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24 Apr 09 Attempt to revive the Union for the Mediterranean Thursday A meeting is scheduled Thursday in Brussels to revive the Union for the Mediterranean (UPM), frozen since the war in Ghaza, according to a European source in Cairo. Organized at the initiative of Javier Solana, the chief diplomat of the EU, this informal meeting will attempt to gather again around the table European partners, Arabs and Israeli. Israelis would trust NATO in W. Bank Almost two-thirds of Israeli Jews support sending NATO troops to the West Bank in a peacekeeping capacity, according to a poll conducted by Jerusalem-based KEEVOON Research and set to be released on Wednesday.-"We are seeing a change in the readiness for third-party intervention in the conflict," according to Dr. Lars Hansel, head of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung office in Jerusalem, which commissioned the study. Merkel and Sarkozy -start causing trouble for Turkey in NATO French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who are known for their staunch opposition to Turkey's membership in the European Union, have started to cause trouble for Ankara in NATO, too. The two are now opposing the possible appointment of a Turkish representative as a deputy secretary-general of the alliance on the basis that they were not consulted about the appointment beforehand. US military worried about Taliban move on Pakistan The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said in an interview broadcast Friday that he's "extremely concerned" about indications the Taliban was moving closer to Pakistan's capital of Islamabad. "We're certainly moving closer to the tipping point" where Pakistan could be overtaken by Islamic extremists, Adm. Mike Mullen said in the interview, even as reports from Pakistan suggested a pullback was under way. Judiciary Committee greenlights 'hate crimes' Members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee today rejected an opportunity to protect Christian pastors who preach the biblical condemnation of homosexuality and approved on a 15-12 vote a "hate crimes" bill that supporters admit could be used to bring charges against religious leaders. State threatens locals: Marry 'gays' ? or else Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller is warning the county recorders' offices in his state that workers must process "marriage" licenses for same-sex duos or face possible charges in a court of law Swastikas painted on Joseph's Tomb Jews who arrived last night to pray at Joseph's Tomb - Judaism's third holiest site - were stunned to learn the structure had been vandalized, with the headstone smashed in and swastikas painted on the walls. Germany's slump risks 'explosive' mood as second banking crisis looms A clutch of political and labour leaders in Germany have raised the spectre of civil unrest after the country's leading institutes forecast a 6pc contraction of gross domestic product this year, a slump reminiscent of 1931 and bad enough to drive unemployment to 4.7m by 2010. NATO, Russia to share information on airborne threats Poland, Norway and Turkey are planning to set up a radar early warning network which will exchange information on airborne threats with Russia, the Polish defense minister said. "This centre will certainly be created. We consider it to be an important element of cooperation with our partners in the East," Bogdan Klich told a news conference late on Thursday. Seven people in U.S. hit by strange new swine flu Seven people have been diagnosed with a new kind of swine flu in California and Texas, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Thursday. All seven people have recovered but the virus itself is a never-before-seen mixture of viruses typical among pigs, birds and humans, the CDC said. Pelosi briefed on waterboarding in '02 Nancy Pelosi denies knowing U.S. officials used waterboarding - but GOP operatives are pointing to a 2007 Washington Post story which describes an hour-long 2002 briefing in which Pelosi was told about enhanced interrogation techniques in graphic detail. Two unnamed officials told the paper that Pelosi, then a member of the Democratic minority, didn't raise substantial objections. Clinton defends abortion right worldwide US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, testifying in Congress, defended the right to abortion worldwide and the Obama administration's decision to finance family planning overseas. US and Russia hold nuclear talks US and Russian negotiators are meeting in Rome to begin work on a new treaty to curb nuclear weapons. The talks are the first step towards replacing the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start-1), signed in 1991, which runs out at the end of the year. Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev agreed to the talks at their first meeting earlier this month. Global economic crisis 'far from over': IMF chief International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn Thursday said the global economic and financial crisis "is far from over" and that the recovery will come from the United States. Russia military spy boss 'sacked' Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has dismissed the head of the country's powerful GRU military intelligence service, the Kremlin has said. Mr Medvedev signed a decree on Friday replacing Gen Valentin Korabelnikov with Gen Alexander Shlyakhturov. Officials gave no reason for the move. Deadly swine flu outbreak in Mexico Hundreds of human cases of swine flu have been reported in Mexico and the United States in recent weeks, including 57 suspected deaths around Mexico City, the World Health Organisation said Friday. Obama: 'World mustn't permit another Holocaust' US President Barack Obama urged the world to combat anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial but did not refer to the threat of Iran, even as several other speakers at Thursday's national Holocaust memorial ceremony warned about the danger Teheran poses to the Jewish state. "How do we ensure that 'never again' isn't an empty slogan, or merely an aspiration, but also a call to action? Egyptian MP urges pilgrimage to Jerusalem The world's Muslims should go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem to demonstrate that it is a Muslim city and the future capital of a Palestinian state, an Egyptian parliamentarian was quoted as saying Thursday. ..."We can show the whole world that Jerusalem is something that concerns all Muslims," Zaqzuq said. "I invite all Muslims... to go to Jerusalem, even with Israeli visas, and I know full well that I'm exposing myself to virulent attacks," by saying this, Zaqzuq told a conference entitled "Jerusalem from an Islamic point of view." Lieberman presses Chinese FM on Iran Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman discussed the proliferation of nuclear technology to Iran with his Chinese counterpart on Thursday, during a one-to-one, closed-door meeting that lasted 40 minutes at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. ...China has long denied supplying Iran with nuclear technology, though John Bolton, former US ambassador to the United Nations, has said in the past that suspicions existed over the transfer of uranium enrichment technology from Beijing to Teheran, as well as the existence of a bilateral ballistic missile trade between the two countries. 'World leaders must drop 'land for peace' slogans, stop Iran' The international community has to "stop speaking in slogans" if it really wants to help the new Israeli government work toward a solution to the Palestinian conflict and help bring stability to the Middle East, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday, in his first interview with an Israeli newspaper since taking the job. Czech PM tells Peres he'll work to strengthen Israel-EU ties Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek met with President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem on Friday, and reiterated his country's commitment to strengthen ties between Israel and the European Union. "We will work so that the voices in Europe calling to slow down or freeze the promotion of relations to Israel won't get what they're after," Topolanek told Peres. The Czech Republic currently holds the rotating EU presidency. 23 Apr 09 Clinton says Israel risks losing support on Iran Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cautioned Israel's right-wing government on Thursday that it risked losing Arab support for fighting any threats from Iran if it shuns Palestinian peace talks.-"For Israel to get the kind of strong support it is looking for vis-a-vis Iran, it can't stay on the sidelines with respect to the Palestinians and the peace efforts. They go hand in hand," she told the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee. Nigeria: Country Records Biggest Meningitis Epidemic - EU Nigeria recorded its biggest meningitis epidemic in 2009 with a casualty of 40,000, including 1,900 deaths, the European Commission said in Abuja. Mubarak to Hezbollah: Beware of Egypt's wrath Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday warned the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and its suspected allies Iran, that he would not tolerate "the intervention of regional powers that are hostile to peace and that aim to drag the region into the abyss."-Egypt is well aware of the plans of these "hostile elements," the Egyptian president went on to say, adding that "we will uncover their plot; beware of Egypt's wrath." Scottish unions vote overwhelmingly for Israel boycott Scottish trade unions have joined their counterparts in Ireland and South Africa in voting overwhelmingly at their annual conference in Perth to commit to boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel.-"The STUC has carefully considered the complex issues involved, and we believe that we have a moral obligation to show solidarity to Palestinian people," Jordan King: Arabs must do more on Mideast peace Abdullah II tells US House speaker Muslim countries must help United States do 'the heavy lifting' needed to promote peace between Israel, Palestinians-"I hope that you will see in 2009 a group of Arab and Muslim countries doing as much as we can to help the United States and allies in the peace process and also deal with a lot of regional challenges that we have," he told Pelosi.(*Zech.12:3)*RR Netanyahu to offer U.S. three-part plan for peace talks Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is developing a "laundry list" that he will present to U.S. President Barack Obama when they meet next month in Washington. The Israeli premier will present Obama with a three-part plan involving halting Iran's nuclear program, closer relations with moderate Arab states and dealing with the Palestinian issue through several channels. Suicide bombers strike, killing 60, in Iraq Two suicide bombers wearing vests stuffed with explosives blew themselves up in separate attacks in Iraq on Thursday, killing 28 people in Baghdad and 32, most of them thought to be Iranian pilgrims, north of the capital, police said.-"It is a suicide bomber. Obviously that has the fingerprints of al Qaeda," said Baghdad security spokesman Major-General Qassim Moussawi. Islamic world must unite to defend Palestine: Ahmadinejad Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called on Islamic states to unite in their efforts to prevent the Zionist regime from committing more crimes against the Palestinians. China flaunts its naval muscle WITH an unprecedented display of its rapidly growing naval armoury, China has flaunted its ambitions as a global power. To mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), Chinese leaders on April 23rd reviewed a maritime parade of hardware ranging from nuclear submarines to amphibious assault-craft and fighter bombers. The only missing ingredient of naval might was an aircraft-carrier. Officials hint it will not be long before China has some of these too.