Ex-Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko died in a London hospital on 23 November 2006 from radiation poisoning.
Mr Litvinenko meets two Russian men at a London hotel - one a former KGB officer.
Health experts say they believe Mr Litvinenko was deliberately poisoned by radioactive matter, believed to be polonium-210.
Police find traces of radioactive material at the sushi bar and the hotel where the former spy had meetings on 1 November, and at his north London home.

"Unexplained, elevated" level of polonium-210 on Arafat's clothing, keffiyeh and toothbrush
Highest levels found on items with bodily fluids
Toothbrush measured 54 millibecquerels (mBq); underwear 180mBq compared with 6.7mBq from another man's specimen underwear
More than 60% of polonium was not from natural sources
Source: Al-Jazeera TV
Many Palestinians continue to believe that Israel poisoned him. Israel has denied any involvement. Others allege that he had Aids.
In 2005, the New York Times obtained a copy of Arafat's medical records, which it said showed he died of a massive haemorrhagic stroke that resulted from a bleeding disorder caused by an unknown infection.
Independent experts who reviewed the records told the paper that it was highly unlikely that he had died of Aids or had been poisoned.
A murder inquiry waslaunched by French prosecutors in Augustafter an investigationby al-Jazeera TV , working with scientists at the Institute of RadiationPhysics (IRA) at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, found"significant" traces ofpolonium-210 present in samples taken from Arafat's personal effects, including his trademark keffiyeh headdress.
In some cases, the elevated levels were 10 times higher than those on control subjects, and most of the polonium could not have come from natural sources, the scientists said.
But the institute also said Arafat's symptoms - as described in medical reports - were not consistent with polonium poisoning.

The body of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is to be exhumed on Tuesday, Palestinian officials say.
His body is to undergo tests to find out whether his death in Paris in 2004was caused by poisoning.
Arafat's medical records say he had a stroke resulting from a blood disorder.
But France began a murder inquiry in August after Swiss experts working witha documentary crew found radioactive polonium-210 on Arafat's personal effects.
Analysis
Richard Galpin
BBC News, Ramallah
The chief investigator Taufik alTirawi said they had recently asked the Russians to take part in this investigation because they had "anhistorical relationship" with Moscow.
It seems the Palestinians do not fully trust France and Switzerland when it comes to proving or disproving that their former leader was murdered.
It is not known how long it will take the three countries to complete their tests. But it will be a key moment - and it is possible they will reach different conclusions.
While most Palestinians are certain their leader was murdered, there are serious questionsabout the validity of testing for polonium poisoning eight yearsafter Mr Arafat's death. The half-life ofpolonium is less than five months.
His tomb, in Ramallah in the WestBank, was sealed off earlier this month.
Once the body is removed from the tomb inside the stone-clad tomb mausoleum, scientists from France, Switzerland and Russia will each take samples, former Palestinian intelligence chief Tawfik Tirawi told reporters.
The experts will then take these samples to their respective countries to be tested for Polonium 210 and possibly other lethal substances.
Arafat's body will be reburied the same day with military honours.
Arafat, who led the Palestine Liberation Organisation for 35 years and became the first president of the Palestinian Authority in 1996, fellviolently ill in October 2004 at his compound.
Two weeks later he was flown to a French military hospital in Paris, where he died on 11 November 2004, aged 75.
His widow, Suha, objected to a post-mortem examination at the time, but later appealed to the Palestinian Authority to permit the exhumation "to reveal the truth".

*. Cult leader Warren Jeffs is in jail, convicted of sexual abuse of young girls
*. His 8,000 followers continue to believe that he is a prophetand God who has wrongly imprisoned
*. Jeffs ordered married couples to stop having sex andhandpicked 15 mento father all the FLDS children
*. He also ordered 500-600 followers to be banished from the compound
Cult leader Warren Jeffs has spent the past six years behind bars after being arrested and later convicted of sexual abuse of young girls, but that has not stopped him from continuing to exude complete control over his polygamous community.
A Friday expose on ABC’s 20/20 has revealed the insulated world of The Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints Church where Jeffs’ 8,000 followers continue to believe that he is a prophet and God who has been wrongly imprisoned.
‘Anybody who thinks that Warren Jeffs' incarceration ended his rule in this community has no idea what they're talking about,’ said reporter Mike Watkiss.
‘He is in many ways more powerful because now he's martyred.’
Innocent victims: Children living in Warren Jeffs'compound are taught that the self-proclaimed prophet convicted of child sex abuse is the U.S. president
A 2008 raid on Jeffs' FLDS stronghold in Eldorado, Texas, revealed the polygamous community which included pregnant child brides in pastel prairie dresses with elaborate braided hairdos.
The FLDS holds polygamy as a fundamental belief and its men take multiple wives in what are termed 'celestial marriages' each performed in a ceremony called a 'sealing'.
The Utah-based church believes polygamy brings exaltation in heaven and arranged marriages sometimes involve underage girls.
More than a year after his conviction ofchild sex abuse, it appears that little has changed in the remote Yearning for Zion compound in Colorado City housingthe Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, a radical wing of the Mormon Church.
Religious studies: Children in the local schoolhouse are taught Jeffs' proverbsin place of science or history
Oppressed: In the male-dominated community, the women live in polygamous marriages where each man has at leastthree sister wives
Styling tips: Fundamentalist Latter Day Saint women are not allowed to cut their hair because it is believed that they will need it to wash men's feet in heaven
Like in the past, Jeffs decides where people live, whom they marry and even what they eat and how they dress.
Children of cult members receive little more than a grade school education where science and history are ignored in favourof religious studies with an emphasis on Jeffs’ proverbs, and where every school book must be personally approved by the leader.
Totalitarian leader: Jeffs was convicted last year of molestingtwo teenage girls and sentenced to life in prison, but he continues to have control over his sect
One proverb reads: 'When you disobey there must and will always be a punishment.'
Children in the local schoolhouse are also taught that Jeffs was the president of the United States and that God led Neil Armstrong away from the moon during the Apollo 11.
When questioned by an ABC reporter about their general level of knowledge, atrio of girls who escaped the cult several months earlier along with their mother said that they had never heard of Ronald Reagan, Santa Claus or AIDS.
The women are always covered from neck to ankle because they believe their bodies are sacred.
Town dressmaker Lizzie Jeffs said: 'We believe in being modest.
'The Lord teaches us that if we can dress properly, it is easier to see each other as awhole person inside and out.'
Women must never cut their hair becauseit is believed that they will need it to wash men's feet in heaven.
They all live in polygamous marriages where each man has at leastthree sister wives.
The FLDS organization is protected by Utah’s homeschooling law, which means that state officials have no say about the content of the curriculum taught on the grounds of the secured compound.
In August 2011, Jeffs, 56, was found guilty of molesting two girls ages 12 and 15 whom he took as brides in 'spiritual marriages’.
Handpicked fathers: FLDS children bath in a river in their clothes for modesty in the cult where 15 men have been handpicked by Jeffs to father all the children. Married couples are banned from having sex
Banished: Jeffs ordered 500-600 menand women expelled from FLDS, among them Carling Steed (pictured with third wife Suzette)
Modesty is sacred: The women are always covered from neck to ankle because they believe their bodies are sacred. Town dressmaker Lizzie Jeffs (pictured) said the dresses 'make it easier to see each other as a whole person inside and out'
Apostates: Carling Steed's third wife, Suzette, second left, and their six daughters, left the community and the church in search of a normal life
Grim prediction: FLDSapostate Willie Steedsaid that as long as Jeffs lives, his community will remain loyal to him
Eleven other FLDS men were charged with crimes includingsexual assault and bigamy. So far, all seven, who have been prosecuted, have been convicted - receiving prison sentences of between six and 75 years.
In recent months, it appears that the all-powerful self-proclaimed prophet has begun unraveling, issuing ever more bizarre edicts to the members of his community such as a ban on children’s toys and the consumption of corn.
More importantly, Jeffs has ordered married couples in his community to stop having sex or even touching one another.
Instead, he selected 15 men from among his trusted followers to father all the future FLDS children.
Now, if a woman wants to have a baby, she has to approach one of the men handpicked for the task by Jeffs. The sexual act must be witnessed by two other men from the group.
In a tragic twist, the jailed cult leader ordered that 500-600men and women be banished without any explanation fromthe compound, whichfor many of them had been the only home they had ever known.
The effect of this decree issued from behind bars has beendevastating to many families that were torn apart.
So absolute is Jeffs’ control over his flock that those members who were ordered toleave, severed all tieswith their loved onesstill living on the compound for fear ofretribution.
Willie Steed, 18, who left the group along with his mother, Suzette, and six sisters after their father Carling was banished, said that as long as Jeffs is alive, his spell over the insular community of Colorado City will not be broken.
‘He is their idol, and they worship him,’ he said.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2237728/The-shocking-truth-life-inside-Warren-Jeffs-FLDS-Members-tell-believe-cult-leader-U-S-President-15-men-responsible-fathering-ALL-children.html

Fake UK Government Ad Looks for Secret Agents, Codename 007.
An ad that appeared on the official job site of the UK Government is looking for a secret agent that doesn’t scoff at “removing” individuals which pose a threat to public safety.
“From time to time the UK Government has a need to removepeople whose continued existence poses a risk to the effective conduct of public order. So we require particularly skilled professionals who are prepared to work on a non-attributable basis to deal with these problems,” the ad says.
The ad promises travel to numerous foreign countries andall the necessary equipment, droppingseveral quite obviousnods to a certain secret agent we all know and love. “This role is particularly appropriate for thosewho like their martinis shaken and not stirred,” the ad states.
Of course, it’s all a joke, and the ad has been quickly pulled from the site, but TheVerge managed to grab a screenshot.
The job listing appeared on the UK Government’s recently launched gov.uk , touted as “the new place to find government services and information.” Some security improvements are in order, though, as pranks such as this one just should not appear on an official government website.

You probably knew that Mormons can baptize people who are already dead — but you probably didn't know quite how many historical figures the Mormon religious leaders have managed to baptize over the years.
Most of the time, when Mormons are baptizing the long-dead, it's because a current member of the faith wants to recruit his or her ancestors into the church. But at least some high-profile baptismsskipped over this requirement — arousing more than alittle controversy. Like the time they decided to baptize Hitler. And hundreds of thousands of Holocaust victims.
Top image: Doctor Who, "Let's Kill Hitler"
Releasing the dead from Spirit Prison
So where does baptism for the dead even come from? It started at the same time as the Mormon faith itself: in the firsthalf of the 19th century. Founder Joseph Smith endorsed this practice, as part of his spiritual revelation.
Currently, Mormons believe baptism is necessary for an individual to exit from "Spirit Prison" – a place akin to purgatory in the Catholic Church. Anyone outside the Mormon faith enters Spirit Prison at the time of their death.
By baptizing the dead, Mormons offer the people in Spirit Prison the option to accept Mormonism, and enter the Celestial Kingdom .
So how do you do it? Here's the process: A proxy, often a young adult over the age of 12, is submerged under water while a name or list of namesis called out by an officiant, with the actof recitation confirming the baptism. These baptisms can only occur at Temples, of which there are 139 around the world.
The baptism, in the eyes of Mormons, does not make the baptized a Mormon. The act only gives the baptized the option to select Mormonism, if the church's view of the afterlife turns out to be correct. Taking this option into account, many Mormons look at this process as a"quantity over quality" situation, attempting to baptize as many individuals by proxy as possible.
Through this relatively mundane process of recitation and submersion, Mormon church members have baptized a number ofhistorical figures. This list includes some particularly evilones, like Vlad the Impaler and Adolf Hitler. Serial killer Ted Bundy is anotherindividual to add to the "evil" category —but at least Bundy had practiced Mormonism while alive.
Constant Controversy
To aid in proxy baptism, the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints maintains the Family History Library in SaltLake City, Utah. The$8 million building allows members of the Mormon faith to research their desiresto baptize their deceased family members. Over two billion names are currently within the genealogical database.
The LDS maintains a free geneological site, Family Search , as well as a user-restricted site, using this database.
In the course of baptizing as many of the dead as possible, Mormon followers baptized between 300,000 and 400,000 Jewish Holocaust victims, garnering the ire of religious groups across the world. Members also baptized Pope John Paul II four times in 2006.
The church claims that it no longer baptizes the deceased, unless theyare direct relatives ofa living member of the Church. Controversial baptisms can still occur, however, sincea church member could submit almost any name for baptism, without anyoutside approval needed.
Baptizing family members outside of the Mormon faith is common, to ensure that the family is not separated in the afterlife. In 1993 , church members baptized Mitt Romney's deceased father-in-law, Edward Roderick Davies, a life-long atheist.
Also, Mormons have baptized Richard Feynman, George Carlin, and Eazy-E , making for some interesting moments in the afterlife if the Mormon concept of life after death is correct.
http://io9.com/5962336/the-time-mormons-baptized-adolf-hitler-and-vlad-the-impaler?utm_source=io9.com&utm_medium=recirculation&utm_campaign=recirculation

The Joy of Sex by Alex Comfort.

PeaceTreaty?!?

An explosion has hit a public bus in the heart of Tel Aviv, wounding at least 10people, even as frantic diplomatic efforts continued to secure a truce between Israel and Hamas.
Police described the explosion as a terror attack. It endangered truce talks taking place between Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State.
A police spokesman said that of the wounded, five people were moderately to seriously hurt.
"A bomb exploded on a bus in central Tel Aviv. This was a terrorist attack. Mostof the injured suffered only mild injuries," said Ofir Gendelman, a spokesman for Mr Netanyahu.
The bus was charred and blackened, its side windows blownout and its glass scattered on the asphalt.
An Israeli driver whowitnessed the explosion told Army Radio the bus was"completely charred inside." Another witness said there were few passengerson the bus when it exploded.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said authorities were investigating whether the bomb had been planted and left on the bus or whether it was the work of a suicidebomber.
Witnesses told the BBC that they saw a man leave something on the bus near the nation'smilitary headquarters.
The attack happenedon the eighth day of an Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip which it launched with the stated aim of preventing rocket strikes from the Palestinian enclave.
Celebratory gunfire rang out in Gaza City when local radio stations reported news of the Tel Aviv explosion.
The last time Israel's commercial capital was hit by a serious bomb blast was in April 2006, when a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 11 people at a sandwich stand nearthe city's old central bus station. "There are about 10 people wounded of whom three are in serious condition," emergency services spokesman Zaki Heller told public radio.
"There was an apparent explosion on a bus in Shaul HaMelech Street in Tel Aviv. The background and circumstances are not clear yet," police spokesman Luba Samri told AFP.
News of the explosion came as Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state,is engaged in strenuous shuttle diplomacy to wring an elusive truce deal from Israel and Gaza's militant Hamas rulers, after earlier attempts to end more than a week of fighting broke down amid heavy overnight bombing.
Mrs Clinton joined other diplomats in shuttling between Jerusalem, the West Bank and Cairo, trying to piece together a deal aftera week of fighting and mounting casualties.
After meeting Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, in Jerusalem on Tuesday night, Mrs Clinton conferred with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank on Wednesday morning.
She then returned toJerusalem for furthertalks with Mr Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, the defence minister and AvigdorLieberman, the foreign minister.
She was due to travel to Cairo, carrying Israeli demands for further Egyptian assurances that the flow of armsto Hamas, the militant faction that controls Gaza, can becut off.
Protesters angered by the eight-day Israel operation to bomb Gazan rocket arsenals gathered outside the Ramallah complex housing the Palestinian Authorityas Mrs Clinton met Mahmoud Abbas, its president.
The US envoy arrivedin Israel last night and met Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister who launched Operation Pillar of Defence last Wednesday. He said the US and Israel would take the opportunity to align their positions so that diplomacy coulddraw the conflict to a close.
"If there is a possibility of achieving a long-term solution to this problem with diplomatic means, we prefer that," he said. "But if not, I'm sure you understand that Israel will have to take whatever action is necessary to defend its people."
Sources in Gaza reported the death toll in Gaza had reached 139 by Wednesday morning.
Instead of an expected cessation, Israel’s military laid on a heavy bombardment of artillery and aerial bombing on Gaza after warning residents to move todesignated “safe areas”.
In the hours of darkness, Israeli forces targeted dozens of “terrorist infrastructure sites”. More than 30 strikes overnight also included government ministries and a banker's empty villa.
At least four strikes within seconds of each other pulverised a complexof government ministries covering acity block, rattling nearby buildings andshattering surrounding windows. Hours later, clouds of acrid dust still hung over the area and smoke still rose from the rubble.
The list of targets destroyed in bombing runs included weapon depots, smuggling tunnels and rocket-launching bases.
A Hamas operations centre on the seventh floor of a high-rise building was hit. Offices in the building included media organisations, who were warned their status would afford them no protection as Israel sought highvalue targets.
“Warning to reporters in Gaza,” the army said in a message on Twitter. “Stay away from Hamas operatives & facilities. Hamas, a terrorist group, will use you as human shields.”
Three journalists were among the dead on Tuesday as Israel hit cars it believed contained Hamas figures.
Two worked for news outfits affiliated with Gaza'sHamas government and a third journalistworked for a private radio station was killed in a separate incident.
Two Israelis were also killed by rocket fire from Gaza, bringing to five the casualties in Israel.
Egypt's Islamist government is mediating talks and had floated hopes for a ceasefire by late Tuesday.
Hamas leaders in Cairo accused the Jewish state of failing to respond to proposals and said an announcement on holding fire would be pushed into Wednesday.
Officials suggested that no outcome would be sealed until Mrs Clinton metPresident Mohammad Morsi in Cairo this afternoon.

I am planning a trip to Dubai ...

A British woman and Irish man accused of engaging in sexual activities in a Dubai taxi pleaded not guilty on Thursday, in the latest case of Westerners falling foul of the Gulf Arabemirate's decency laws.
If convicted, the pair could face jail and then deportation from the United Arab Emirates, which walks a delicate line between keeping its Muslim identity and maintaining a successful tourism industry.
Rebecca Blake and Conor McRedmond both denied charges of "breach of honour with consent" and committing "an indecent act in a taxi" when they appeared in court.
They pleaded guiltyto a third charge related to consumption of alcohol, their lawyer said after the hearing, without elaborating. The judge postponed the next hearing to November 1.
There have been several cases in recent years of Westerners accusedof violating decencylaws in Dubai, the most cosmopolitan of the seven-member United Arab Emirates federation.
In 2008, a British couple was found guilty of engaging in drunken sexual activity out of wedlock, and in public on a beach. They were sentenced to three months in prison followed by deportation, but had their jail terms overturned on appeal.
In 2010, a British couple were sentenced to a month in jail and fined for kissing on the mouth in a restaurant.
Expatriates comprise more than 90 percent of the UAE's population, attracted by tax-free earnings and year-round sunshine.
Islam bans alcohol for Muslims. In the UAE, non-Muslims can drink at certain hotels and beach bars where all-you-can-drink brunches heave with revellers every weekend.
THE couple facing three years in jail forallegedly having sex in the back of a Dubai taxi today denied the charges in court.
High-flying executiveRebecca Blake and Irish welder Conor McRedmond appeared before a judge to face charges of having consensual sex - a crime punishable by jail in the Islamic United Arab Emirates- indecency and drinking alcohol.
They pleaded not guilty to the two sexcharges but admitted they had been drinking all daybefore they were arrested.
Blake, 29, who wore an Islamic hijab at her last court appearance but attended today withher head uncovered, was summonsed to stand before the judges' bench at Dubai Criminal Court with McRedmond, 28, instead of standing in the defendants' dock.
Judge Abdulaziz Mohammad Al Saadni said via a court translator:"You are charged with a breach of honour by carrying out a consensual illegal act and that ina taxi you took off your clothes on Sheikh Zayed road and engaged in an indecent act."
The pair shook their heads when the two charges - the first relating to having consensual sex and the second to stripping off in public - were read out in court.
When the translator read out a third charge relating to consumption of alcohol, Blake, who pleaded guilty, said:"I had been drinkingall day."
Mr McRedmond, of Tullamore, Co Offaly, added: "I had been drinking all day too."
Their lawyer, Shaker Al Shammary, asked to present their defence but the judge, who was standing in as a substitute, adjourned the case to give them a chance of a fair trial before a permanent judge.
Ms Blake, from Dorking in Surrey, England, and Mr McRedmond are facing a lengthy prison sentence if they are found guilty.
The pair were arrested on May 4 after a 10-hour drinking binge whena taxi driver pulled over and called on a patrolling policeman.
According to the public prosecution papers: "The Asian driver said he pickedup the couple from the Irish Village [bar]and saw them touching and kissingeach other on the back seat of the cab. He was looking at them in the mirror and decided to inform police."
Both the taxi driver and policeman are expected to give evidence
The case was adjourned until November 1.

Racism has again raised its ugly head in this presidential election and it has filtered all the way down to the classroom level where, in Philadelphia, a high school student was threatened with assault by her geometry teacher last Friday for wearing a Mitt Romney t-shirt.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/blackberry/p.html?id=1939632
A Philadelphia high school sophomore says she didn’t want to go back to Charles Carroll High after a geometry teacher ridiculed her for wearing a pink Mitt Romney T-shirt during the school’s uniform-free dress-down day last week, NBC10 Philadelphia reports.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer,16-year-old Samantha Pawlucy said she was told Carroll High is a “Democratic school,” and that wearing a pro-Romney-Ryan shirt is analogous to the teacher, who is black, wearing a KKK shirt.
"The teacher told me to get out of the classroom, I said 'no,'" Pawlucy told NBC Philadelphia."She told me to take off my shirt and said that she has another one if I need one. And then the teacher asked me … 'are yourparents Republican?' I said, 'I don't know.'”
The teacher later apologized and insisted she was joking, but allegedly commented to the class next day that she could no longer crack jokes in class because a student had gotten her in trouble. Samantha told the Inquirer thatthe teacher's remarksupset her to the point where she had to leave the room.
"If it was a joke between two adults, I can take a joke like that but [Sam] didn't know how to take it, she doesn’t understand, she actually thinks she did something wrong ," father Richard Pawlucy told NBC Philadelphia.
Philadelphia School District spokesman Fernando Gallard confirmed to the Philly School Files blog that last Friday at Carroll High, “a teacher made some comments to a student wearing a Romney T-shirt in their classroom. The comments were of a political nature , and also of a personal nature. We are looking into the comments, and the conduct of the teacher.”
The teacher has beentransferred to another classroom while the district conducts its investigation and determines whether to pursue disciplinaryaction.
Gallard told the Inquirer Pawlucy was practicing her Constitutional rights to free speech , and that her choice of wardrobe fell within the dress-down day limits.
Earlier this week, 15-year-old Brianna Demato of Newtown High School in Queens, N.Y. was senthome because school officials deemed her"I Enjoy Vagina" T-shirt too distracting . The bisexual teen says the school violated her rights to free speech.
In May, Jordan Griffith, a 13-year-oldstudent at South Jones Elementary School in Mississippi, was told by his teacher to turn his shirt inside out after school officials ruled its depiction of the United States Marine Corps bulldog's testicles on the back"too much." Griffith wore the shirt in support of his brother , who was deployed to Afghanistan.

In a major boost tohis re-election bid, US President Barack Obama raised a whopping$ 181 million last month taking the total amount in hiskitty to nearly $ 947 million so far, nearing the record-breaking billion-dollar mark in the run-up to the polls.
With a month to go for the November 6 Presidential polls, the Obama Campaign is expected to cross the magic figure of$ one billion in thiselection cycle.

While Romney campaign has not released any fundraising statistics from ethnic coalitions, the list ofbig donors include over 200 prominent Indian Americans.
WASHINGTON: Awayfrom the public glare, prominent Indian Americans supporting Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney are believed to have raised between$15-20 million for his presidential campaign.
While Romney campaign has not released any fundraising statistics from ethnic coalitions nor has it made public the list of its bundlers or exclusive Stars and Stripes members, the list of big donors include over200 prominent Indian Americans.
The 'Indian American Coalition' was established in November 2011 by the Romney Campaign National Finance Committee Chairman Spencer Zwick to recognise not only the individual donor, but also the larger community under agroup identity.
There have been other ethnic coalitions in the Romney campaign'sFinance Committee such as Jewish American coalition, Women's coalition, Veteran's Coalition, etc.
By conservative estimates Indian Americans supporters of Romney believed tohave collectively helped raise between $15-20 million for his Campaign, according to those familiar with the fundraising efforts.
"...An Indian American coalition in a Presidential Campaign's National Finance Committee is new and historic. Such a decision of the Romney Campaign has produced the desired results," Indian American supporters of 65-year-old former governor of Massachusetts say.
Some of the prominent Indian American bundlers/Star and Stripes members include Sampat Shivangi from Mississippi; Sudhakar Shenoy and Shreedhar Pottarazu from Virginia, Zach Zachariah, Akshay Desai and R Vijaynagar from Florida; Bharat Barai from Indiana, Rupesh Sreevastavaand Raj Vatticutti from Michigan.
"Everyone has contributed funds, bundled money or held an event that has raised a minimum $1 million," Sue Ghosh Stricklett, Stars & Stripes Member, Romney Finance Committee, told PTIduring a conferencecall with top Indian American donors.
"They are unanimously supporting Mitt Romney for President because they believe that the country is on the wrong track and that their children's economicfuture is at stake.
"They are also appalled by the incendiary anti-India rhetoric coming out of the Obama campaign with numerous ads attacking India for loss of American jobs due to outsourcing," Ghosh said.
One of the influential Republicans from Utah, Patel joined the Romney Campaign after John Huntsman, theformer State Governor and US Ambassador to China, helped raise more than a $1 million during the campaign.
"Republicans are much closer to India than the Democratic party. Romney would be much better president towards India," said Sampat Shivangi, who was one of the three Indian American delegate to the Republican National Convention and a major fund raiser inMississippi.
"In 2008, Indiana went to Obama, butit is not going to happen in 2012," said Raju Chintala; abig time Republicanfrom Indiana and a bundler.
"I can vouch for the fact that Mitt Romney is very appreciative of the immense contributions of Indian Americans toAmerican society. I can also assert that Governor Romney views India as a strategic partner of the United States and that he believes a close working relationship between the two countries is critical to peace and prosperity in Asia," Ghosh said.
An active member of the Indian American Coalition, Ghosh, said that theintention of the Romney campaign is to get the coalition going and then use the coalition into"dollar tracking" that can translate into an effective policy making during the Romney Administration so that this community has a voice.
"The voice of this group would count in a big way, because they have something more to say than any other American business. This is our objective," she said.
http://m.economictimes.com/news/nri/nris-in-news/indian-americans-help-raise-millions-for-mitt-romney-campaign/articleshow/16709735.cms

Israel checking: Was drone headedto Dimona?
After IDF collects remnants of unmanned aircraft shot down over southern forest, security establishment examining possibilityit was launched by Hezbollah to photograph Israeli reactor; army fears drones will be used to hit strategic sites
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4289261,00.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/world/middleeast/drone-downed-by-israeli-jets.html?ref=todayspaper

Israeli jets scrambled to intercept a drone that crossed into Israeli airspace on Saturday from the Mediterranean Sea, shooting it down over the southern part of the country, a military spokeswoman said.
The spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich, said the drone had flown overthe Gaza Strip but didnot originate from the Palestinian territory. She said that Israel did not know the drone’s starting point.
Israeli news media reported that the aircraft was not carrying explosives and could have been a surveillance drone.
Israel has shot down drones entering its airspace before, but such intrusions have been rare.

Two aircraft carrier strike groups of the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet have been deployed since mid-September to the Western Pacific inan apparent attempt to keep the activities of the Chinese military in check amid growing Japan-China tension over the Senkaku Islands.
The two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are the USS George Washington, based in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, and the USS John C. Stennis, based on the U.S. west coast. The command of the 7th Fleet is also located in Yokosuka.
It is unusual for the U.S. Navy to simultaneously deploy two strike groups each comprising an aircraft carrier and escort ships to the West Pacific. Analysts believe the move is aimed to hold the Chinese military in check in light of the recent tension between Tokyo and Beijing over the islands in Okinawa Prefecture in the EastChina Sea. The deployment is also believed to be a response to China's launch of its first aircraft carrier in September.
According to Strategic Forecasting Inc., a U.S. private information firm known as Stratfor, and others, the George Washington Strike Group sailed northwest after training off Guam, arriving in waters east of Taiwan on Wednesday. The Stennis was deployednear the Senkaku Islands on Sept. 26 before passing through the South China Sea, and is currently operating in waters near Malaysia, according to Stratfor and others.
Japanese government sources agree that the deployment of the two strike groups was prompted by thetension between Japan and China.
The U.S. government has stated that the Senkaku Islands"clearly" fall under Article 5 of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, which requires Washington to defend Japan in the event of an armed attack.
Deploying two aircraft carriers is "a demonstration of theUnited States' resolveto act in line with Article 5" and to support the Japan-U.S. alliance, a senior official of Japan's Defense Ministry said.
The deployment was preceded by requestsfrom Japan through unofficial diplomatic channels for concreteU.S. action in connection with the upsurge in Japan-China tension, the official said.
The United States haspublicly called for both China and Japanto maintain cool heads when dealing with the issue.
According to a high-ranking ForeignMinistry official, many in the government believe the U.S. aircraft carrier deployment isa sign that Washington believes Tokyo should deal effectively with the dispute to reach a prompt resolution.
One of the few times the United States hasdeployed two aircraftcarriers to the West Pacific was during the Taiwan Straits crisis in the spring of 1996, when tension between China and Taiwan skyrocketed.