* Arab leaders agree on appeal to Israel Arab leaders at their summit Thursday agreed on a call for Israel to accept their land-for-peace offer and open direct negotiations with the Arabs.

* Saudi: US Iraq presence illegal The Saudi monarch has made a forceful appeal for Arab unity, denouncing US policy in Iraq and the embargo imposed by western nations on the Palestinians.

* Iran delays female sailor’s release An Iranian official says that Tehran will not yet release a female British sailor held with 14 male colleagues due to London’s “incorrect attitude”.

* EU foreign policy chief calls for debate on U.S. missile plans The European Union’s foreign policy chief said Thursday that EU states should discuss Washington’s plans to deploy elements of its missile defense system in Central Europe.

* Abbas warns of violence if ‘peace’ rejected Palestinian Authority president accuses Israel of evading peace by demanding Arab peace initiative be amended, says region could slide into violence if peace not achieved in near future

* EU wants Israel-Quartet meeting soon The Quartet of Mideast negotiators hopes to meet with Israel before the summer for the first time, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Thursday.

* Archaeologists find Ethiopia’s lost Islamic kingdom French archaeologists said they have uncovered the remains of three large towns that may have been the heart of a legendary Islamic kingdom in Ethiopia.

* Poland to fight for ‘square root’ law in EU treaty Poland plans to propose a new voting system in the upcoming EU treaty talks that will be based on square roots of populations instead of simple populations.

* Russia Calls for Equal Partnership With U.S. Russia has warned the U.S. against unilateral behavior and urged an equal partnership between the two countries, underscoring a newly assertive foreign policy in Moscow.

* New U.S. envoy to Iraq: Security ‘central issue’ The new U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, was sworn in Thursday, as car bombs and bullets killed at least 11 people in two Iraqi cities.

* Saudi FM: If Israel refuses Arab offer, it means it doesn’t want peace If Israel rejects the Arab peace initiative, it means it is not interested in reaching a peaceful solution with its neighbors, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said.

* UK reveals Iran dispute evidence Satellite data proves 15 navy personnel being held in Iran were 1.7 nautical miles inside Iraqi waters when they were seized, UK defence officials say.

* First synagogue facing Temple Mount to be built The only synagogue in the world overlooking the Temple Mount will be built in the High Commissioner’s Residence neighborhood in the southern part of Jerusalem.

* A-Zahar Reiterates Hamas Goal: World Domination Addressing a mass rally in memory of the founder of the Hamas terrorist organization, Ahmed Yassin, senior Hamas leader and former Palestinian Authority official Mahmoud A-Zahar reiterated a fundamental position espoused by Hamas.

* Saudi king slams ‘illegitimate occupation’ of Iraq Saudi King Abdullah, whose country is a close US ally, on Wednesday slammed the “illegitimate foreign occupation” of Iraq in an opening speech to the annual Arab summit in Riyadh.

* Pope says hell and damnation are real and eternal HELL is a place where sinners really do burn in an everlasting fire, and not just a religious symbol designed to galvanise the faithful, Pope Benedict XVI has said.

* ‘Marriage to an Arab is national treason’ Over half of the Jewish population in Israel believes the marriage of a Jewish woman to an Arab man is equal to national treason.

* Homesh Once Again Empty of Jews At 7:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, police began expelling the some 300 Jews who had stayed since Monday at the site of the destroyed northern Samarian hilltop community of Homesh.

* Oil and gold jump on Iran tensions Gold and oil were higher on Wednesday after spiking on rumors and heightened rhetoric in the West’s standoff with Iran, which left markets on a razor’s edge.

* Livni: No Final Settlement on the ‘Political Horizon’ Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told party members at a ceremony opening a new Kadima office in Netanya that a final settlement with the Palestinian Authority is simply not in the cards.

By: David Willey – BBC News

BBC Rome correspondent David Willey covered the signing of the Treaty of Rome as a Reuters trainee. Here he looks back at the Europe of half a century ago.

The signing of the treaty took place in the majestic surroundings of Michelangelo’s elegant Capitoline Palace situated at the top of one of Rome’s seven hills.

I was actually there in the huge room frescoed with scenes from ancient Roman battles, when the six frock-coated founders of the Europe of the Six appended their signatures to the Treaty.

Read more….

By: BBC News

The European constitution was knocked off course when France and the Netherlands rejected it in referendums in May and June 2005, but European leaders are now discussing ways of reviving it in full or in part.

This could mean resurrecting the original text, with minor changes, or drafting a new one.

On the other hand, some countries argue there is no urgent need for institutional reform and that the EU should concentrate instead on policies that deliver immediate practical benefits for citizens.

Read more….

By: BBC News

EU leaders have adopted a declaration calling for some of the reforms proposed in the bloc’s ill-fated constitution to be carried out by 2009.

The “Berlin Declaration” was issued to mark 50 years of the union, which was founded by the 1957 Treaty of Rome.

It says the EU should be placed on a “renewed common basis” before the 2009 elections to the European Parliament.

Read more….

* PM warns Iran over Navy captives Efforts to secure the release of 15 Royal Navy personnel held by Iran will enter a “different phase” if diplomatic moves fail, Tony Blair has said.

* US in Gulf show of force The US navy has begun its largest demonstration of force in the Gulf since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

* Serbia convinced Russia will veto Kosovo plan Serbia is convinced Russia will knock down a plan giving supervised independence to the breakaway Kosovo province with a “historic veto” at the U.N. Security Council.

* Police prepare for Homesh evacuation Officials say should settlers fail to evacuate willingly, government would be inclined to give green light for forceful evacuation of several dozen teenage activists who vowed to put up tough resistance.

* EU envoy says up to 500 dead in DRC violence Clashes in the Democratic Republic of Congo capital last week left between 200 and 500 dead.

* Hamas prepares ‘rocket war’ in ex-settlement Palestinian terrorist groups on Monday used the former Jewish settlement of Neve Dekalim, which was evacuated by Israel in 2005, to test new explosives and rockets for use against the Jewish state.

* US and EU back Kosovo independence by May The US and EU have backed a UN plan for “supervised independence” in Kosovo despite Russian and Serb opposition.

* I’ll consider summit with Arab leaders, PM tells UN chief UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will leave Israel on Tuesday for the Arab leaders’ summit in Riyadh.

* Thousands Return to Destroyed Homesh Thousands who yearn for the rebuilding of Homesh, destroyed by Ariel Sharon in Israel’s Disengagement Plan, voted with their feet Monday.

* Olmert and Abbas to meet biweekly, Rice says The Israeli and Palestinian leaders have agreed to meet every two weeks to discuss day-to-day issues, but also a “political horizon.”

* EU leaders call for rapid reforms EU leaders have adopted a declaration calling for some of the reforms proposed in the bloc’s ill-fated constitution to be carried out by 2009.

* Saudi FM: Arab peace plan could change Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister suggested Monday that Arab leaders would be willing to consider changes in their 2002 peace offer to Israel.

* Seizure unjustified, Iran warned Iran’s detention of 15 Royal Navy personnel is “unjustified and wrong”, Prime Minister Tony Blair has said.

* ‘Homesh is the first settlement to be reestablished’ If, as planned, thousands of settler activists arrive at the site of the former northern Samaria settlement Homesh, security forces would find it “impossible” to evacuate them.

* Rice takes Mideast shuttle diplomacy to Jordan US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took her latest shuttle diplomacy mission to Jordan Monday to raise Arab support for new efforts to revive the stalled Middle East peace process.

* China’s Hu in Russian state visit China’s President Hu Jintao is starting a three-day state visit to Russia aimed at promoting trade and energy ties.

* Olmert meets with Ban Ki-Moon in J’lem Prime Minister Ehud Olmert denied during a press conference Monday with visiting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon that there was a new peace initiative on the table.

* After Show of Unity, EU Rifts on Reform Re-Emerge Berlin is clearing up after a weekend of celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the European Union.

* Terror Database Has Quadrupled In Four Years Each day, thousands of pieces of intelligence information from around the world — field reports, captured documents, news from foreign allies and sometimes idle gossip — arrive in a computer-filled office in McLean.

* Khalilzad: U.S. Patience ‘Running Out’ The departing U.S. ambassador said on Monday that he believes Iraq is heading in the right direction.

* EU birthday to mark ‘new phase’ European Union leaders are due to meet in Berlin to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the bloc, which was founded by the 1957 Treaty of Rome.

* Syria rejects Israeli overtures Syria rejected Israeli overtures to engage in discreet negotiations regarding the Golan Heights.

* UFOs flew over Phoenix in ’97, Symington says Former Gov. Fife Symington says now that those strange lights that appeared over Phoenix a decade ago were from another world and that he had a close encounter with an alien craft on March 13, 1997.

* Egypt: no talks until Israel accepts land-for-peace principle Egyptian Foreign Minister suggests Israel accept Arab peace initiative ‘in principle’, as basis for negotiation

* Seized sailors ‘taken to Tehran’ The 15 Royal Navy personnel seized at gunpoint in the Gulf by Iran are reportedly being questioned in Tehran.

* Pope: Europe Losing Faith in Its Future Europe seems to be losing faith in its future, Pope Benedict XVI said Saturday, citing the continent’s population trends, which include generally low birth rates.

* Ahmadinejad cancels trip to New York Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has canceled his trip to New York to address the UN Security Council before a vote on whether to impose further sanctions against his country for refusing to stop enriching uranium.

* EU tells Iran to free UK troops The EU has told Iran to free fifteen British sailors who have been captured and taken to the Iranian capital after allegedly straying into Iranian waters near the Iraqi city of Basra.

* United Nations Security Council Set to OK Sanctions on Iran Major powers expect unanimous approval Saturday of new U.N. Security Council sanctions to pressure Iran into suspending uranium enrichment.

* MIT sponsoring contest to solve Israeli-Palestinian conflict University’s ‘Just Jerusalem’ contest aimed to make region ‘peaceful and sustainable’ by 2050. $50,000 fellowship awarded to winners

By: Marian Houk – Middle East Times

The just-installed Palestinian national unity government’s “main goal is to establish an independent Palestinian state in the territories occupied in 1967,” according to its political platform adopted by the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) March 17.

After the announcement of the results of the January 2006 parliamentary elections in which Hamas won a majority of seats in the PLC, Palestinian Authority (PA) Mahmoud Abbas said: “Together, God willing, we will proceed to realize the dream for which dozens of thousands of martyrs sacrificed their lives – a free and independent Palestinian state.”

Read more…