My Way News – Yemeni arrested, al-Qaida bomber eyed in mail plot
My Way News reports: “Yemeni police arrested a woman on suspicion of mailing a pair of bombs powerful enough to take down airplanes, officials said Saturday as details emerged about a terrorist plot aimed at the U.S. that exploited security gaps in the worldwide shipping system.”
JPost – PM slams UNESCO calling Rachel's Tomb a mosque
The Jerusalem Post reports: “Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu bitterly attacked as ‘absurd’ a UN statement that the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem are an integral part of the ‘occupied’ Palestinian territories. ‘The attempt to disconnect the nation of Israel from its heritage is absurd,’ he said in a statement his office issued on Friday, in response to an October 21 decision regarding both sites by the executive board of the United Nation’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO.”
My Way News – Nigeria: Shipper confirms weapons came from Iran
My Way News reports: “A weapons cache containing artillery rockets seized by Nigerian security agents at the West African nation’s busiest port originally came from Iran, an international shipping company said Saturday [...] In 2006, the Islamic militant group Hezbollah fired nearly 4,000 Katyusha rockets across Israel’s northern border, some of which fell as far as 55 miles (90 kilometers) inside Israel.”
My Way News – Explosive packages reflect new Yemen terror threat
My Way News reports: “The discovery of two explosive-laden packages sent from Yemen and aimed at U.S. and Western interests represents a new escalation in the terror threat emanating from this violence-wracked, poverty-stricken Mideast country.”
Reuters – U.S. tightens security, seeks source of parcel bombs
Reuters reports: “The United States searched on Saturday for the culprits behind a plot to bomb Jewish targets in Chicago uncovered by the interception in Britain and Dubai of parcels with explosives sent from Yemen.”
Comment: I’m a bit puzzled at this attack, at how exactly printer parts that may have contained explosives and sent to a synagogues could have become a bomb? Did they expect the synagogue staff to assemble the printer, not notice the explosives and trigger the bomb? Still, we have to credit the security forces for intercepting this attack, though I have to wonder if they were meant to do so. I mean, this may have been designed to be an obvious attack so that the Western security process could be studied for weaknesses, all the better to plan future attacks.
My Way News – Iran says it is ready to restart nuclear talks
My Way News reports: “Iran offered on Friday to negotiate with six world powers about its disputed nuclear program in a new bid to end growing concern that it could be used to produce weapons [...] after eight years of Tehran refusing to halt uranium enrichment, despite U.N. Security Council sanctions, officials from the main countries trying to engage Iran expressed little hope of a breakthrough [...] China is Iran’s closest ally among permanent U.N. Security Council members, and Turkey has stepped up trying to mediate the dispute.”
My Way News – Russian poll: Medvedev almost as popular as Putin
My Way News reports: “Although technically now Russia’s No. 2, Putin is still seen as the more powerful leader more than two years after handing over the presidency. The prime minister is eligible to return to the presidency in 2012, and he and Medvedev have said they will decide between themselves which one of them will run.”
My Way News – Warning systems often don't help tsunami victims
My Way News reports: “Costly warning systems installed across Asia since the deadly 2004 tsunami did nothing to save villagers on these remote Indonesian islands who saw homes and loved ones swept away by a giant wave this week [...] There are questions about whether Indonesia’s system was working properly, but even if it was, a tsunami generated by an earthquake so close to shore can reach land long before there’s a chance to raise an effective warning, experts say.”
My Way News – Terror plot thwarted as US-bound explosives seized
My Way News reports: “Authorities on three continents thwarted multiple terrorist attacks aimed at the United States from Yemen on Friday, seizing two explosive packages addressed to Chicago-area synagogues and packed aboard cargo jets. The plot triggered worldwide fears that al-Qaida was launching a major new terror campaign.”
My Way News – Astronauts: Asteroid threat calls for teamwork
My Way News reports: “Countries around the world must team up to help prevent an asteroid, or giant speeding rock, from slamming into Earth, scientists and former astronauts said Friday. NASA has tracked nearly 7,000 near-Earth objects that are bigger than several feet across. Of those, 1,157 are considered ‘potentially hazardous asteroids.’”
My Way News – Eliminating malaria impossible without vaccine
My Way News reports: “Eliminating malaria, the mosquito-borne scourge that kills more than 860,000 people a year, would be a dream come true for millions – but medical experts say right now that goal remains completely unrealistic.”
