Britannia Radio

Russia jilts six-power sanctions front against Iran’s nuclear defiance DEBKAfile Special Report September 24, 2008, 1:54 PM (GMT+02:00) Russian Tor-M1 batteries delivered to shield Iran's nuclear sites Moscow’s actions spoke louder than the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s anti-Semitic, anti-American rantings at the UN General Assembly Tuesday, Sept. 23 - despite the applause he won in the chamber. A foreign ministry spokesman in Moscow said that Russia will not attend the meeting called for Thursday of the five UN Security Council permanent members’ foreign ministers plus Germany to approve more sanctions against Iran for its nuclear defiance. Saturday, Sept. 19, official spokesmen did not rule out the sale to Iran of advanced S-300 anti-air missiles, having just completed the delivery to Iran of 29 Tor-M1 missile batteries for deployment at its nuclear sites.  More...

Israeli police, Shin Bet round up Jerusalem-based terrorist gang September 24, 2008, 2:07 PM (GMT+02:00) Terrorist ambush at Lion's Gate, Jerusalem The gang of 7 Jerusalem Arab residents and one Palestinian were sought for the murder of two Israeli policemen, Rami Zohari and David Shriki, in two separate terror attacks in the city earlier this year. They were indicted at the Jerusalem district court ten days ago for murder, attempted murder, and gunrunning. The gang, led by Muhammad Abu-Sneina, was arrested in advanced stages of preparing more murder, kidnap and shooting attacks in and outside Jerusalem. More... Syria masses 10,000 commandos on border to invade N. Lebanon DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 23, 2008, 9:39 AM (GMT+02:00) Syrian deployment on Lebanese border: Commandos on right; positions on hill, trucks below Damascus is pressing forward with its plan to occupy Greater Tripoli, Lebanon’s second largest city and port,DEBKAfile's military sources report. To this end, 10,000 Syrian commando troops have massed at Abboudieh on the Lebanese border ready to follow an advance force which occupied seven villages around the northern city earlier this month, as first disclosed by DEBKAfile on Sept. 20. To read the article click HERE. Syrian occupation of northern Lebanon will make profound inroads on the strategic position of the United States and Israel in this part of the Middle East, yet Washington and Jerusalem are turning a blind eye.  More... Another vehicular terrorist Qassem Mughrabi injures 23 Israelis in Jerusalem Monday September 23, 2008, 6:13 PM (GMT+02:00) Perpetrator of another night of terror in Jerusalem. Some are still in hospital, one, a girl soldier is in serious condition. The terrorist, after crashing his black BMW into a group of soldiers and civilians in downtown Jerusalem Monday night, Sept. 22, was shot dead by Lt. Elad Amer, an artillery office. The soldiers were trampled on the sidewalk, heading on foot to the Western Wall for prayers before the New Year festival next week. The killer Qassem Salah Mughrabi, 19, came from the southern Jerusalem suburb of Jebel Mukaber.  More... More young Israelis choose to stay single, according to new population statistics September 24, 2008, 12:39 PM (GMT+02:00) Three out of four Israeli men below 29 are unmarried, compared with 60 percent of women in the same age group, according to the 2006 annual statistic report published for the New Year. Israel’s total population today is 7,337,000, one fifth of which are Arabs – a proportion which is more or less stable. The Jewish birthrate is slightly up with 2.8 births per woman, while the Arab woman‘s average has dropped slightly to 3.9. In 2006, 44,685 couples wed, while 13,439 divorced. Tel Aviv is growing in size and density. Some 6,400 people left Jerusalem in 2006 and 2,200 migrated from Haifa, most heading for the Tel Aviv conurbation.