Free Republic

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel would upgrade its ties with the 28-member NATO military alliance by opening a permanent mission to its Brussels headquarters. "I declare that Israel will accept the invitation and open an office, in the near future," Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting. "The countries of the world want to cooperate with us because of our determined fight against terror, our technological know-how, our intelligence network and other things," his office quoted him as saying. The Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement late Tuesday that NATO had invited the...

NICOSIA — The Republic of Cyprus has stopped a ship full of North Korean weapons systems bound for Syria. Officials said Greek Cypriot authorities responded to an alert by Interpol to capture a ship bound for Syria from North Korea. They said security agents found a mobile air defense system and components of a missile launcher. "We will implement the law, nothing more and nothing less," Cypriot Justice Minister Sophocles Sophocleous said on Monday. "And the political position will be expressed by the foreign minister." This is the first time that the Republic of Cyprus was believed to have seized...