BBC report.

The X-37B, which has been likened to a scaled-down space shuttle, blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 0052 BST (1952 EDT).

[...]

The precise objectives and cost of the programme are secret. But the first few flights will allow officials to evaluate the vehicle's performance and ensure components and systems work the way they are supposed to.

From Ellen Brown's Web of Debt.

HFT rigging helps explain how Goldman Sachs earned at least $100 million per day from its trading division, day after day, on 116 out of 194 trading days through the end of September 2009. It's like taking candy from a baby, when you can see the other players' cards.

Reuters report.

Doubts are growing within the U.S. defense and intelligence community about allegations that long-range Scud missiles from Syria have been shipped to the Hezbollah guerrilla group in neighboring Lebanon, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

Lawrence Sellin on UPI's Outside View.

Was Bruce Ivins the sole perpetrator of the anthrax mailings as the FBI claims or did his suicide result from the pressure of the investigation and the possible revelation of damaging personal information as occurred in the Hatfill case? Did Ivins, like Hatfill before him, simply fit the profile?

In the opinion of many, the Amerithrax investigation still appears far from conclusive.

Laura Rozen on Politico.

Amid recent reports that Syria intended to transfer Scud missiles to the Lebanese militia group Hezbollah, U.S. officials to date have been careful to say they do not know for a fact that the missiles were actually transferred to Lebanon, while Israeli officials have said they believe that they were.

[...]

But today, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca.), chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, says she thinks there is a "high likelihood" the missiles were sent to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Guardian report.

The military manoeuvres, in a waterway crucial for global oil supplies, coincided with rising tension between Iran and the west, which fears Tehran's nuclear programme is aimed at developing bombs. Iran denies the charge.

Yesterday, the Pentagon said US military action against Iran remained an option even as Washington pursues diplomacy and sanctions to halt Iran's nuclear activities.

Register article.

The first person jailed under draconian UK police powers that Ministers said were vital to battle terrorism and serious crime has been identified by The Register as a schizophrenic science hobbyist with no previous criminal record.

His crime was a persistent refusal to give counter-terrorism police the keys to decrypt his computer files.

The 33-year-old man, originally from London, is currently held at a secure mental health unit after being sectioned while serving his sentence at Winchester Prison.

Stratfor article.

In spite of the fact that dirty bombs have been discussed widely in the press for many years now -- especially since the highly publicized arrest of Jose Padilla in May 2002 -- much misinformation and disinformation continues to circulate regarding dirty bombs. The misinformation stems from long-held misconceptions and ignorance, while the disinformation comes from scaremongers hyping the threat for financial or political reasons. Frankly, many people have made a lot of money by promoting fear since 9/11.

AP report.

The U.S. has ruled out a military strike against Iran's nuclear program any time soon, hoping instead negotiations and United Nations sanctions will prevent the Middle East nation from developing nuclear weapons, a top U.S. defense department official said Wednesday.

"Military force is an option of last resort," Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy said during a press briefing in Singapore. "It's off the table in the near term."

Wall Street Journal article.

The Israeli security establishment is divided over whether it needs Washington's blessing if Israel decides to attack Iran, Israeli officials say, as the U.S. campaign for sanctions drags on and Tehran steadily develops greater nuclear capability.

From Wired's Danger Room.

Does this represent a shift in American policy towards Israel? Some signal that the U.S. would stop an Israeli first strike at the final moment? Probably not. I'd guess this is Mullen trying not to wade further into treacherous waters. But it was interesting to hear America's top military officer decline to knock down the idea that U.S. troops might fire on America's closest ally in the Middle East.

Telegraph report.

Spiralling sovereign debt in Europe, the US, and Japan has emerged as the top threat to the world economy and risks setting off a fresh financial storm, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

BBC report.

Turkey has offered to mediate between Iran and the West in the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme.

The Turkish foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, announced the offer after talks with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki.

Times report.

The cost of Greek borrowing reached a record level this morning suggesting Athens will soon have to call on an extensive bailout to ensure that it does not default.

The yield on Greek ten-year government bonds rose to 7.807 per cent, more than double the level for German debt and far beyond the level that Greece can afford to pay if it is to get through its debt crisis.

Telegraph report.

German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble has pleaded with his country's citizens to back a joint EU-IMF bail out for Greece worth up to €45bn (£40bn), warning that failure to act risks a financial meltdown.

"We cannot allow the bankruptcy of a euro member state like Greece to turn into a second Lehman Brothers," he told Der Spiegel. "Greece's debts are all in euros, but it isn't clear who holds how much of those debts. The consequences of a national bankruptcy would be incalculable. Greece is just as systemically important as a major bank," he said.

From the Amnesty site. The report referred to is here (PDF).

The UK has today been singled out for heavy criticism in a new report from Amnesty International on the practice among European countries of striking "no torture" deals with foreign countries as a means to deport people it labels a threat to national security.

In a 36-page report - Dangerous Deals: Europe's reliance on 'diplomatic assurances' against torture - Amnesty documents how European governments are attempting to send foreigners alleged to be security threats to countries where they're at risk of torture or other ill-treatment in exchange for unreliable, unenforceable "diplomatic assurances" that they will be treated humanely.