Haaretz
Settlers injure IDF officer after they attack Palestinians
By Amos Harel and Gideon Alon, Haaretz Correspondents
Six West Bank settlers were arrested Friday after throwing stones at Palestinians near Nablus. A senior Israel Defense Force field commander was also wounded by the settlers.
The six detainees, residents of the Bracha settlement, were caught by IDF troops attacking Palestinians in a quarry near the village of Burin.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/570522.html
Putin says he will help rebuild Gaza infrastructure
By Aluf Benn and Yossi Melman, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service and Agencies
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday his country would help rebuild Palestinian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. Putin appeared to be offering the Palestinians help in maintaining order and provide services after Israel pulls out of Gaza this summer.
Putin was speaking at a joint news conference in Ramallah with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas after the two men met for several hours Friday, at the end of Putin's three-day visit to the region.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/570211.html
PA arrests two Gaza militants suspected of attacking Israeli settlements
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and Reuters
Palestinians have arrested two militants over rocket and mortar attacks on Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip following Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' pledge to use an "iron fist" to enforce a truce, a Palestinian security source said on Friday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/570505.html
Israel rejects U.S. proposal to give weapons to PA police
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
Israel has rejected a proposal by the United States to supply the Palestinian police officers in the West Bank with weapons that would assist them in performing their duties.
American officials have told their Israeli interlocutors over the past few days that the Palestinian security forces need weapons to help them maintain order in the territories. In response, the U.S. officials heard a negative reply from Israeli officials: "Let them first take the weapons from the terrorists."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/570335.html
Web site claims bin Laden is dead; no confirmation
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent
A Web site claiming close ties to Al-Qaida has announced that the leader of the international terror network, Osama bin Laden, is dead, the London-based Arabic daily Asharq Al Awsat reported Friday.
The claim has not been confirmed.
"We have now found out this urgent news item, whereby the Al-Qaida organization has announced the death of bin Laden," read Thursday's message on the Web site, Manbar Ahal A-Suna V'al Jama'a.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/570506.html
Study traces worldwide Jewish population from Exodus to modern age
By Amiram Barkat
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon likes to quote a theory developed by his close friend, attorney Dov Weissglas, that had the Jews not been expelled by the Romans and suffered nearly 2,000 years of persecution, there would be between 500-800 million Jews living in the world today.
Prof. Sergio Della Pergola of Hebrew University, among the most prominent experts on Jewish demography, calls this estimate "back of an envelope arithmetic," but admits that he too indulges in this occasionally.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/570281.html
Teen drowns in Golan's 'Hexagon pools'
By Eli Ashkenazi, Haaretz Correspondent
A 14-year-old boy drowned on Thursday in the Golan Height's "Hexagon pools" (Zavitan river).
The boy's family, who live in Jerusalem, had gone to the Golan Heights earlier in the day. They decided to take a break near the pool, where the boy entered the water. The boy reportedly did not know how to swim.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/570241.html
Global interest in Israeli culture
The decision to award the Goethe Prize to writer Amos Oz stirs a sense of pride in the heart of every lover of culture in Israel. The prestigious prize has been awarded in the past to a number of great writers and intellectuals such as Thomas Mann, Sigmund Freud and Albert Schweitzer. For the first time, an Israeli writer will be its recipient. The grounds for the judges' decision relate to Oz's literary achievements and overall collection of work, primarily his latest book, "A Tale of Love and Darkness," as well as his political activities, all of which, according to the judges, are evidence of "impressive moral responsibility."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/570312.html
Malicious, this academic attack on Israel
By Motti Golani
The decision by the Association of University Teachers (AUT) in Britain to boycott two Israeli universities - Bar-Ilan and Haifa - can provide an opportunity for a renewed discussion of the connection that exists (or not) between academia and Israeli current affairs and, no less, of the connection that exists (or not) between anti- Israelis on the left and the right.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/570311.html
The parable of Putin's visit
By Doron Rosenblum
Sometimes it seems as though all the international interaction that Israel gets into (or to be more precise, gets itself into) is nothing more than another parable about the Israeli political soul - its unique twists and turns, complexes and lunacy. That is how the visit to Israel this week by Russian President Vladimir Putin looks, from the start.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/570307.html
Outsourcing the occupation
By Niv Gordon
Israel is the key to understanding United States President George W. Bush's strategy in Iraq. This is not because it had any influence on the decision-making process that led to the second Gulf War, but rather because the current administration adopted the model of "democratic occupation" - as former MK Tamar Gozansky of Hadash called it not long ago - that Israel developed in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/570309.html
The New Zealand Herald
Rogue bacteria blamed for three baby deaths
Microbiologist Mark Jones (left) and Michael Hewson, consultant in neonatal medicine, speaking to the media yesterday. Picture / Fotopress
29.04.05
by Helen Tunnah
Three babies have died after being infected with an aggressive strain of bacteria in Wellington Hospital's intensive care unit for premature babies and strict isolation measures have been put in place to try to eradicate the bug.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10122931
Deadly lung disease hits Pacific Island children
29.04.05
Auckland health workers are worried about a potentially fatal lung disease which strikes Pacific Island children at almost five times the rate of the general juvenile population.
All but four of 140 youngsters being treated in the Auckland region for bronchiectasis, or BX for short, are of Pacific or Maori descent.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10122909
Indonesian police kill man suspected of links to Bali 9
29.04.05 1.00pm
Indonesian police have gunned down a Nepali man believed to have had links with the nine Australians arrested this month in Bali for alleged heroin trafficking.
Man Singh Ghale, 43, was shot after he put up "resistance" during a drug bust in the city of Bekasi, on Jakarta's eastern outskirts.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10122988
Waterfront vision fails to impress
29.04.05
by Bernard Orsman
Critics have attacked council plans to revamp the Auckland waterfront as "weak" and lacking in detail.
Interested parties have vented their frustration at the "broad-based" draft vision issued by the Auckland City Council and Auckland Regional Council, saying it will take more than good intentions to achieve a world-class waterfront development.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10122904
Vietnam's end of war commemorations to be muted
A Vietnamese worker plants flowers in front of a billboard celebrating the 30th anniversary of the end of the war in Hanoi. Picture / Reuters
29.04.05 2.30pm
HO CHI MINH CITY - Vietnam commemorates 30 years since "The American War" ended on Saturday, no longer simply exulting in the victory but instead urging people to look to the future.
Concerned that too visible a show of triumph could harm ties with the United States, the celebrations have been toned down compared with previous years.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10123005
Putin tells Israel sale of anti-aircraft missiles to Syria will go ahead
29.04.05 10.40am
By Donald Macintyre
Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday made clear his determination to go ahead with the sale of anti-aircraft missiles to Syria despite strong pressure from Israeli leaders to revoke it.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10122966
Law lords remove legal barrier to creation of 'saviour siblings'
29.04.05
By Jeremy Laurance
The final legal barrier to the creation of "saviour siblings" to treat children seriously ill with genetic disorders was swept away by the Law Lords yesterday.
In a landmark case, the House of Lords ruled that the use of modern reproductive techniques to create babies to be used to treat siblings could be authorised by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10122957
Swiss blast their way through Alps for historic rail link
29.04.05 1.00pm
By Stephen Castle
Swiss engineers have blasted through the last few metres of rock to complete a new Alpine rail tunnel that could change the face of European transport.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10122986
China hits Annan plan for US human rights reform
29.04.05 1,00pm
UNITED NATIONS - China today threw cold water on Secretary-General Kofi Annan's plan to reform the main UN rights body by saying the panel's present structure reflects the views of the UN membership.
Chinese Ambassador Wang Guangya spoke out against Annan's proposal a day after Zimbabwe's re-election to the 53-member Human Rights Commission prompted the United States, Australia and Canada to step up calls for big changes in the election mechanism.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10122982
Haka demonstration woos TV viewers
NZ soldiers appeared on Turkish TV to explain the haka. File picture / NZ Defence Force
29.04.05 1.00pm
by Ian Stuart
DUBAI - Up to 30 million Turkish television viewers have been told the traditional Maori haka is not offensive, and this may pave the way for the war dance to be part of future Anzac services at Gallipoli.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10122987
Cannabis study finds gene linked to psychosis
29.04.05
by Monique Devereux
Some cannabis-using teenagers are highly likely to develop mental health problems as adults because of their genetic make-up, but most face little risk, a new study says.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10122930
Pope's wheels for sale on eBay
29.04.05 3.20pm
ROME - A second hand car once said to be registered in the name of Joseph Kardinal Ratzinger - the new Pope Benedict - is up for sale on eBay and the sky seems to be the limit when it comes to bidding.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10122939
Peru saves rare frogs from cocktail blender
29.04.05 1.00pm
LIMA - Peruvian officials saved some 4,000 endangered frogs from being whizzed into popular drinks after they were found hidden in an abattoir.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10122997
Pentagon moves to bar CIA 'ghost' detainees
29.04.05 1.00pm
WASHINGTON - The CIA will no longer be allowed to hold unregistered "ghost" detainees at US military prisons such as Iraq's Abu Ghraib, the Pentagon's top intelligence official said today.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10122952
The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Wind Chime) is:
Scott Base
Cloudy
-23.0°
Updated Friday 29 Apr 8:59PM
64 °F / 18 °C
Clear
Humidity:
24%
Dew Point:
27 °F / -3 °C
Wind:
7 mph / 11 km/h from the North
Pressure:
30.10 in / 1019 hPa
Visibility:
-
UV:
1 out of 16
Clouds (AGL):
Clear -
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