Rebel News - Independent News and Analysis

US President Barack Obama claims direct talks between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Israelis will end the Israeli occupation of 1967.

During the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel occupied the West Bank, including East al-Quds (Jerusalem), the Golan Heights in Syria, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, and the Gaza Strip.

A group of Pakistani military officers have left the United States in protest to "unwarranted security checks" at Dulles International Airport in Washington.

The nine-member delegation, headed by a two-star Navy rear admiral, refused to take part at an annual conference at US Central Command after they were pulled off a plane and questioned for more than two hours.

Security forces, backed by helicopter gunships, have killed at least 15 Taliban-linked militants in Kurram tribal region in northwestern Pakistan.

Helicopter gunships pounded militant hideouts in the tribal area, killing 15 militants and injuring 10 others, a senior military official told Press TV on Wednesday.

Over 150 Israeli academics say they will no longer take part in cultural activities or lecture in the occupied West Bank settlement of Ariel.

In a signed petition, faculty members from universities across Israel vowed not to lecture or participate in any discussions in the illegal settlements area and voiced support for the theater artists who have said they would refuse to perform in this West Bank settlement.

On the eve of peace talks between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israelis, a poll shows two-thirds of Israelis support occupation in the West Bank.

Sixty-four percent of those questioned favored resumption of settlement construction in the occupied West Bank territories after a 10-month moratorium expires on September 26, according to the poll conducted by Gal Hadash Institute and aired on private Channel Ten TV station Wednesday.

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast says Tehran is still waiting for a response from the Vienna Group.

Mehmanparast noted that the group -- which involves the US, Russia, France and the International Atomic Energy Agency -- is yet to pin down an exact date for the resumption of negotiations.

At least six people, including two children, have been reportedly killed in Mozambique's capital, Maputo, after police opened fire on protesters.

The government's decision to increase food and fuel prices in the poor African country triggered riots across the capital and the suburbs on Wednesday.

Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski says his country's participation in the Afghan war is hampering a program to modernize the military.

"The problem is that the costs of Poland's engagement in foreign operations are so significant that they are having an impact ... on the technical modernization of the armed forces," he told a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday.

Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski has urged EU partners to secure grants for poorer regions, saying Warsaw is willing to help fund eurozone bailouts.

Komorowski, who is on a three-day visit to key European Union countries, said in Brussels on Wednesday that Poland was ready to be engaged in certain projects that were not necessarily an obligation for the country.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman says the enemies of Islam seek to create discord among Muslim countries to continue oppressing them.

If Muslim countries unite to confront the aggressions against the interests of the Muslim world, they can become a great power and prevail over Israel and its supporters, Ramin Mehmanparast said on Wednesday.