood in Petrolia and determined that no traces of the toxic chemical remained, said Freda Tarbell, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

A leak at the Indspec Chemical Corp. plant in Petrolia on Saturday formed a cloud affecting at least 2,000 residents -- some of whom fled their homes. Others huddled indoors with their windows shut, authorities said.




Puntland Forces Kill Pirates in Raid on Ship

Officials say forces from northern Somalia have killed two pirates during a raid on a hijacked cargo ship.

Ali Abdi Aware, foreign minister of Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region, says his region's troops exchanged fire with pirates Sunday aboard the MV Awail.

Aware says the pirates retained control of the vessel but that Puntland forces are chasing it. He says one soldier was killed in the fighting while two pirates and another soldier were wounded.



think tank chief prescribes financial risk-sharing to put
global financial system on ‘healthy track’

Financial risk-sharing between developed and developing countries, coupled with comprehensive, transparent international mechanisms, to address the historical debt problem of developing nations and repatriate their stolen capital, were urgently needed to put the global financial system on a healthy track, Sony Kapoor, Executive Director of Rethinking, Development, Finance and Environment (Re-DeFinE), an international financial system reform think tank, said at Headquarters today.

Speaking during a panel discussion titled “Challenges and emerging issues in external debt restructuring in the context of the current financial crisis” and hosted by the Second Committee (Economic and Financial), he said that, as the crisis deepened, banks and finance ministries could no longer hold sole responsibility for calling the shots on risk and debt. “We all must have a direct stake. Nothing short of an international global government mechanism, under the auspices of the United Nations, is the way forward.”


European Leaders Seek `One Voice' to Counter Crisis

Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) -- European leaders met to forge a new set of measures to combat the credit freeze after their failure to act a week ago contributed to the worst sell-off in the region's stocks in two decades.

"I want Europe to speak with one voice for Europe and for the world because this is a global crisis,'' French President Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters as he greeted European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Sarkozy said he's seeking "an ambitious, coordinated plan.''


[I'd feel better if they were at each other's throats.--Amanda]


Leaders set aside differences in face of crisis

WASHINGTON — The world's financial leaders are setting aside their differences over the credit crisis in order to cobble a unified approach to staving off a global recession.

Missing from meetings this weekend of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank is the backbiting and finger pointing that accompanied earlier attempts to organize a common response to worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression.

The IMF's steering committee adopted Saturday a program yesterday that it said commits all 185 members of the fund to do whatever it takes to support the financial system, including a promise to “take decisive action and use all available tools to support systemically important financial institutions and prevent their failure.”




Bahrain to Host Islamic Banking Conference

DUBAI — Bahrain will host the 15th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC) next month that will bring together international industry leaders who have contributed significantly to forging the future of this industry to map out the next phase of development.

David McLean, the Managing Director of MEGA, the owners of the WIBC brand told Khaleej Times on Sunday that WIBC will be celebrating 15 years of success in bringing together the industry’s thought leaders and foremost practitioners to chart the future direction of the industry.

He said that it attracts more than 1,000 delegates from 45 countries and has grown to have 60 market leaders as sponsors.



Action will count more than G7 words


Asked whether the communiqué issued by the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations on Friday would be enough to arrest the crisis gripping the world financial system, a G7 policymaker told the FT, “Enough will be done”.

By that he meant that the communiqué on its own would not be enough. But it set the stage for individual nations to roll out a series of robust and detailed national action plans that would turn the communiqué’s promise of action into reality. In particular, G7 governments will have to explain how they intend to ensure banks have access to funding.




Norway Announces $57B Liquidity Plan

CEP News) - The government of Norway on Sunday announced plans to shore up bank liquidity, including the issue of up to 350 billion crowns ($57 billion) in government bonds.

"The Norwegian authorities are prepared to launch the measures necessary to secure confidence in the Norwegian banking system," Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said during a news conference. "We will follow developments closely and launch new measures if necessary."




World Bank shifts focus to impact on poor countries

Global finance ministers kept searching for ways to tackle the unfolding financial crisis, turning their attention to its effects on rapidly developing countries and poor nations at risk of being swept up in the turmoil.

US President George W Bush and the world’s financial leaders staged repeated displays of unity on Saturday to combat an unfolding credit crisis, hoping to calm investors whose panic has spread despite bold government action.

The crisis dominated discussions at the meeting of the G7 and the annual sessions of the IMF and World Bank.




Have Terrorists infiltrated Indian IT Companies?

After the recent incident in which a Yahoo employee was found to be an important member of a terrorist outfit in India, it has become necessary for Indian IT Companies to take cognizance of the fact that there may be an organized infiltration of their ranks by terrorists.

One more incident which has surfaced recently raises more concern in this regard. It has been reported that one of India’s major Software companies Satyam Computers has been accused by World bank of having installed a “Key Logger” in one of the access suystems used by them. World Bank has reportedly cancelled the contract with Satyam and the direct business loss is estimated to be around US $ 100 million. The indirect business loss can however be large enough for the future of the Company to be threatened since the incident hits at the root of trustworthiness of the Company for critical projects.




Abbas calls for ending divisions among Palestinians

DAMASCUS, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged on Sunday to end divisions between his Fatah faction and rival Hamas movement after talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Abbas told reporters that the rift among the Palestinian factions must end, otherwise the Palestinians would not be respected and no one would be happy if the divisions continue.

"We can not come to any solution in the future if we remain divided," said Abbas.



Hamas, Fatah optimistic about talks

The leaders of Palestinian factions have sent signals that reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas will be imminent amid mediation efforts. Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday that the rift between Fatah and Hamas must end.



Greater world regulatory co-ordination is inevitable

Because our financial systems are so interdependent, only global co-ordination of policies stands any chance of working. That is why the US and Britain, under Hank Paulson, the Treasury Secretary, and Alistair Darling, the British Treasurer, have been pushing hard among their global partners for a plan to pump new capital into the banking system and to have taxpayers guarantee lending between banks.

Even if these measures can be agreed and even if they succeed (two big ifs), the next part of this global emergency initiative will be a similarly massive effort to stimulate the world's now sliding economy, through big tax cuts and public spending increases. But the scale of this crisis is so large and its international reach so pervasive that it has not only prompted calls for a degree of emergency co-operation unprecedented in recent history, it has also raised demands that the world's leaders should be working to try to prevent such a disaster from happening again.



Israel's Peres warns Iran against surprise attack

JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli President Shimon Peres on Sunday warned Iran against considering a surprise attack, at a ceremony commemorating the 35th anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
...
Peres went on to warn that "our new enemy, the arrogant Iranian leadership... should not rely too much on the element of surprise."



Russian Pipeline Development, International Deals Point to Resurgent Role

Energy issues related to the rapid increase of Russia’s prominence on the global political stage, greatly assisted through the country’s use of its energy riches, have captured considerable attention from world policymakers. Russian is the major supplier of natural gas to Europe, providing an estimated 50 percent of gas consumed in the EU. Moscow’s major strategy here is to increase this dependency, while at the same time to develop closer ties with Asian powers such as China, so as to counterbalance any potential retaliation by Europe in case relations between them deteriorate in the future.



Lebanon busts 'terrorist network' behind Tripoli attacks

BEIRUT (AFP) — Lebanese authorities on Sunday arrested members of a "terrorist network" suspected of involvement in deadly bomb attacks in the northern city of Tripoli, the army said.

"Several members of a terrorist cell involved in the recent explosions in Tripoli have been arrested," the army said in a statement carried by the official news agency NNA.

Four soldiers and three civilians were killed when an explosion ripped through a military bus in the port city on September 29. A similar attack in mid-August killed 14 people, including nine soldiers and a child.



FACTBOX - Financial rescue plans from G7 and EU countries



Financial crisis: Will the G7 action plan work?
The G7 action plan announced this weekend has been dubbed by some as the most historic international accord in decades. Edmund Conway in Washington examines how the deal came about, and whether it will succeed in halting the financial crisis.



'Lost' synagogue reopens in Jerusalem's Muslim Quarter

A group of rabbis, politicians, philanthropists and right-wing activists gathered Sunday in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City to celebrate the reopening of a synagogue located about 100 meters from the Temple Mount.

"We are here today to mark the return of a Jewish presence to this house of prayer," said Rabbi Shmuel Rabbinovitz, rabbi of the Western Wall and the holy sites.

"Any claims leveled at us by Muslim leaders that we are trying to take control of the Temple Mount are downright lies. According to Jewish law, it is forbidden to go up on the Temple Mount because we are all ritually impure," he went on. "We must not allow the incidents in Acre to influence this joyous occasion. This synagogue is place of prayer and peace."



Iran seeks U.N. Security Council seat

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Iran, under U.N. Security Council sanctions over its nuclear program, will seek a seat on the council in an election this week that will pit it in a probably hopeless contest against Japan.

The 192-member U.N. General Assembly will stage its annual elections on Friday for five of the 10 nonpermanent seats on the 15-nation council, the powerhouse of the United Nations with the ability to impose sanctions and dispatch peacekeepers. Winners serve a two-year term starting on Jan. 1.

Apart from the Iranian-Japanese standoff for an Asian seat, a complex battle has shaped up between Muslim Turkey, politically controversial Austria and financially struggling Iceland for two European seats that will fall vacant.



Orthodox leaders pledge greater Church unity in Istanbul meeting

The leaders of world's 250 million Orthodox Christians pledged Sunday to work for greater church unity by overcoming internal differences through a spirit of love and peace.

Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew had invited leaders to come to Istanbul to boost unity among a faith community riven by conflicting loyalties and power struggles.

Meeting in Istanbul to mark the second millennium since the birth of St. Paul, clerics representing 14 Orthodox churches voiced concern that the global financial crisis was widening a gap between the rich and poor.

Ending a three-day summit, the Orthodox leaders also declared their desire to advance dialogue with other Christian churches as well as the interfaith dialogue with Jews and Muslims.



Pakistan to Get $1.4 Billion From World Bank, APP Reports



In US ally Azerbaijan, oil -workers toil in Soviet conditions

Jalal Huseynov, a father of two in his forties, says he has "become accustomed" to working 12 hours a day in such conditions and assures that "all is well" in his life.

"I have enough money to live, my life is improving," he says, explaining why he would vote on Wednesday for President Ilham Aliyev, widely expected to sail to victory in a poll his opponents are boycotting on claims of fraud.

Opponents of Alijev criticise the United States for placing higher priority on securing oil deals with his regime than in taking an effectively firm stance in defence of democracy and human rights.



Ukraine Wobbles As The Financial Ground Beneath It Trembles

Ukraine's economy is in trouble, there is no doubt about it. The cost of protecting debt against a sovereign default by Ukraine's government soared to a record on Friday, following the arrival of a twin storm of both political and financial uncertaintly. The Ukraine president Viktor Yushchenko announced earlier in the week (only to be challenged on Saturday by his perpetual rival Julia Tymoshenko) that he was going to call what would be the country's third parliamentary elections in as many years just as the central bank found itslef forced to step in and take control of the country's sixth-largest bank while the country's currency - the hyrvnia - went for a nose-dive. With the benefit of hindsight the IMF forecast cited in the paragraph above has been extremely prescient. During the "benign external environment stage" Ukraine's economic growth has been substantial, steel prices have been high, and FDI flows (especially into the banking sector) strong. As a result inflation went through the roof. Now we have entered the "adverse external environment" stage, and steel prices are falling while bank and other external finance flows reverse direction. The sustainability issues are evident, and the coming days are going to be critical.



Saudi Arabia is emerging as the real estate market to watch: Colliers

Colliers International, the global real estate consultancy, has launched comprehensive Saudi Arabia Real Estate Overview that provides comparative key performance indicators across 4 areas - Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca and the Eastern Province. According to the report, the demand-supply dynamic remains very positive with robust economic growth patterns set to continue underpinned by high oil prices and rapid industrial expansion promoted by accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).




Sison proclaims US 'intention' to help Lebanon join WTO

BEIRUT: "I cannot look in a crystal ball as to when Lebanon's accession to the WTO [World Trade Organization] will take place, but the United States is working with the Lebanese government and ministries with an aim to achieve this goal - the intention is there," US Ambassador Michele Sison told The Daily Star Friday.

The remark came during a conference held at the Beirut Exhibition and Leisure Center (BIEL) under the title "Deepening Commercial Relationships between the United States and MENA region" and hosted by the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM).




World Muslims Meet to Save Jerusalem
[ *retch* ]

Muslims from around the world are coming together in the Qatari capital, Doha, on Sunday, October 12, to save Israel-occupied Al-Quds (Jerusalem), home to Islam's third holiest shrine.

"Al-Quds is actually facing a real threat of judaization and obliteration of its Islamic identity," Faisal Mawlawi, leader of Lebanon's Islamic Group, and co-founder of Al-Quds International Institution (QII), told IslamOnline.net.

"All Palestinian factions, especially Fatah and Hamas, have to do their utmost to unite the Palestinians, as well as the whole Arabs and Muslims for the Al-Quds cause."



Tokyo, Seoul to push currency safety net


WASHINGTON (Kyodo) Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa and his South Korean counterpart Kang Man Soo agreed Saturday to push for efforts to launch a multilateral currency swap program for Asia, a Japanese official said.

They reached the accord when they met for 30 minutes on the sidelines of a series of financial meetings in Washington under the aegis of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Thirteen East Asian nations have been seeking to evolve an existing network of currency swaps under the Chiang Mai Initiative, a safety net to help fight speculative attacks on their currencies, into one to be operated multilaterally, rather than bilaterally.

This "multilateralization" of the initiative would hopefully prevent any future financial crisis in one country from spreading through the region, such as the one that hit Asia in 1997 and 1998.



Pouring Rains in Southern Regions of Azerbaijan Creates Emergency Situation


Azerbaijan, Baku, 12 October/ corr. TrendNews P.Aliyeva / The already incessant two days (from 11 to 12 October) pouring rains in the southern regions of Azerbaijan created an emergency situation in Lankaran and Astara. In some places the river exceeded the river bed, leaving some planted areas under water.

The bridges collapsed in the mountain villages of Gagiran and Gunahir. In this region the danger of landslides appeared. Because of the abundance of water in the canals, some land plots of local farmers left under water. Rain being accompanied by strong wind gust caused strong loss to the electricity supply system. The electricity supply to the houses is made with the interruptions.



Turkey launches more strikes on Kurdish rebels in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Turkey launched another round of airstrikes against Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq on Sunday, an Iraqi official said.

Turkish warplanes and artillery units bombed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) positions in villages near Amadi in Iraq's Duhuk Province, a provincial security official told CNN.

The official said the Turkish military operation started at 5:30 p.m. and lasted an hour and a half. There were no reports of casualties.



UK considers placing representatives on bank boards
RESCUE: The US and several European countries plan to buy stakes in banks to help guarantee deposits. Britain, however, wants to ensure it can protect taxpayers’ interests

The British Treasury may appoint its own representatives to the boards of the country’s biggest banks as it begins buying stakes in them over the next few weeks, a government official said.

Policy makers need to consider how to protect taxpayers’ interests when taking significant stakes in lenders, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.




Warning signs of an Israeli strike on Iran

Some key decision makers in Israel fear that unless they attack Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities in the next few months, while George W Bush is still president, there will not be another period when they can rely on the United States as being anywhere near as supportive in the aftermath of a unilateral attack.

In the past 40 years there have been few occasions when I have been more concerned about a specific conflict escalating to involve, economically, the whole world. We are watching a disinformation exercise involving a number of intelligence services. Reality is becoming ever harder to disentangle.
...
The Revolutionary Guards are committed to a war against Israel and prepared, in the process, to take on the rest of the world. They have good equipment and operate from the land, sea and air. They will be suicide soldiers, seamen and airmen. If Iran is attacked, Russia and China will supply it with arms.



With no blowing of trumpets

Another shmita year ended about 10 days ago, and during the intermediate days of this coming Sukkot holiday, which begins next week, another Hakhel event will be held. Or to be more precise, two events, accompanied by fierce controversy.

The main event at the Western Wall, the fourth since 1987, will, like its predecessors in 2001 and 1994, have a very different character from that of the first event 21 years ago. The difference derives from the increased power of the Haredim (ultra-Orthodox) in the religious establishment, and it is immediately evident in the event's name - no longer a "Hakhel Ceremony," but rather a "Hachnasat Torah Ceremony in Memory of the Hakhel." Hachnasat Torah is a ceremony celebrating the acquisition of a new Torah scroll.



Syria FM says Arabs should support Turkey for UN seat

Syria's Foreign Minister said on Saturday that Turkey should be supported in its bid for a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council.

Speaking at the First Foreign Ministers' Meeting of Turkish-Arab Cooperation Forum in Istanbul, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mualem said that Turkey supported the solution of the problems in the Arab world.

"We should support Turkey in its bid for a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council," Mualem said.

Mualem also said that there were strong historical, geographical and cultural ties between Turkey and Arab states, adding that the coordination and talks between the two parties should continue.



Kurdish rebels claim deadly attack on police bus in Turkey

Ankara, Oct 12: The separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) claimed responsibility on Sunday for a machine-gun attack on a police bus in south-eastern Turkey last week that claimed five lives.

A statement posted on a PKK web site said Wednesday's attack in Diyarbakir, the largest city in the predominately Kurdish southeast, was a "successful action" by the group's militants.



Hungary president visits Jordan to boost bilateral ties

AMMAN, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom arrived at Jordan's capital of Amman on Sunday and started a several-day visit to the kingdom.

The president will hold talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II on means to bolster bilateral ties as well as developments in the Middle East.

"This visit is crucial to pave the way for strengthening cooperation. Hungary deems Jordan as a gateway for Hungarian economic ambitions in the region," said Hungarian Ambassador to Jordan Geza Mihalyi.



Russia Prefers Obama Administration
[I'm shocked, shocked! ]



Iraq seeks to bolster ties with Jordan



Gaddafi 'not thrilled’ by Gordon Brown invite
If Gordon Brown thought that he was doing Col Muammar Gaddafi a favour when he invited him to London for a summit of oil states in December, then he was sadly mistaken.




Magnitude 4.0 - CZECH REPUBLIC
2008 October 12 07:44:55 UTC

Magnitude 6.2 - CHUQUISACA, BOLIVIA
2008 October 12 20:55:42 UTC
Deep 6.2 quake rocks Bolivia

5.1 strong tectonic quake strikes Bengkulu