By Mark Heinrich
VIENNA (Reuters) - U.N. investigators have found traces of uranium at a Syrian site Washington says was a secret nuclear reactor almost built before Israel bombed the target last year, diplomats said on Monday.
They said the minute uranium particles turned up in some environmental swipe samples U.N. inspectors took at the site in a visit last June. They said the finding was not enough to draw conclusions but raised concerns requiring further clarification.
Read MoreFed approves American Express as bank holding company
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve Board has approved an application by American Express Co to become a bank holding company, the central bank said on Monday.
The move will allow American Express to secure funds from deposits, which could be cheaper than borrowing in bond markets.
"In light of the unusual and exigent circumstances affecting the financial markets ... the Board has determined that emergency conditions exist that justify expeditious action on this proposal," the Fed said in a statement.
American Express follows Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley, which became bank holding companies after decades of having relied on debt markets for funding.
American Express' borrowing costs relative to a benchmark rate have risen dramatically this year as investors have become increasingly skittish about the company facing rising customer defaults.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USTRE4A97Z920081110
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Listen to HamasHamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, the ousted prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, described "the territories of 1967" as the territory of the Palestinian state "at this time." He told Haaretz correspondent Amira Hass that the Hamas government had previously made it clear that it was willing to accept a Palestinian state that followed the 1967 borders and to offer Israel a long-term hudna, or truce, if Israel recognized the Palestinians' national rights, as Haaretz reported Sunday.
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The following is a good read by Ali Abunimah, co-founder of Electronic Intifada that was published on November 5th. The article examines President-elect Obama's selection of Rahm Emanuel as his Chief of Staff.
Obama picks pro-Israel hardliner for top post
Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 5 November 2008
During the United States election campaign, racists and pro-Israel hardliners tried to make an issue out of President-elect Barack Obama's middle name, Hussein. Such people might take comfort in another middle name, that of Obama's pick for White House Chief of Staff: Rahm Israel Emanuel.
Emanuel is Obama's first high-level appointment and it's one likely to disappoint those who hoped the president-elect would break with the George W. Bush Administration's pro-Israel policies. White House Chief of Staff is often considered the most powerful office in the executive branch, next to the president. Obama has offered Emanuel the position according to Democratic party sources cited by media including Reuters and The New York Times. While Emanuel is expected to accept the post, that had not been confirmed by Wednesday evening the day after the election.
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By Lauren Shepherd, AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- Fewer U.S. customers and venti-sized costs for closing poorly performing stores led to lower sales and profit in the fourth quarter at Starbucks Corp., the company said Monday.
The quarter's results came at the end of a transition year for the coffee retailer, in which former Chief Executive Howard Schultz took back the reins of the company to again fill the CEO and chairman posts.
Seattle-based Starbucks said profit in the quarter fell 97 percent to $5.4 million, or a penny a share, from $158.5 million, or 21 cents per share. The coffee retailer earned 10 cents per share when the costs from closing about 600 stores in the U.S. and 61 locations in Australia are excluded.
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From Democray Now!Obama’s Afghan Plan Includes Iran, Taliban Talks
On foreign policy, the Washington Post is reporting the incoming Obama administration is planning what it calls a “more regional strategy” to the occupation of Afghanistan. The plan leaves open the possibility of holding talks with Iran and elements of the Taliban. Obama would also seek to renew what he’s called an aborted effort to capture Osama bin Laden. Obama has already vowed to increase the US troop deployment there.
Israel Blocks Gaza Fuel Deliveries
In Israel and the Occupied Territories, the Israeli government has re-imposed a cutoff of fuel shipments to the Gaza Strip. Gaza’s main power plant shut down last night, leaving hundreds of thousands of Palestinians without electricity. Areas across the Strip were plunged into darkness, and hospitals reported imminent shortages that could shut them down. Israel authorized a limited shipment earlier today. Israel has imposed several fuel blockades on Gaza, citing Palestinian rocket fire on nearby Israeli towns. Visiting Gaza, British Parliament member Nazir Ahmed said Israel should face international isolation for its siege of Gaza.
Nazir Ahmed: “It’s time that the international community said enough is enough, and if Israel is prepared to go down this route, then they must face isolation. This is unacceptable at a time when people of Gaza are already suffering. We have seen the result of bombing [of the plant last year], and those equipment has not been replaced even now. The capacity of this plant is down to one-third when it was supplying half of the Gazan electricity.”
As darkness fell across Gaza Monday, hundreds of children gathered for a candlelight vigil to protest the blockade. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called the move an act of collective punishment.
Ismail Haniyeh: “This is not a breach of truce. This is a programmed Israeli policy, and the Egyptian host of this truce should interfere for the sake of stopping the daily bloodshed of the Palestinian people.”
Haniyeh: Hamas Would Accept 1967 Borders
Israel’s fuel blockade comes just days after Haniyeh said Hamas would accept a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders. A 1967-based solution would mean Israeli withdrawal from all of Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where Israel continues to build settlements. Haniyeh made the comments at a meeting with European lawmakers who had sailed from Cyprus to protest Israel’s Gaza blockade.
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