* Cheney to Iran: US will keep sea open From an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, US Vice President Dick Cheney warned Iran that the US and its allies will keep it from restricting sea traffic as well as from developing nuclear weapons.

* Russia clinches gas pipeline deal Russia, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan have agreed to build a new natural gas pipeline north from the Caspian Sea.

* Iraq missing up to $15 million of oil daily report says Between $5-million and $15-million worth of oil a day is unaccounted for in Iraq and could have been siphoned off through corruption or smuggling.

* Jordan’s king to meet Abbas in W. Bank Jordan’s King Abdullah II will meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.

* Serbia back on EU course, Brussels says Serbia has taken a significant step on the road to EU membership, Brussels said after the country’s reform- and Europe-oriented parties ended a three-month election deadlock and agreed to form a new government.

* Peres says Israel ready for ‘serious’ Arab peace talks Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres said Saturday that Israel is ready for serious discussions with Arab nations over a revived proposal for peace with the Jewish state.

* Brown reviews strategy on Iraq Gordon Brown plans to fly to Iraq to review British policy and troop numbers after using the launch of his leadership campaign yesterday to try to make a decisive break with the Blair era.

* Hamas’ Mickey Mouse back on air A weekly children’s show on a Hamas-run TV station, featuring a Mickey Mouse lookalike preaching Islamic domination, was broadcast as usual Friday, despite an earlier announcement by the Palestinian information minister that it would be pulled off the air for a review.

* Nasrallah: Arab peace plan is lifeline for Olmert Hizbullah leader says Saudi peace initiative rescues Israel from difficult situation after last summer’s “defeat”

* Palestinian gov’t officials deny Abbas will meet Olmert in Petra Senior Palestinian government officials denied on Saturday reports of an expected three-way meeting in Jordan between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, and King Abdullah II, maintaining that Abbas does not intend to come to Petra.

By: Gavriel Fiske – The Jerusalem Post

The Hurva Synagogue once dominated the skyline of the Old City, but it and the entire Jewish Quarter were systematically destroyed by Jordanian forces after they took control following the War of Independence. The Jewish population had fled, but after the decisive victories of 1967, the Israeli government immediately began to resettle and rebuild the quarter.

Read more….

By: Hillel Fendel – Israel National News

Organizers of the upcoming Christian-Jewish events in Jerusalem say no missionary activity is involved; Israel’s Chief Rabbis say they will review a ban on participation in the events ordered by a Rabbinate subcommittee.

Read more….

* Saniora: Arab states don’t want to wipe Israel off the map “The Arab states are not seeking to wipe Israel off the map,” Lebanese Prime Minister Faud Saniora claimed.

* New Jerusalem settlement planned The Israeli authorities are planning to build three new Jewish neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem, an area regarded as occupied land under international law.

* Arab League drops conditions on talks in Israel The Arab League has dropped its preconditions to sending a delegation to Israel to discuss the Arab Peace Initiative.

* Turkish MPs back reform package Turkey’s parliament has approved a major constitutional amendment that allows the president to be elected by the people rather than MPs.

* US official: Bush gov’t appeasing Arabs The Bush administration is undertaking much of its current Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy to appease the Arabs and Europeans.

* Islamic Movement Initiates Effort to Flood Temple Mount Sheikh Raad Salah, the head of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, has been working hard to ensure that thousands of Muslims will arrive in Jerusalem’s Old City every day to pray in the Al-Aksa mosque.

* Nasa unveils Hubble’s successor The US space agency Nasa has unveiled a model of a space telescope that scientists say will be able to see to the farthest reaches of the Universe.

* Hizbullah training for attacks on US – Telemundo Hizbullah has set up a training facility in South America as part of its plan to launch terror attacks against the United States.

* China appoints envoy for Darfur China has appointed a special Africa envoy to focus on Darfur following criticism of its role in Sudan.

* Chief Rabbinate to Review Ban Organizers of the upcoming Christian-Jewish events in Jerusalem say no missionary activity is involved.

* Blair will stand down on 27 June Tony Blair has announced he will stand down as prime minister on 27 June.

* Arab League delegates to visit Israel; will present peace plan Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak agreed Thursday that in the coming weeks an Arab League delegation would visit Israel.

* Rival groups join forces in Gaza A major Palestinian security operation has begun in Gaza, in a joint effort by rival political parties to crack down on violence and lawlessness.

* Assad: Israel not ready for just peace Syrian President Bashar Assad said Thursday the current Israeli government was weak and is not prepared for a just peace with the Arabs, but cautioned that it could still wage war.

* Cheney Leaves Iraq After Visit With Troops Vice President Dick Cheney left Iraq today, flying on to the United Arab Emirates on a tour of the Middle East, after spending the night at an American military base outside Tikrit.

* Hamas TV drops militant Mickey Mouse A program using a Mickey Mouse-like character to urge Palestinian children to fight Israel and the West and work for world Islamic domination has been pulled off Hamas’s television station.

* Pope seeks to win over Brazil’s youth Pope Benedict is appealing directly to Brazil’s youth to follow a strict moral code in a country where the government hands out free condoms and many Roman Catholics ignore Church teachings.

* Putin likens U.S. foreign policy to that of Third Reich President Vladimir Putin of Russia obliquely compared the foreign policy of the United States to the Third Reich.

* Iranian cleric threatens Tel Aviv An Iranian cleric said his country would fire “tens of thousands” of missiles at Israel in response to an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program.

* Voting and veto issues to dominate EU constitution discussions The voting system and where member states should have a right to a veto are shaping up to be the two biggest issues at the treaty summit next month in Brussels.

* Kadima MK: Peres is suited to replace Olmert as prime minister Kadima MK David Tal said Wednesday that Vice Premier Shimon Peres is suited to be prime minister.

* France wants to save major part of EU constitution, Sarkozy aide says France’s Nicolas Sarkozy will seek to maintain as much of the rejected EU constitution as possible in the upcoming talks on a new treaty for the bloc.

* Ban worried by arms race in Lebanon In a report to the United Nations Security Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon warned that despite Syria’s continued denial of arms transfers across the Lebanese border, reports from Israel and “other member states” reveal ongoing arms trafficking, most of which are reported to reach Hizbullah.

* Cheney in Baghdad for key talks Visiting US Vice-President Dick Cheney has met Iraq’s political leaders and US army chiefs to discuss security and attempts at political reconciliation.

* ‘US support for Israel at all-time high’ America’s support of Israel is greater than ever, veteran pollster Stanley Greenberg told the Knesset’s Subcommittee on Foreign and Public Relations.

* UN attacked for spreading Christianity? A deadly attack Monday against a United Nations school in the Gaza Strip was carried by an Islamist extremist group.

* Dayton Plan: Benchmarks won’t work in the Middle East The word “benchmarks” is heard quite frequently these days in IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) corridors.

* You’ll return from Gaza in a coffin, Hamas warns Israel Any Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip will be met with a harsh response on the part of the Palestinian organizations, a Hamas spokesperson said.

* ‘Israel prevents PA economic recovery’ The Palestinian economy can’t recover unless Israel dismantles a network of obstacles that has carved up the West Bank into a dozen enclaves and restricted Palestinian access to more than half the territory, the World Bank said.

* Increasing number of rabbis are allowing Jews to enter Temple Mount An increasing number of religious Zionist rabbis are allowing their followers to enter the Temple Mount.

* Report: Hamas threatens to kill Schalit if IDF enters Gaza Hamas’s armed wing, Izzadin a-Kassam, has threatened to execute kidnapped IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Schalit if the army enters Gaza.

* King Herod’s ancient tomb ‘found’ An Israeli archaeologist says he has found the tomb of King Herod, the ruler of Judea while it was under Roman administration in the first century BC.

* ‘Rice visit cancellation unprecedented’ A senior diplomatic official called the cancellation of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s Israel visit unprecedented.

* Repeating Lebanon Mistakes in Gaza The recently-released Winograd Report listed one of its main objectives as educational.

* UN: Assad is not preparing for war While Syria is repairing its military positions along the border with Israel, its army has not beefed up its forces on the Golan Heights.

* China, Russia deny weapons breach China and Russia have denied claims by Amnesty International that they are supplying arms to Sudan for use in Darfur, in breach of a UN arms embargo.

* EU urges Serbia to form government, cool on new parliament speaker The European Commission on Tuesday urged Serbian leaders to speed up the formation of a pro-European government, saying that this was needed to resume stalled talks on closer ties.

* Hamas’ Mickey Mouse: Teaching Kids to Hate and Kill Hamas TV has a new children’s show which features a Mickey Mouse lookalike. But this Mickey does not romp about with Pluto, nor does he woo Minnie Mouse. Instead – he teaches his young viewers to fight the “Zionist Occupation” and dream of a world dominated by Islam.

* Arab population in Jerusalem growing, study says The growth rate of the Arab population in Jerusalem is almost double the growth rate of the Jewish population.

* EU predicts brighter economic future The European Commission has raised its growth and jobs expectations for EU economies in the coming two years.

* Livni and aides prepping for possibility of renewed Syria talks Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is currently conducting staff work to prepare for the possibility of a renewed peace process with Syria.

* Victorious Sarkozy pledges unity France’s new President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy has called for unity after a bitterly-contested campaign.

* ‘Jordan has uranium to build a reactor’ Jordan said Saturday the country possessed the uranium needed to develop its newly announced nuclear energy program.

* Hizbullah: Siniora government more hostile than Israel The top Hizbullah commander in southern Lebanon, Nabil Qaouk, slammed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora’s government.

* ‘Hizbullah is ready for another war’ “Hizbullah has rebuilt itself and is prepared for another Israeli strike,” Naim Kassem, the deputy secretary general of the Iranian-backed terror organization.

* Future of Dead Sea in Jeopardy Due to Disputes The famously salty sea, which lies at Earth’s lowest point, is shrinking.

* New Turkey president poll fails Turkey’s parliament has failed for a second time to elect the Islamist-rooted governing party’s candidate for president, Abdullah Gul.

* U.S. Navy Replaces Persian Gulf Carriers The U.S. Navy said Sunday that it was maintaining a stepped-up military presence in the Persian Gulf by keeping two aircraft carriers in the area amid tensions with Iran.

* Israel accused of prisoner abuse Human rights groups in Israel have accused the security services of routinely mistreating Palestinian detainees.

* Barak’s delaying tactic saves Olmert’s government – for now Prime Minister Ehud Olmert received some political breathing space from former prime minister Ehud Barak.

* “Israel too unstable to talk Saudi plan” Arab leaders briefed key international players on a newly revived Arab initiative to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but decided to hold off on approaching Israel because of its current political turmoil.

* China claims major oil field find China’s biggest oil firm, PetroChina, says it has made the country’s largest crude discovery in a decade.

* Conference offers plan to bolster Iraqi government Iraq and its neighbors on Friday issued a declaration aimed at rallying support for the Shiite-led government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki from long-reluctant Sunni Arab countries.

* Conference on Iran adjourns in deadlock Under fire for stalling a 130-nation nuclear meeting, Iran accused the US of being the real culprit, as the conference adjourned for the weekend in deep deadlock over Teheran’s opposition to language of the gathering’s agenda.

* Turkish PM, army hold crisis talks Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with the head of Turkey’s armed forces Friday, a week after the military threatened to intervene in an ongoing presidential election if it thought secularism was in danger.

* U.S. Targets Iranian-Made Weapons U.S.-led forces on Friday arrested suspected Shiite militants accused of smuggling powerful bomb components from Iran, and clashes between Shiite factions broke out in two major cities.

* U.S. ‘Benchmark Plan’ May be a Timeline for Terror Israeli officials are worried about a set of so-called “benchmarks” presented last week by U.S. diplomats that would be used as steps toward final status negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.

* Olmert says won’t resign despite public protest Following demonstration attended by 100,000 people against Olmert in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, the prime minister insists he plans to stay in office, “A government is replaced in elections, not rallies.”

* Egypt weighs moat for Gaza border Egypt has expressed newfound interest in allowing Israel to construct a moat along the Philadelphi Route separating the Sinai Desert from the Gaza Strip to combat Palestinian weapons smuggling.

* Guns banned from Somali streets The new mayor of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, has banned people from carrying weapons on the streets.

* Iran FM attacks US policy in Iraq Iran has issued a strong attack against US policy in Iraq, blaming the American presence there for sectarian violence.

* Olmert not quitting, despite TA protest Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has declared that he has no intention of resigning in the wake of the Winograd report.

* Israeli Envoy: Syrian Build-up – the Strongest Since 1973 War Israel’s Ambassador in Washington says Syria is developing its most serious threat against Israel since it attacked Israel in the Yom Kippur War of 1973.

* Homesh: ‘A settlement renewal point’ With the Israeli public’s morale at an all-time low, now is the time to launch a new bid for increased settlement activity in Judea and Samaria.

* Iran, Syria Hold Conferences on a ‘Culture of Resistance’ As Iran was hosting an international conference this week under the banner “The Muslim World: Victim of Terrorism,” Syria was holding its own international conference on “Arab and Islamic Media Support of the Palestinian People.”

* French poll rivals in final push France’s presidential candidates have started their final day of campaigning ahead of Sunday’s vote.

* Rice holds talks with Syrian FM US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem Thursday.

* Turkish MPs vote for early poll Turkey’s parliament has confirmed that early elections, aimed at ending a crisis over the party’s candidate for president, will be held on 22 July.

* PMO: Israel can’t commit to some of U.S. demands A United States timeline for bolstering Israeli-Palestinian talks met its first resistance on Friday.

* Iran ex-leader in Vatican visit The former president of Iran, Mohammad Khatami, has been received in audience by Pope Benedict XVI in Rome.