* Hamas seizes second Fatah base Hamas fighters continue to seize control of key Fatah security installations across Gaza as the Palestinian government teeters on the brink of collapse.

* Arab League urges immediate PA truce The head of the Arab league on Thursday warned of a “disastrous outcome” if the bloody infighting between Hamas and Fatah continues.

* ‘Gaza will become Hamastan if Israel does not act’ “The irresponsible pullout from Gaza allowed Hamas to arm itself with mass amounts of explosives, weapons and funds that flowed into the Strip.”

* World oil supplies are set to run out faster than expected, warn scientists Scientists have criticised a major review of the world’s remaining oil reserves, warning that the end of oil is coming sooner than governments and oil companies are prepared to admit.

* Can the IAF take out Iran’s nukes? Barring a “catastrophic development,” reports Middle East Newsline, George W. Bush has decided not to attack Iran.

* Huge bird dino unearthed in China The fossilized remains of a giant bird-like dinosaur have been uncovered in the region of Inner Mongolia, China.

* General: China taking on U.S. in cyber arms race China is seeking to unseat the United States as the dominant power in cyberspace.

* Protest planned against gay parade A major haredi protest Sunday against next week’s gay parade in Jerusalem is likely to turn violent.

* Giscard calls on EU leaders to be honest on new treaty The architect of the draft EU constitution has called on national governments to be honest about what they are trying to achieve with negotiations on a new-look treaty.

* ‘Israel knows, understands Syria well’ A UN special envoy for the Middle East said Thursday after meeting a top Syrian official that there is a “different atmosphere” in Israel toward Syria.

By: Reuters

China is seeking to unseat the United States as the dominant power in cyberspace, a U.S. Air Force general leading a new push in this area said Wednesday.

“They’re the only nation that has been quite that blatant about saying, ‘We’re looking to do that,”‘ 8th Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Robert Elder told reporters.

Read more….

By: Hillel Fendel – Israel National News

Israel’s ninth president, Shimon Peres, was born in 1923 in Poland, and came to the Holy Land when he was 11 years old. He served in many and varied positions in the Haganah and Israeli government, and received the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize, together with Yitzchak Rabin and arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat, for his role in forging the Oslo Accords.

Read more….

* Abbas warns of collapse in Gaza Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has warned that continuing violence in Gaza risks taking the region to the point of collapse.

* Barak wins Labor primary race Former prime minister Ehud Barak stepped back into the political limelight early Wednesday morning when he defeated MK Ami Ayalon.

* Beirut blast kills politician A car bomb has hit Beirut’s seafront Corniche al-Manara killing at least four people and injuring 10 more.

* Syria ready to discuss land for peace Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmad Arnous stated Tuesday that Damascus was willing to join Israel at the negotiating table.

* Solana says EU would consider military role in Gaza if asked The European Union would consider participating in an international force in Gaza if asked by the major players in the region.

* Shimon Peres elected ninth president Vice Premier Shimon Peres put an end to his historic losing streak Wednesday by beating MKs Reuven Rivlin (Likud) and Colette Avital (Labor) to become Israel’s ninth president.

* Beit El Celebrates Wool-Shearing Surrounded by hundreds of happy children, the last of a herd of five sheep had its wool shorn in Beit El Tuesday afternoon.

* Analysis: It all comes back to Iran Press rewind, stop at May 15, hit play and you’ll reel from a sense of deja vu.

* Prime Minister Maliki of Iraq likens s conflict to U.S. Civil War Iraq’s embattled prime minister compared the fight for order in Iraq with the U.S. Civil War almost 150 years ago.

* Police approve Gay Pride parade Police on Wednesday approved the Jerusalem Gay Pride march, paving the way for the parade to take place next Thursday.

By: Neil Buckley and Catherine Belton in St Petersburg – Financial Times

Russian president Vladimir Putin called on Sunday for a radical overhaul of the world’s financial and trade institutions to reflect the growing economic power of emerging market countries – including Russia.

Read more….

* Hamas TV: We have taken over the northern Gaza Strip Hamas launched a full-scale attack Tuesday afternoon against Fatah security bases and positions in Gaza.

* President warns of Hamas ‘coup’ Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has accused elements within Hamas of trying to seize power in Gaza by force.

* Sarkozy invites Hizbullah to France In a significant diplomatic shift, French President Nicolas Sarkozy will invite Hizbullah to take part in a conference on Lebanon.

* Hundreds of rightists arrive at evacuated West Bank settlement Hundreds of settlers and right-wing activists arrived at the evacuated West Bank settlement of Homesh on Tuesday.

* Ancient Rome brought back to life Ancient Rome has been brought back to life through a unique digital reconstruction project, said to be the world’s biggest computer simulation.

* EU Breaks Freeze on Funding PA The European Union has agreed to transfer 4 million euros (approximately $5 million) to the coffers of the Palestinian Authority government.

* Polls show Ami Ayalon, Ehud Barak are neck and neck Labor Party members set off for the polls across the country on Tuesday to choose between former prime minister Ehud Barak and MK Ami Ayalon to elect the party’s sixth leader in eight years.

* ‘Harassment’ mars Egyptian vote The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has accused the authorities of harassing its candidates and committing widescale irregularities during Monday’s voting.

* Missile defence spat a diversion China believes the US system could destabilise Asia and demonstrated disapproval with a dramatic missile shoot down of a redundant Chinese space vehicle.

* 4,000 celebrate Taglit event in J’lem As the Taglit-Birthright Israel “Mega-Event” came to a close, four thousand Jewish college students from all over the world danced in the aisles of the Sultan’s Pool stadium.

* ‘Military plan against Iran is ready’ Predicting that Iran will obtain a nuclear weapon within three years and claiming to have a strike plan in place, senior American military officers have told The Jerusalem Post they support President George W. Bush’s stance to do everything necessary to stop the Islamic Republic’s race for nuclear power.

* Putin calls for new financial world order Russian president Vladimir Putin called on Sunday for a radical overhaul of the world’s financial and trade institutions to reflect the growing economic power of emerging market countries – including Russia.

* Iran: Israel, civilians in ME are targets for retaliatory attack Iran will not only strike American bases if attacked, but also Israel and civilian targets in the Middle East such as crude oil fields and power plants, an Iranian admiral told US Defense News on Monday.

* ‘Corruption worse than Iranian threat’ The corruption manifest in Israeli leadership and the society as a whole is more worrisome than the Iranian nuclear threat, former chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. (res.) Moshe Ya’alon said Monday.

* Israel launches Ofek 7 spy satellite In face of Iran’s race to obtain nuclear weapons and predictions that war with Syria is on the horizon, Israel strengthened its foothold in space on Monday and successfully launched a spy satellite, which defense officials said granted the IDF unprecedented operational capabilities.

* Portugal calls for clear EU treaty commitment from member states The incoming Portuguese EU presidency has indicated it is against opening formal treaty negotiations unless EU leaders meeting in Brussels in two week’s time clearly commit themselves to agreeing a new institutional settlement.

* Gun attack on Palestinian Cabinet Gunmen in Gaza have opened fire on a Palestinian government building while the Cabinet was meeting inside.

* Orthodox sector curses gay pride parade Badatz rabbis distribute message that ‘all sinners’ involved in Jerusalem pride march will ‘feel a curse on their souls and evil will pursue them.’

* 66 percent of public dissatisfied with Israeli democracy Poll by Israel Democracy Institute shows only 21 percent of Israeli have faith in prime minister, most don’t trust military echelon.

* Israeli Researcher Pioneers New Cancer Treatment An Israeli researcher is testing a new treatment to destroy glioblastoma mulitforme (GBM), the most common and aggressive type of primary brain tumor, according to the Israel21c website.

* Mofaz confirms messages sent to Syria All options, including the military one, are on the table when it comes to dealing with Iran’s nuclear program.

* Bush calls for action over Kosovo US President George W Bush has said a plan for Kosovo’s UN-backed independence should take effect now, despite Russian and Serbian opposition.

* Russia to US: Halt missile shield moves Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged the United States on Saturday to halt moves to deploy missile defense facilities in Europe.

* Iraq condemns Turkish ‘shelling’ Iraq has made an official protest to Turkey, accusing it of shelling Kurdish areas in northern Iraq this week.

* ‘Palestinians united in seeking state’ The Palestinians are united in seeking a state in the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem, a senior Hamas leader said.

* Bush visits pope amid protests Pope Benedict has told the George Bush, US president, that the Vatican would like a “regional and negotiated” solution to Middle East conflicts.

* Lebanese Army Tightens Grip on Palestinian Militants Three more Lebanese soldiers were killed and at least a dozen injured Saturday in stepped-up clashes with Islamic militants hiding out in a Palestinian refugee camp.

* IDF ground troops enter southern Gaza Israel Defense Forces ground troops entered southern Gaza Saturday morning.

* Indonesia, Qatar delay UN condemnation of Ahmadinejad over Israel Indonesia and Qatar were responsible Friday for the delay of a proposed United Nations Security Council statement condemning comments by Iran’s president that forecast the destruction of Israel.

* Doubts emerge over Russia’s defence shield proposal The head of NATO has welcomed Moscow’s apparent backing down from its Cold War rhetoric over the US plan to place an anti-missile shield in central Europe.

* Right wing blasts PM over Syria report Right-wingers were seething on Friday afternoon after a report that a recent flurry of secret messages from Israel to Syria signaled Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s willingness to give up the Golan Heights.

* UN condemns Ahmadinejad comments UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said he was “shocked and dismayed” at recent comments by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about Israel.

* G8 warns Iran against continuing to enrich uranium The Group of Eight countries said Friday that they “will support adopting further measures” if Iran refuses to put a halt to its uranium enrichment program.

* Lebanese Army Pounds Militants in Refugee Camp The Lebanese army has again battled Fatah al-Islam militants holed up inside a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli.

* Putin offers options for US missiles Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said Friday that missile defense interceptors could be located in Turkey, or even Iraq or on sea platforms.

* Turkish Military Agitating to Fight PKK Tensions remained high on the Turkish-Iraqi border on Friday, with the latest developments indicating that the Turkish military is pressing the government.

* Europe’s seas face ‘bleak future’ Europe’s seas are in a “serious state of decline” as a result of coastal development, overfishing and pollution from agriculture, warn scientists.

* Rift seen in Iraq insurgency — some groups reject al Qaeda U.S. forces have begun arming nationalist guerrillas and former Saddam Hussein loyalists — and coordinating tactics — in a marriage of convenience against al Qaeda radicals.

* Syria Continuing to Mobilize for War The IDF is preparing for a defensive war with Syria.

* Thousands dance in streets at annual Tel Aviv gay pride parade Thousands of people on Friday attended Tel Aviv’s gay pride Parade, Israel Radio reported.

* Forty years later, Jerusalem still a divided city Shimshon Cahaner was among the first Israeli soldiers to storm into the Old City of Jerusalem 40 years ago.

* ‘Israel dissolution rally’ planned for Washington A pro-Israel group is scrambling to organize a last-minute response to a large anti-Israel rally being organized in Washington DC for June 10.

* Syrian official: We want to renew the peace process A Syrian official said Thursday that Damascus is interested in renewing the peace process with Israel.

* Islamists threaten to widen Lebanon attacks Islamist militants locked in a standoff with the Lebanese army threatened Thursday to widen attacks.

* Putin offers joint missile shield President George W Bush has described as “interesting” a proposal by Russia’s president for resolving the row over the planned US missile defence shield.

* Israel may allow Fatah to receive arms Israel is considering authorizing the transfer of millions of bullets and thousands of Kalashnikov rifles from Egypt to forces in the Gaza Strip loyal to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

* Iraq fighters restore al-Qaeda ties The Islamic Army in Iraq is one of the strongest and best-organised Sunni armed groups, responsible for dozens of attacks on American forces in Iraq.

* ANALYSIS-Turkey weighs cost of military action in N.Iraq A cartoon in Turkey’s Sabah newspaper on Thursday showed a Kurdish guerrilla sneaking up behind Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and preparing to push him over a cliff into a raging fire representing Northern Iraq.

* EU restarts talks on closer ties with Serbia (Roundup) The European Union on Thursday said it would resume stalled talks on closer ties with EU-hopeful Serbia.

* EU studies aid, security package for Darfur The European Union is studying how to provide greater humanitarian, security and other help to Sudan’s Darfur region.