“Are they making a park here?” asks the woman viewing the apartment with her husband. “No,” chirps the agent, “there’s the business with Iran this summer.”

As if noting a change of seasons, many Israelis are talking about a possible war come summer, or later this year, with an air of inevitability born of years of festering conflict that has periodically flared up into full-blown hostilities. The prospect of devastating counter-strikes and possible mass casualties seems to be taken in stride, seen as a lesser evil than facing a nuclear-armed Iran.

“It’s like people are saying, ‘A typhoon is coming,’ ” said Avi

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It was difficult to independently confirm details of the mortar strike, because the Syrian government tightly controls access to Homs and other parts of the country. Valerie Pecresse, a spokeswoman for the French government, confirmed the deaths to reporters in Paris.

British foreign minister William Hague called the killings a terrible reminder of the suffering of the Syrian people, and said governments around the world have a responsibility to end President Bashar al-Assad’s “despicable campaign of terror in Syria.”

“Marie Colvin embodied the highest values of journalism throughout her long and distinguished career,” Hague said.

Opposition activists said Colvin and Ochlik entered Homs

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A spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Agency said a delegation from the U.N. nuclear watchdog would return home after being blocked by Iran from access to key records and sites. The team arrived in Tehran on Sunday at the government’s invitation to resolve long-standing disputes over whether Iranian scientists had secretly experimented with nuclear warhead designs nearly a decade ago.

But the IAEA officials were barred from visiting a key testing facility known as Parchin, where some of the research was alleged to have occurred, the spokesman said. Moreover, the U.N. officials were unable to reach an agreement with

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Washington Post reporters or editors recommend this comment or reader post.

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Security officials tried to quell the scattered protests — in some cases by firing on demonstrators — but by early afternoon the unrest showed no sign of dissipating.

Several demonstrators were killed during a clash with police in Parwan province, where Bagram air base is located, said Shah Wali, the province’s deputy governor.

Protests also erupted in Jalalabad, a typically safe city east of Kabul, and outside Bagram air base, the largest NATO military base in Afghanistan, where the religious texts were inadvertently sent to an incinerator Monday night, according to U.S. military officials.

In Jalalabad, hundreds of university students

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The numbers are startling. From 1970 to 2008, the combined foreign debt of African countries rose from less than $50 billion to more than $200 billion in constant dollars. During the same time, capital flight from the 33

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There is still a steady flow of books about the Rwandan genocide of 1994. But Rwanda’s present circumstances have been largely neglected. This edited volume is perhaps the first serious attempt to assess contemporary politics in Rwanda over

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This book examines contemporary politics in Kenya, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to understand why some opposition parties manage to wrest power away from long-standing autocratic rulers, as in Zambia in 1991, and others do not, as in Kenya in

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Close to two decades of majority rule in South Africa have improved the welfare of its black citizens. But the country’s level of economic inequality remains among the highest in the world; worse, wealth correlates uncomfortably with race,

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As the South African army has played an increasingly important role in UN and African Union peacekeeping operations, it has had to come to grips with a politically inconvenient fact: during apartheid, the South African army gained substantial

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Somalia aid groups and experts welcome renewed international attention, but warn that a focus on either state-building or military action alone could make things worse rather than better.

By

Scott Baldauf, Staff writer /
February 22, 2012

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron takes part in a round table discussion as he meets members of the London Somali community, including Farah, left, Gassar, 2nd left, and Baroness Warsi, right, in Downing Street, London, Monday, Feb. 20, ahead the upcoming London Conference on Somalia scheduled to be held on Thursday.

Stefan Rousseau/AP

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“Americans are invaders and jihad against Americans is an obligation,” said Abdul Sattar Khawisi, a member of Parliament from Parwan Province’s Ghorband District, where at least four demonstrators where killed in confrontations with police on Wednesday.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/world/asia/koran-burning-in-afghanistan-prompts-second-day-of-protests.html

Israel’s foreign minister says the Jewish state will not bow to foreign pressure in deciding whether to attack Iran.

In an interview Wednesday with Israeli Channel 2 TV News, Avigdor Lieberman rebuffed suggestions that American and Russian warnings against striking Iran would affect Israeli decision making, saying the decision “is not their business.”

He said “the security of the citizens of Israel, the future of the state of Israel, this is the Israeli government’s responsibility.”

Israel fears Iran is developing a nuclear bomb, which Tehran denies.

Israel has sent a series of hints that it

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Police killed four people and wounded 10 others during protests in Parwan province, said Abdul Wassi Sayedkhili, a provincial council official. Health officials said a fifth person died and 10 others wounded in eastern Nangarhar province.

Read more ….

Afghanistan: US embassy on lockdown as Koran burning protests continue for second day – The Telegraph
Five die as Afghans rage over Koran burning — The Australian
Four killed, many wounded in Afghan Koran protests – officials

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Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard are on a collision course over the Labor leadership after the foreign minister resigned his post, setting the scene for a dramatic showdown in Canberra next week.

In a day of political events not seen since his overthrow as prime minister in 2010, Mr Rudd accused Ms Gillard of deserting him in the face of continual attacks on his integrity by a “number of faceless men” and frontbencher Simon Crean.

“I can only reluctantly conclude that she therefore shares these views,” he told reporters called to a surprise press conference in Washington after 1am (US time) on

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Eyewitnesses told the BBC that about 50 vehicles, including some 20 tanks, had entered Baidoa, which was not defended.

The BBC’s Mohamed Dhore in the capital, Mogadishu, says Baidoa was the most important al-Shabab base after the southern port of Kismayo.

Al-Shabab, which has recently joined al-Qaeda, confirmed that it had withdrawn its forces.

Read more ….

Ethiopian, Somali troops capture key Somali town from al-Qaida-linked militants, residents say — Washington Post/AP
Ethiopian troops seize key Somali rebel bastion —

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Britain is to spend £20 million on a new civilian rapid reaction force to secure parts of Somalia wrested from the control of the Islamic militant group al-Shabaab, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

The deal will be unveiled by British officials at a landmark London conference on Thursday, at which more than 40 countries will convene to discuss the future of the war-torn African state.

Under the plans, Britain will contribute £20 million to a ‘stability fund’ for Somalia to help its

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The attack occurred on Wednesday morning near the town of Gudauta when Ankvab was going to work in the capital of the region, Sukhumi, Abkhaz Chief of State Security Services Anri Bogua said.

A remote controlled mine blew up as the presidential cortege was making its way to the city, hitting an escort vehicle. One car was completely burnt out and a deep crater was formed at the site of the explosion. The tabloid website LifeNews reported that bodyguards shielded the president from gunshots that followed the explosion. One of the guards was killed and another

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Rheinmetall said in a statement that underlying profits, as measured by earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), jumped by 19 percent to 354 million euros ($469 million) on a 12-percent increase in sales to 4.454 billion euros.

“The automotive sector excelled, with a very pleasing development in sales combined with a particularly positive growth in earnings,” the company said.

The division’s sales increased by 17 percent and EBIT soared by 86 percent, while

Article source: http://www.defensenews.com/article/20120222/DEFREG01/302220001

Jumper will succeed John Havenstein, who announced his impending retirement in October after two years as chief executive officer.

“It is humbling to be succeeded by such a capable, talented and dedicated leader as John Jumper,” Havenstein said in a company press release.

A former fighter pilot who served tours over Southeast Asia, Jumper joined the SAIC board of directors in 2007.

“I am honored to have been selected to lead SAIC and am keen to

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Glyn Davies, coordinator for U.S. policy on North Korea, will hold talks about Pyongyang’s nuclear program with veteran negotiator Kim Kye-Gwan on Feb. 23 in the first substantive contact since Kim Jong Il died Dec. 17.

“I find it a positive sign that relatively soon after the beginning of the transition in North Korea, the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] has chosen to get back

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When fitted aboard satellites, the range of the EW systems will be even greater, said a scientist at India’s Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), which is developing the EW systems.

A prototype of a synthetic aperture radar developed at the Electronics and Radar Development Establishment, a Bangalore-based laboratory under DRDO, will be flight-tested

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The Pentagon had to recertify the program due to a 2010 breach in the Nunn-McCurdy rule, which occurs when the unit cost of a program goes above a certain level. The DAB meeting was chaired by acting Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall.

The Pentagon still needs to do some additional work on cost, the senior

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Tehran also warned it could cut oil exports to more European Union nations unless sanctions were lifted. On Sunday, Iran cut oil sales to Britain and France.

French foreign minister Alain Juppe responded by mocking Iran, saying Tehran’s threats “made one smile.” He added that Iran was “very creative” in its attempts to “provoke” its fellow nations.

The European Union had already voted to halt imports of Iranian crude oil as of 1 July 2001. The EU has also imposed heavy sanctions on Iran’s

Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/153039

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said in an interview on the U.S.-based CNBC news network the Islamic Republic is investing “billions of dollars” in its race to develop the missiles.

Iran’s aim, he said bluntly, is “not only to be able to threaten Israel and the Middle East,” but rather to extend its military reach to Europe and the U.S.

Steinitz added that Israeli intelligence estimates that “in two to three years, they will have the first intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach the East Coast of

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Chavez admitted Tuesday that doctors in Havana had found a 2-centimeter lesion, and that he would require radiation therapy after it is removed.

“I’m not going to be able to continue with the same rhythm,” he said. The Venezuelan president, who has always focused on maintaining a vigorous image, said he would “rethink my personal

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Inside Israel 12:15 AM 2/22/2012

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