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Ovda, a military airfield, has opened after the FAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency temporarily canceled all flights to Israel due to a Hamas rocket attack on Tuesday. Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz announced on Wednesday that Israel would be opening the Ovda Airport as an alternative to Ben-Gurion Airport. In practical terms, this means that foreign airlines that wish to land there instead of at Ben-Gurion Airport will be able to do so. No airline that operates at Ben-Gurion Airport has given its approval or agreement to move its flights to Ovda Airport as yet. The idea of opening...

GENEVA, July 23 (Reuters) - The United Nations on Wednesday launched an international inquiry into human rights violations and crimes that may have been committed by Israel during its military offensive in the Gaza Strip. The U.N. Human Rights Council condemned the Israeli assault which it said had involved "disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks", including aerial bombing of civilian areas, collective punishment, and the killing of more than 650 Palestinians. At the end of an emergency session, the 47-member forum adopted a resolution presented by Palestinians by a vote of 29 states in favor, 1 against (the United States) with 17...

Williams Guevara-Martinez was almost 17 when he left his home near San Salvador, El Salvador, and headed north with three other youth and a 30-something guide known as a “coyote.” Guevara’s older brother Adam, had paid the coyote thousands of dollars for the 2,000-mile trip, which took 12 days. Guevara traveled by foot and car, finally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in the back of a truck. Fifteen minutes later, immigration officials discovered his illegal entry and sent him to a Texas shelter. He was there 24 days before flying from Houston to Baltimore, where he was reunited with two brothers,...

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Russia Federal Customs ServiceNote: Natural gas includes liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales. Russia is a major exporter of crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas. Sales of these fuels accounted for 68% of Russia's total export revenues in 2013, based on data from Russia's Federal Customs Service. Russia received almost four times as much revenue from exports of crude oil and petroleum products as from natural gas. Crude oil exports alone were greater in value than the value of all non-oil and natural gas exports. Europe, including Turkey, receives most of Russia's exports of crude...

Vladimir Putin just showed the world exactly what he thinks of the President of the United State and NATO allies calls for him to rein in the pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. Less than a week after rebels took down a Malaysian passenger plane carrying nearly 300 civilians, the militants loyal to Moscow are not laying low. “Two Ukrainian fighter jets were shot down Wednesday in the eastern regions of the country that are controlled by Russian-backed separatists, according to Ukraine’s defense ministry,” USA Today reported on Wednesday. It was the first reported shoot down of a plane over eastern Ukraine...

Israel has accused airlines and aviation regulators of damaging its economy after carriers stopped flying to Tel Aviv because of the conflict between government forces and militants in Gaza. Mr Romm said about 25 airlines had stopped flying to Ben Gurion, adding this would have a “very bad” impact on the Israeli economy. Lufthansa on Wednesday extended its flight suspension to include Thursday, and Air France is not expected to review the case for resuming services until Friday.

Video Link Here

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s daughter is living with a Dutch boyfriend in the Netherlands as the country reels from last week’s jetliner missile attack by Ukrainian rebels with Russian-supplied weapons, according to reports Wednesday. Outrage over Maria Putin’s presence in the grief-stricken country — which lost 193 citizens aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 — is fueling calls for her deportation, The Guardian reported. Ukrainians living in the Netherlands are also planning a protest outside Maria’s apartment in the wealthy suburb of Voorschoten, outside The Hague, according to De Telegraaf newspaper. Pieter Broertjes, mayor of the city of Hilversum, demanded the...

I was on One America News Network with Rick Amato, discussing Israel, Hamas, jihad riots and Obama. (8 Minute Video) (BTW One America News is a great alternative to the MSM including Fox...if you have AT&T cable it is available.)

FULL TITLE: Ted Cruz: The facts suggest President Obama has just used the FAA to launch an ECONOMIC BOYCOTT on Israel…//// Sen. Ted Cruz ripped the president today for using a federal agency, the FAA, to launch an economic boycott on Israel in order to force them to comply with his demands. He pointed out that this economic boycott aids Hamas while simultaneously hurting Israel. What Cruz is calling for is the Obama administration to answer the following questions: Was this decision a political decision driven by the White House? If the FAA’s decision was based on airline safety, why...

(Reuters) - A powerful Ukrainian rebel leader has confirmed that pro-Russian separatists had an anti-aircraft missile of the type Washington says was used to shoot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 and it could have originated in Russia. In an interview with Reuters, Alexander Khodakovsky, commander of the Vostok Battalion, acknowledged for the first time since the airliner was brought down in eastern Ukraine on Thursday that the rebels did possess the BUK missile system and said it could have been sent back subsequently to remove proof of its presence. Before the Malaysian plane was shot down, rebels had boasted of...

Congress is deeply divided over whether to kill a contract with a top Russian arms supplier, Rosoboronexport, to provide helicopters and parts to the Afghan air force. The Defense Department opposes sanctioning the firm, arguing that canceling the contract would damage Afghan forces, just as U.S. troops end their combat mission. Yet, support for the helicopter contract is a heavy lift, as lawmakers move to sanction Moscow after pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine are believed to have downed a civilian airliner, killing nearly 300. Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) has called for cutting all U.S. government contracts with “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s...

 – The U.N. Human Rights Council will hold an emergency session on Wednesday to consider a draft resolution that condemns Israel repeatedly for its military offensive against Hamas, but does not mention the terrorist group once.The resolution calls for the establishment of an international commission of inquiry to probe allegations that Israel has committed war crimes and violated international law. Alongside multiple criticisms of Israel – whose conduct the council “condemns,” “strongly condemns” and “condemns in the strongest terms” – there is a single reference in the three-page type written draft to rocket attacks on Israeli civilians

Air Canada has cancelled its scheduled flight to Tel Aviv from Toronto Tuesday night, following the lead of other airlines concerned about rocket fire near Ben Gurion Airport. Air Canada had a flight scheduled to leave for Tel Aviv from Toronto at 6:10 p.m. ET. The airline will continue to evaluate the situation and provide updates as needed, a spokeswoman said. The return flight to Toronto from Tel Aviv for Wednesday, July 23, has also been cancelled, the carrier confirmed. In response to a CBC News query, Transport Canada said the suspensions of flights to Israel are decisions taken by...

As the radical jihadist group Islamic State continues to terrorize millions of Iraqis, concerned Muslims are using social media to call for a larger Muslim backlash against the terrorist militia.

Israel's ambassador to the United States says the Israeli Defense Forces deserve a Nobel Peace Prize for showing so much restraint in the nation's ongoing conflict in Gaza. Speaking at a Christians United for Israel Summit in Washington on Tuesday, the ambassador, Ron Dermer, said that, "No military in history has taken greater care than the IDF to protect innocents of the other side." While admitting there had been heavy civilian casualties on the Palestinian side, he said the threat Hamas posed to Israel in some cases justified attacks even when those attacks jeopardized non-combatants. "Some are shamelessly accusing Israel...

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) called on Tuesday for the U.S. to reinstate sanctions on Iran immediately and add additional economic penalties. "We should immediately reinstate the full sanctions — and consider additional sanctions — and I have supported legislation to do just that," Inhofe said at the Christians United for Israel Summit. His remarks follow the Obama administration's announcement on Friday that international negotiators were extending talks with Iran to end its nuclear program until Nov. 24. An interim agreement that lifted some sanctions on Iran will be extended as well, which has drawn criticism from lawmakers who say Iran...

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Israeli Ministry of Transportation on Wednesday offered to open an airport in the southern Israeli city of Eilat to international flights after a slew of international carriers pulled flights to Tel Aviv out of safety concerns, Israeli media said. A report on Israel's Channel 10 highlighted that Israel had exerted major efforts in the last 24 hours to convince international companies to resume flights to Ben Gurion airport, which many European and US carriers halted after a Gaza rocket landed in the nearby town of Yehud. The cancellation of dozens of flights in and out of...

The most important thing for European ministers to remember during this crisis is how little they actually have to fear from Mr Putin – for Russia needs the West far more than the West needs Russia. Indeed, there is every possibility that denying Moscow access to the global capital markets, which is the strategy at the heart of Washington’s latest sanctions initiative, could ultimately result in Mr Putin’s downfall. For a start, thanks to the mismanagement and corruption that have dogged Russia’s economy since Mr Putin came to power, the country has nothing much else to offer other than its...