* UK sailors captured at gunpoint Fifteen British Navy personnel have been captured at gunpoint by Iranian forces, the Ministry of Defence says.

* Israel to brand Arabs as peace spoilers Israel is gearing up for a diplomatic campaign that will paint the Arab world as the recalcitrant party if it does not drop the article in the Arab peace initiative.

* Iraq deputy PM injured in blast Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Salam Zaubai has been injured in a double bombing in Baghdad in which nine people were killed, Iraqi police have said.

* China’s Hu heads to Russia urgently seeking fuel Chinese President Hu Jintao goes to Moscow on Monday, confidently offering trade deals with an economy roaring back home.

* The EU: a model impossible to export? During its 50-year-long journey, the European Union – itself striving to become a key global player speaking with one voice – has been promoting the idea of regional integration to other parts of the world.

* France opens secret UFO files covering 50 years France became the first country to open its files on UFOs Thursday when the national space agency unveiled a website documenting more than 1,600 sightings spanning five decades.

* Hinode sees the dynamic and violent sun as sharply as never before Hinode, the newest solar observatory on the space scene, has obtained never-before-seen images showing that the sun’s magnetic field is much more turbulent and dynamic than previously known.

* ‘Political correctness is killing our freedoms’ Europe’s citizens must be on their guard against political correctness and moralising politicians.

* IDF, Police Warn Homesh Supporters Not to Attempt a Return Nationalist activists have announced plans to resettle the evacuated northern Samaria town of Homesh.

* Palestinian state legal basis in place say experts The just-installed Palestinian national unity government’s “main goal is to establish an independent Palestinian state in the territories occupied in 1967.”

* Palestinians reject Quartet demands Representatives of the new Palestinian unity government have said they will reject the Middle East Quartet’s offer.

* PM: Israel ready for painful concessions Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday that Israel was willing to make “sweeping, painful and tough concessions” to encourage dialogue with its enemies.

* Legal limbo in Kosovo could trigger chaos, EU warns The Balkans could plunge into chaos unless there is a prompt United Nations agreement on the final status of Serbia’s breakaway province of Kosovo.

* Bolton: N. Korea, Iran will never give up nuke ambitions Former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton criticized the US government for releasing $25 million to North Korea.

* Freed Sadr aide meets Iraq’s PM An Iraqi militia leader once branded a major security threat has appeared in public alongside Iraq’s prime minister after being freed from US custody.

* Rice to press Olmert to continue talks US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to press Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to continue holding talks about a “political horizon” with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

* Kurds prosper in post-Saddam era Compared with most other parts of Iraq, the Kurds in the north of the country are doing very well for themselves, enjoying greater security and relative prosperity than most other places.

* Japan’s FM: Japan doing what US can’t Japan’s outspoken foreign minister said “blue-eyed, blond” Westerners probably would not be as successful as the Japanese in Middle East diplomacy.

* Dubai becomes Iran’s business hub “Dubai is the most Iranian of cities,” said Mohammed Reza, an Iranian expatriate who has lived in the Gulf emirate across the waters from the Islamic republic since 1998.

* Solana urged to stand firm on PA More than half of the US House of Representatives sent a letter to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

* West meets Palestinian ministers In the first contact between the US and the recently formed Palestinian unity government, Jacob Walles, the US consul-general to Jerusalem, has met Salam Fayad, the Palestinian finance minister.

* ‘Islamic world in cold war’ The Islamic world is entering a cold war period as the divide between Shiites and Sunnis escalates.

* Russian pulling nuke experts from Iran Russia is pulling out its experts from the Iranian nuclear reactor site they were helping build.

* Details on EU birthday declaration emerge The highly symbolic Berlin Declaration to mark the EU’s 50th birthday is slowly taking shape.

* Report: Palestinian aid rises to $1.2 b. International aid to the Palestinians grew from about $1 billion in 2005 to more than $1.2 billion in 2006.

* EU nervous and introspective at fifty years of age The EU sees itself as a force for good in the world; it practises soft power, promotes human rights and sets the global bar in environmental standards.

* Rival militants clash in Pakistan Nearly 50 people have been killed after rising tension between local and foreign militants in north-west Pakistan erupted into fierce fighting.

* Iraqi VP calls for talks with insurgents Iraqi Vice-President Tarek Al Hashemi called Wednesday for talks with the country’s insurgent groups.

* Heavy fighting erupts in Somalia Heavy fighting has broken out in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, between government forces backed by Ethiopian troops and armed insurgents.

* Melchior: Alert Abbas to PA textbooks “You can’t have agreements while this kind of hatred is inculcated in the children,” Knesset Education Committee Chairman Michael Melchior (Labor-Meimad) said on Tuesday.

By: Hillel Fendel – Israel National News

Former Chief Rabbi Lau says that anti-Semitism is an “international mental illness” – but he feels he may have found its root cause.

Tel Aviv’s Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, a former Chief Rabbi of Israel and a Holocaust survivor, spoke on Monday at the Fourth Annual Jerusalem Conference. The prestigious B’Sheva-sponsored conference’s first session dealt with issues of anti-Semitism around the world, particularly in Europe and the Islamic world.

Read more….

* Conflict with Iran inevitable, Ya’alon says “The question of who won the war in Lebanon has yet to be determined,” former Chief of Staff Moshe Ya’alon said.

* Gulf Governments Plan Oil Pipelines Gulf governments are planning oil pipelines that would bypass the world’s most vulnerable energy choke point, the Strait of Hormuz.

* Report: Russia gives Iran ultimatum Russia has warned Iran that it will not supply the Islamic country with fuel for its new nuclear reactor unless it agrees to suspend nuclear enrichment.

* Palestinian sanctions to remain The European Union and the United States have agreed to withhold recognition for the new Palestinian unity government, sworn in on Saturday.

* New Palestinian high-school textbooks reject existence of Israel, peace New textbooks for 12th-grade Palestinian students reject the existence of Israel and make no attempt to educate students about peace or coexistence.

* Former Iraq vice-president hanged Former Iraqi Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan has been hanged on the fourth anniversary of the US-led invasion which overthrew Saddam Hussein.

* EU begins countdown to 50th birthday carnival Member states are gearing themselves to varying degrees of festivity this week as the EU approaches its 50th birthday.

* Israel won’t receive Norwegian envoy The Foreign Ministry canceled a planned Tuesday meeting with a top Norwegian government official in a sign of displeasure.

* Egypt backs constitutional change Egypt’s parliament has approved a set of constitutional amendments despite a boycott by the opposition, which calls the changes a blow to democracy.

* Meshaal: Deal with whole government The political leader of Hamas has told Al Jazeera that foreign powers must deal with the whole Palestinian national unity government rather than individual officials.

* MK Sarsur – We must act together to “liberate” Jerusalem – At “Jerusalem First” Conference, MK Sarsur called on Muslims and Arabs to “liberate” Jerusalem.

* Pessism “growing among Iraqis” – Iraqis are increasingly pessimistic about the future of their country.

* Israels favor talks with new PA government – More than half of all Israelis disagree with their government’s decision to boycott the new PA government.

* Protests Against Iraq War Continue – Demonstrations against the US-led war in Iraq continue.

* Netanyahu issues Call to World from Jerusalem Conference – Binyamin Netanyahu repeated his call for the world to prove that it can respond better this time and not like in the 1930’s.

* Report: Iran plans to Kidnap Israelis – According to several media outlets, Iran is threatening to kidnap Israelis.

* Egyptian MP’s in protest walkout – More than 100 mainly Muslim lawmakers have walked out of Egypt’s parliament in protest of constitutional changes.

* Christian-Arab predicts World Islam takeover…unless – “When will you Westerners realize that half measures don’t work with people who are willing to die by the thousands for Allah to achieve their goal?”

* Jews welcome Nissan, Hebrew month of Redemption – Tuesday is Rosh Chodesh, the first day of the Hebrew month of Nissan.

* Settlers plan to rebuild Homesh – Evacuees from Northern West Bank say they have the public’s support to return to Homesh.

* Abbas says the Palestinians are ‘reaching out’ to Israel The new Hamas-Fatah coalition was to set to clear a final formal hurdle Saturday, approval by the parliament.

* Iraq unveils reconstruction plan Iraq’s vice-president has spelled out the details of a five-year reconstruction plan at a key UN conference on the country’s future.

* U.S. Anti-missile Shield in Europe May Cause Arms Race — Russian General U.S. missile defense deployment in Europe could drag Russia into a new arms race.

* US, EU express willingness to deal with new PA coalition The US will maintain an unofficial communication channel with Salam Fayad, expected to be appointed to the position of finance minister in the new Palestinian Authority unity government.

* China, Russia seek to block UN report on Darfur China and Russia joined Arab and Muslim states on Friday in urging the U.N.’s human rights watchdog to ignore a report from a mission to Darfur that blamed Sudan for continuing war crimes against civilians there.

* Israel firm: No dealing with PA gov’t As Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said that the Palestinians’ hand was “extended” towards Israel, government spokeswoman Miri Eisen repeated Israel’s refusal to deal with the PA.

* Bush talks with Saudi, Egyptian leaders on Mideast President George W. Bush thanked Saudi King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for participating in a recent conference on Iraq and discussed Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

* Caution urged on climate ‘risks’ Two leading UK climate researchers say some of their peers are “overplaying” the global warming message and risk confusing the public about the threat.

* Report: Syria spurns Solana’s incentives Syria has spurned EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana’s recent offer of an incentives package designed to sweeten relations between Syria and Europe.

* Worldwide protests mark Iraq war A series of anti-war demonstrations are under way, with protests scheduled in countries including the United States, Canada, Australia and Britain ahead of the fourth anniversary of the US-led war in Iraq.