It is becoming clear that the first 21st century clash of civilisations if there is to be one will not pit Christians against Muslims but one branch of Islam against another. In yet another escalation of the Middle East crisis sparked by the disastrous American-led occupation of Iraq, The Business has learnt that, in response to Shia Iran's ambitions to possess a nuclear arsenal, Sunni Saudi Arabia has plans to create a nuclear capability of its own.
In a development that risks turning the Middle East into a nuclear powder keg, Western and Middle Eastern sources have told this magazine that, if and when it is clear that Iran has the bomb (or is close to it), the Saudis will respond by buying one from Pakistan, a fellow Sunni state.
They would also likely purchase Pakistani ballistic missiles to replace the Chinese ones they bought in the 1980s.
Everything is already in place for this to happen.
With nearly three-quarters of a billion people traveling internationally every year and millions more relocating as immigrants and refugees, infectious disease is no longer a local issue, but a global concern. There is increasing evidence that at least some re-emerging infections are being driven by the AIDS pandemic.
Infectious diseases that are easily transmitted, such as tuberculosis, pose a particular threat to healthy populations.
"It's important to keep returning to the concept of the global village -- how interconnected we really are. We tend to be preoccupied with our own lives, our family, our work. That's natural. But we're all pretty intertwined, and that's what these emerging and re-emerging diseases are telling us."
Tony Blair has argued that Britain needs to buy a new generation of nuclear weapons because it might not be able to rely on the United States to protect it if it were attacked.
The value of the U.S. dollar on the international market is continuing to plummet, despite record growth in the US economy. Since October, the dollar has fallen 4 percent against both the euro and the Japanese yen. And this week, the dollar hit the lowest it has been against the euro since March 2005.
A public school handout urging young children in Virginia to attend a "Pagan ritual" tomorrow to "celebrate Yule" is sparking objections from concerned parents. "Amazing government schools ban orthodox Christianity, but allow an openly pagan organization to proselytize six-year-olds!" one observer said.
A bipartisan report has advised the withdrawal of most US combat troops from Iraq by early 2008 in order to stop a "grave and deteriorating" crisis there.The Iraq Study Group also said the US should engage with Iran and Syria over the conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet with Pope Benedict next week at the Vatican. There are no immediate details on the agenda.
The meeting will come during Olmert's trip to Europe. It is not the first time an Israeli leader will meet with the leader of the world's Roman Catholics.
high level U.S. commission's recommendations for an eventual withdrawal from Iraq and for dialogue with Iran and Syria proves "Islamic resistance" works and America will ultimately be defeated, according to senior terrorist leaders interviewed by WND.
The militants, from the largest Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, welcomed the policies outlined by the Iraq Study Group, which they claim recognizes Islam is the "new giant of the world."
Germans prepare to bring back EU Constitution "faster than anyone realises." Prodi advisers to shape strategy for bringing back the text. The German Ambassador to the UK Wolfgang Ischinger has told the Guardian that his government will work hard to resurrect the EU Constitution during its 2007 EU Presidency. He said, "Germany remains committed to the Constitutional process - whether you want to call it a Constitution or not is, in my view, a question of presentation. The important thing is the substance of it, and we believe the substance of it is very important - and remains important...
Meshaal is officially the head of the diplomatic desk of Hamas, but is recognized as the number one man in the terrorist organization. The target of a failed Israeli assassination attempt a decade ago, Meshaal told a Lebanese newspaper this week that Hamas will not hesitate to resume its armed warfare against Israel.
Specifically, he threatened, "If within six months, the international community does not come up with a plan for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders [i.e., on all the land liberated by Israel in the Six Day War - ed.] and for the return of the refugees, the Palestinians will turn to an armed struggle against Israel."
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is worried about a fall in the US dollar that is eroding member states' purchasing power.
"In just a few short decades, Hollywood has gone from producing classics like 'The Ten Commandments' and family-friendly TV shows like 'Bonanza' to today's toxic fare like 'The Da Vinci Code' and 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,'" said WND Managing Editor David Kupelian. "This Whistleblower edition reveals why."
We are approaching rapidly a series of currency crises of a greater magnitude than ever seen before in history.
Whilst the U.S.$ will be the prime recipient of these, many currencies trying to protect their international competitiveness or their own stability will be dragged into the crisis that will affect to a greater or lesser extent the bulk of currencies across the world.
There will be few currencies and consequently their economies that will escape the ripple effects of the dramatic changes in exchange rates.
The UK Government agreed at last week's Cabinet meeting to launch a new PR campaign to overcome British scepticism and apathy towards the EU. A memo titled, Reframing the Debate suggests that Ministers should try to promote the EU brand by linking it to popular, or warm European themes such as the UEFA Champions League and the Eurovision song contest even where these are unrelated to the EU. It also suggested a ban on mentioning themes that leaves the public cold, including terms such as EU Directive, Brussels or Eurocrat.
Every Whitehall department will be assigned a Press co-ordinator to promote these ideas, and rebut stories that show the EU in a negative light. They will be issued with a new core script and toolkit outlining the new narrative on Europe. The plan has been drawn up by Howell James, Whitehall's communications head and close friend of EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson. The paper reports that the move comes because of the Government's growing expectation that Brussels would revive plans for an EU Constitution.
Reports that KGB defector Alexander Litvinenko converted to Islam before his mysterious poisoning with radioactive polonium 210 is raising suspicions that he may have been involved in a plot to smuggle the deadly substance to terrorist groups willing to pay millions even for a gram.