* ‘Revolutionary Guards try to get around sanctions’ Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are using cover companies to get around UN sanctions against the country’s nuclear program.

* Abbas denies W. Bank-Gaza route in land swap plan The office of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday rejected a Haaretz report that Israel had proposed a route between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

* WHO warns of global epidemic risk Infectious diseases are spreading faster than ever before, the World Health Organization annual report says.

* ‘Abbas launching war in West Bank’ A senior Hamas official in Lebanon on Wednesday accused Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of launching a full-out war against his Hamas in the West Bank.

* Israel Told to Ease Palestinian Movement Israel must provide more freedom of movement in the West Bank and open crossings into Gaza.

* Peres: Olmert, Abbas in ‘serious’ talks Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is holding “serious discussions” with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

* Haifa Univ: Extracting Energy From Beneath the Ocean Floor The University of Haifa, in cooperation with Stanford University, is embarking on a unique, wide-ranging research effort to investigate energy production.

* Turkish envoy returns to deal with ADL The Turkish ambassador is set to end his vacation two weeks early to return to Israel.

* Hamas head blames Israel, US for Palestinian impasse Hamas supremo Khaled Meshaal said efforts to end the bitter feud with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were deadlocked.

* Al-Mujahidat, Armed Hamas Women in Gaza Wearing a long, draped robe and black headscarf, with a rocket-propelled grenade on her shoulder, Fatima, a 27-year-old woman living in Khan Younis, is a member of the special armed women units known as “Al-Mujahidat.”