World News

AMBON, Indonesia (Compass) — “It is disappointing that the suffering of the Christians due to the conflict in the Malukus has been insufficiently exposed in various reports on a national and international level,” stated the U.S. Consul General Robert Pollard.

Friends and even foes of former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu are smoothing the way for him to timely mount a challenge against current premier Ehud Barak in a special election in early February. The remaining quandry, however, is whether the Knesset also will dissolve itself and allow voters to truly reflect the huge rightward shift in Israeli public opinion caused by Camp David and the Palestinian uprising.

Leading Israeli archaeologists are charging Prime Minister Ehud Barak with continuing to turn a blind eye to extensive construction activity on the Temple Mount by the Moslem Waqf, which is destroying valuable antiquites buried there and violating Israeli law.

Its another long, testy day in the Knesset, which is scheduled to decide late Monday evening between two bills that will determine whether Israelis will vote just for prime minister in a few months, or also for a new parliament.

Although depicted as a holy month of fasting by devout Muslims, Ramadan also marks a time for increased holy war against infidels.

After the Knesset voted early Tuesday morning not to dissolve, the special Israeli election for prime minister only appeared to come down to a race between incumbent Ehud Barak and Likud chairman Ariel Sharon. But prominent dove Shimon Peres looked at his numbers in the polls and announced on Wednesday he plans to run as well, adding more pressure on Barak to seal a quick peace deal in renewed talks with the Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has reacted sharply to a private opinion letter from Attorney-General Elyakim Rubinstein leaked to the press in which the government’s chief lawyer makes an impassioned case that Barak has no moral authority to pursue a hasty, election-eve peace deal with the Palestinians.

The Israeli government reversed its stand at the last minute and decided on Sunday night to sign a charter establishing the International Criminal Court to try individuals for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.

Adopting unusual language, Iran has issued a warning that if Israel were to attack Syria or Lebanon in reaction to Hizb’Allah cross-border actions, Tehran would retaliate in an “astounding and unexpected” way.

Outgoing US President Bill Clinton’s hasty drive to reach an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by January 20 sputtered again on Thursday when Arab foreign ministers enshrined the Palestinian right of return as “sacred.” The decision reinforces PLO chief Yasser Arafat’s hard-line stand on an issue Clinton’s “outline” for peace requires him to compromise and calls into question Washington’s claim Arafat has said “yes” to the president’s plan.

Caretaker Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and challenger Likud leader Ariel Sharon are beginning to gear up for the special election for the premiership on February 6, a race that promises to be impassioned and gritty.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud BaraK today said the Red Cross will visit the three IDF soldiers kidnapped by Hizb’Allah on Saturday along the Lebanese border.

The campaign financing scandal from the 1999 elections continues to haunt Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak at an inopportune time.

In perhaps the largest Jewish gathering in the city’s history, a massive crowd estimated at well over 300,000 people filled the streets around the Old City of Jerusalem on Monday night, waving flags and signs in a display of Jewish loyalty to a united city under Israeli rule.

Trailing badly in the latest polls, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s campaign for re-election has charged opponent Ariel Sharon with sparking the recent Palestinian intifada, contradicting his government’s official position to the outside world.

Falling further behind in successive polls, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is facing increasing calls to set aside in his bid for re-election in favor of the Labor’s party elder statesman and leading dove Shimon Peres, who appears to have a better chance at defeating Likud Chairman Ariel Sharon in balloting on February 6.

The massive Jerusalem rally on Monday night left a big impression on the Israeli public, according to the nation’s leading Hebrew newspapers, but Shimon Peres on Wednesday declared that no single religion can have a “monopoly” on the holy city.

With a wide lead in the polls, Likud chairman Ariel Sharon confidently launched his official campaign for prime minister on Wednesday night at a packed party gathering in Jerusalem’s largest auditorium.

While recent reports of a sudden lapse in the health of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein may be unfounded, Iraq’s decades of ailing relations with Syria appear on the mend under the new boss in Damascus, Bashar al-Assad.

The special Israeli election for prime minister heated up on Tuesday when local air waves were opened to a steady diet of campaign ads for the Labor and Likud candidates, with both parties depicting the opponent as dangerous.