1. ISRAEL: TWO TO STAND TRIAL FOR AL-QA’IDA PLOT…Israel has charged two Palestinians from Nablus in the West Bank with planning a terror attack at the behest of Al-Qa’ida. The men were picked up at the Allenby Bridge desert border crossing from Jordan into Israel three months ago. Israel says the two had received their instructions from Al-Qa’ida operatives based in the Hashemite Kingdom. Israeli security officials maintain the men were planning a terror attack in Jerusalem’s French Hill neighborhood.
2. U.S. WELCOMES BAHRAIN’S HAMAS COMMENTS…Hamas must open a peaceful track with Israel, according to Bahraini Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Bin ‘Isa Al Khalifa. He made the comment to reporters after holding talks with United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington. In response the State Department said it welcomed the prince’s remarks and is urging other Arab leaders to follow suit.
3. IRAN’S LEADER BACKS IRAQ TALKS WITH U.S….Iran’s spiritual leader ‘Ali Khamanai is lending his support to negotiations with the United States as to the future of Iraq. There have been no formal talks between Washington and Tehran since the rise to power of the ayatollahs following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. The Iranians are both politically and geographically close to Iraq’s Shi’ite majority, which predominantly resides in the south of the country. Both the Iranians and Americans are stressing talks will only focus on the Iraqi question, and not on Iran’s nuclear program.
4. U.N. WARNS OF UPSURGE IN SUDANESE VIOLENCE…The United Nations special representative in Sudan is warning not only of the possibility of an escalation of violence in the war-torn Darfur region of western Sudan, but also a possible renewal of fighting in the south of the country. A two-decade civil war between the north and south came to an end with a peace deal a year ago, but now Jan Pronk says the delicate situation in the south is under threat, with another frontline possibly opening in the southeast with Ugandan fighters. Pronk is calling on the international community to resolve the peacekeeping issues that are at the center of a disagreement between the African Union and the United Nations, in order to help restore calm to Sudan.
5. MORE BIRD FLU CASES SUSPECTED IN EGYPT, ISRAEL…Egyptian authorities are reporting a fourth human has been infected with bird flu. At least one person has died in the country after coming into contact with fowl infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of the disease. Meanwhile having confirmed several cases of bird flu in farms in the relatively unpopulated southern Israel, experts are now investigating two other farms where hundreds of birds have died in the densely populated Sharon region.