Assad: ‘Israeli flotilla raid increased chances of war’

Israel’s deadly interception of ships trying to break the blockade of Gaza last month has increased the likelihood of war in the Middle East, according to Syria’s president. (more…)

Helen Thomas: an Appreciation

The propagandists for the Israel Lobby, who occupy the Wall Street Journal editorial page while pretending to be journalists, are determined to remove Helen Thomas from the annals of journalism.

Israeli gas boom could ignite trouble

Israel’s natural gas bonanza in the eastern Mediterranean just keep getting bigger, with reserves currently pegged at around 25 trillion cubic feet.

That’s enough to guarantee the Jewish state, dependent on imported energy since it was founded in 1948, energy security for at least two decades.

The strikes at three fields, dubbed Tamar, Dalat and Leviathan, could even turn Israel into a gas exporter and transform its economy. There are indications that there’s oil down there as well.

But the offshore finds may become a casus belli as Lebanon, Israel’s northern neighbor and longtime battleground, lays claim to the gas fields as well.

Lebanon’s As-Safir newspaper reported June 8 that the biggest field found off Israel, Leviathan, extends north into Lebanese waters and could well aggravate tensions between the countries. (more…)

U.S. lawmakers rap Turkey for its stance on Israel

U.S. lawmakers warned Turkey on Wednesday that its ties with Washington would suffer if it continued on what they considered an anti-Israel path.

“There will be a cost if Turkey stays on its present heading of growing closer to Iran and more antagonistic to the state of Israel,” Representative Mike Pence, the No. 3 Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, said. (more…)

U.S. dispatches a delegation of top executives of HI-TECH firms to Syria

The U.S. State Department has dispatched a high-level diplomatic and trade mission to Syria, according to senior U.S. officials, marking the latest bid by the Obama administration to woo President Bashar al-Assad away from his strategic alliance with Iran.

The U.S. delegation comprises senior executives from some of America’s top technology companies, including Microsoft Corp., Dell Inc., Cisco Systems Inc. and Symantec Corp., according to the U.S. officials. All these companies’ businesses in Syria are constrained by U.S. sanctions. (more…)

Iran intends to build four new nuclear reactors

Just a week after the United Nations imposed a fourth round of sanctions on the Islamic Republic, officials said that Tehran was determined to supply its own nuclear plants with domestically manufactured uranium fuel.

The announcement appeared to mark the death knell for diplomatic efforts to supply the country’s only functioning nuclear plant with fuel processed in France and Russia. (more…)

Jews in Vienna report more harassment after Gaza aid ship attack

Vienna’s Jewish community said Wednesday that its members were increasingly being harassed after the bloody Gaza aid ship incident some two weeks ago.

The group said it was mainly a small minority of Muslims who were hassling Jews.

“Almost daily we see verbal abuse, spitting, incidents against people who are recognizable as Jews through their clothes,” the community’s president Ariel Muzicant was quoted as saying by broadcaster ORF. (more…)

World Cup: Switzerland beats European champion Spain 1-0

The World Cup needed a jolt. Switzerland provided it.

Gelson Fernandes scored on a rare Swiss attack, giving his team a stunning 1-0 upset Wednesday over European champion and tournament favourite Spain.

The loss ended Spain’s run of 12 straight wins and handed the Spanish just their second loss in 50 games — the other was to the United States at the Confederations Cup in South Africa last year. (more…)

Blair: Israel could ease Gaza blockade within days

A deal to ease the Israeli blockade of Gaza could be in place “pretty quickly,” Middle East envoy Tony Blair told CNN Wednesday.

Israel currently maintains a list of items allowed into the Palestinian territory, but would switch to a system where “stuff can go in as a matter of course unless it is on a prohibited list,” the former British prime minister said. (more…)

Reports: Israel braces for more Gaza-bound aid ships

According to reports coming from Jerusalem, Israel’s navy is on high alert in anticipation of the arrival of more international aid flotillas determined to break the 3 year old blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Two Iranian cargo ships have reportedly set sail in recent days, one from Iran and the other from Istanbul and another flotilla is reportedly being prepared in Lebanon, by Lebanese women. (more…)