Source: Reuters

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has starkly warned Israel and the United States against attacking Iran, saying Moscow sees no evidence that Tehran's nuclear program is aimed at developing weapons, the Interfax news agency reported on Thursday.

"We warn those who are no strangers to military solutions ... that this would be harmful, literally disastrous for regional stability," Interfax quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying.

An attack on Iran "would set off deep shocks in the security and economic spheres that would reverberate far beyond the boundaries of the Middle East region," Ryabkov was quoted as saying.

Russian officials have issued similar warnings in the past, but Ryabkov's remarks appeared to underscore Moscow's concern about the possibility that Israel might attack Iranian nuclear facilities.


Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-nuclear-iran-russiabre88507k-20120905,0,2047676.story

NEW YORK (AP) -- The nation's crude oil supplies declined last week, the government said Wednesday.

Crude supplies fell by 7.4 million barrels, or 2 percent, to 357.1 million barrels, which is 1.1 percent above year-ago levels, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report.

Analysts expected a drop of 5 million barrels for the week ended Aug. 31, according to Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

Imports of crude oil slowed as Hurricane Isaac blew through the Gulf Coast, reducing the nation's inventories.

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CRUDE_INVENTORIES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-09-06-11-20-34

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CBSNewYork) — A big flip flop by the Democratic Party has replaced what was perceived as a big snub to Israel.

It was a stunning development. The party had dropped the assertion that Jerusalem was the capital of the Jewish state, but on Wednesday evening the Democrats had a change of heart. The vote went down just before 6 p.m. and it was quite contentious on the floor. It needed a two-thirds majority and it took three votes to get it, CBS 2’s Marcia Kramer reported.

And even after the vote, many thought the crowd of delegates on the floor was split 50-50, rather than delivering the two-thirds majority needed.

The Democrats caved, changing the platform language to reflect that they now regard Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. It came about as a result of intense political pressure,” CBS 2’s Kramer reported.

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http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/09/05/democrats-fumble-israel-issue-put-jerusalem-as-capital-back-in-platform/

By MAGGIE MICHAEL | Associated Press | 4 hours, 51 minutes ago in

Egypt's Islamist leadership took a new move Tuesday to put its stamp on the country's government, appointing members of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood as provincial governors and installing ultraconservatives and other Islamists in the state's top human rights body and a powerful media council.

The shake-up was the latest step by President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood to reshape state institutions that were long the monopoly of ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak, his ruling party and the military that backed him.

Supporters have praised the moves as part of a drive to cleanse the system of Mubarak loyalists after Morsi was inaugurated in late June as the country's first freely elected president. But the heavy infusion of Islamists into government institutions has raised fears of Brotherhood domination monopolizing power as much as Mubarak did and moving Egypt into a more religious rule.

The governorships of Egypt's 27 provinces have long been prime posts for solidifying the president's power. The governors are appointed by the president and generally implement his policies. Under Mubarak, the positions went to retired military generals or ruling party loyalists.

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http://www.newser.com/article/da135tv80/in-new-egypt-shake-up-islamists-put-in-governor-posts-human-rights-and-press-agencies.html

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The nation will have a chance to say goodbye to Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, in a memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral on Sept. 13.

The 10 a.m. service will be broadcast live on NASA Television and streamed on the websites of the cathedral and space agency. It will be open to the public on a first come, first served basis.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ARMSTRONG_SERVICE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-09-04-19-03-12

Source: RIA Novosti

Moscow dismissed on Tuesday U.S. allegations of its noncompliance with arms control and nonproliferation obligations.

The U.S. State Department issued a report entitled 2011 Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments on August 31, in particular finding Russia guilty of violating the chemical and biological weapons conventions.

--clip
It said the Americans do not cite any specific violations, only alleging that Russia engages in biological activities with potential dual-use applications.

As for Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), unlike Russia, the United States has not as yet ratified it and is responsible for the fact that it has not yet entered into force, the ministry said.



Read more: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20120904/175766096.html

Israeli police are investigating after vandals attacked a famous Christian monastery - setting fire to its door and spray-painting "Jesus is a monkey" on the wall.

The Latrun Monastery, on occupied land in the Ayalon Valley, 15 miles west of Jerusalem, was daubed with pro-settler graffiti.

Officers believe it was in possible retaliation for the eviction of 50 families from the nearby unauthorised Migron settlement on Sunday.

--CLIP
Police were warning of possible reprisal attacks from a vigilante settler group known as Price Tag. The group says its name refers to the price to be paid for stopping settlement in the occupied West Bank.

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http://web.orange.co.uk/article/news/israeli_settlers_desecrate_christian_monastery

By Crispian Balmer

JERUSALEM | Tue Sep 4, 2012 11:56am EDT

(Reuters) - Stunned by a rebuke from the United States' top general, Israel is preparing a climbdown strategy in its war of words over Iran's nuclear program, aware that its room for maneuver is shrinking rapidly.

Anxious to prevent any flare-up in the Middle East ahead of November elections, there is also a good chance that U.S. President Barack Obama will provide Israel with enough cover to avoid a loss of face, analysts say.

A burst of bellicose rhetoric over the last month led Western allies to fear that Israel was poised to launch a unilateral strike against Iran in an effort to hobble the Islamic Republic's contested nuclear facilities.

---CLIP
In a move that dismayed Israeli ministers, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, told reporters in Britain last week that the United States did not want to be "complicit" in an Israeli attack on Iran.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/04/us-israel-iran-idUSBRE8830QO20120904

Source: Forbes

That slowdown in the U.S. economy didn’t seem to hurt auto sales in August as Ford Motor, General Motors and Chrysler each reported solid gains from a year ago.

Ford recorded better sales across the board – in cars, utilities and trucks – for a 13% increase, and said retail sales were up 19% in August. Rising fuel prices, with gasoline up 20 cents a gallon from a month ago at a national average of $3.82 according to AAA, drew buyers toward more fuel-efficient vehicles according to Ford’s VP of sales and marketing Ken Czubay.

Read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveschaefer/2012/09/04/ford-sales-speed-up-climb-13-in-august/

A senior government official on Saturday characterized as “strange” a recent statement by US military chief Gen. Martin Dempsey that he would not want to be “complicit” in an Israeli attack on Iran.

“Dempsey’s comments are strange in that they would seem to contradict the continual statements from the White House that the security and defense cooperation between Israel and the US has never been as close,” the senior official said.

Dempsey, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, was quoted last week as saying again that an Israeli attack could delay, but not halt, Iran’s nuclear program.

“I don’t want to be complicit if they [Israel] choose to do it,” Dempsey said.

“These comments are also a bit strange, because they were said in a week when the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] released a report that seemed to confirm all of Israel’s concerns, and during a week where the international effort to isolate Iran and subject it to international pressure took a severe blow with the Non-Aligned Movement conference in Tehran,” the senior government official said.

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http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=283485