by Sara Yoheved Rigler
How an 8-year-old is holding down the borders of Israel.
Two boys race into the elevator of Jerusalem's Renaissance Hotel an hour before Shabbat. Thin and dark-complexioned, speaking Hebrew, wearing shorts and T-shirts, and holding plastic bowls filled with unshelled sunflower seeds (Israel's ubiquitous snack), the boys do not look like typical guests at a five-star hotel. In Hebrew, I ask them where they are from.
"Sderot," is their one-word reply.
"Who's paying for your Shabbat in Jerusalem?"
"ZAKA."
Sderot, of course, is the Israeli city of 20,000 Jews located just 900 meters from the Gaza Strip. A more or less constant bombardment of Kassam rockets from Gaza has killed 12 people, some of them children, and injured many hundreds. A few months ago a 10-year-old boy lost his leg in a Kassam attack.
Thousands of the city's residents suffer from Post Traumatic Stress, including endemic bedwetting among children. PTS is actually a misnomer, as the traumatic condition of being sitting ducks for lethal rocket attacks is present and ongoing, not past.
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Hong Kong International Airport voted the world's best for the seventh year in annual survey of 8.2 million passengers. Waiting times at security checkpoints mentioned as major cause of passenger discontent
Hong Kong International Airport was voted the world's best for the seventh year in an annual survey of passengers, with Asian airports dominating the top positions in the list.
In the Middle East, passengers ranked the best airport for the region as Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion Airport, followed by Bahrain.
Airport Troubles  
State: Airport security checks do not discriminate against Arabs / Roi Mandel  
Association for Civil Rights in Israel petitions High Court of Justice about airport inspections, claiming Arab Israeli citizens always undergo stricter checks; State denies allegations
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Five drown off Israel's shores despite repeated warnings of turbulent waters, one of them a 12-year-old boy. Chairman of Israeli Lifeguard Association calls on government to approve funding for more lifeguards, but also says too many Israelis ignore their instructions
Raanan Ben-Zur
A 12-year-old boy drowned on Saturday afternoon at the Agmon beach in Netanya, and he was only one of five victims claimed by the sea this weekend.  
MDA paramedics were dispatched repeatedly to various points along Israel's coast over the weekend, as the relatively comfortable weather drew considerable crowds to the seemingly calm waters of the Mediterranean despite warnings issued by Israel's meteorology service that this weekend the waves were expected to reach heights of 7.2 feet.
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'It might be a good thing to reveal to the world the enormity of this guy's crimes and his intentions,' US presidential candidate tells CNN. Adds: As president I'll move US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem right away
US presidential candidate John McCain said Friday he favors a trial for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the fashion of the Nuremburg trials for Nazi leaders held after World War II.
Democratic Candidate   
US is Israel's true friend, says Obama at Western Wall / Neta Sela   
Democratic presidential hopeful rounds up visit to Israel by praying at holiest Jewish site, meeting with Wall's rabbi. America, he stresses, will continue to look out for Israel's security needs    
Asked on CNN what he would do with bin Laden if the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks on the US -- believed hiding in Pakistan - is ever caught, the Republican senator replied, "Of course you put him on trial."
"There are ample precedents for that. And it might be a good thing to reveal to the world the enormity of this guy's crimes and his intentions," McCain said.
"We have various options, but the Nuremburg trials are certainly an example ...   more »

Defense officials say new system could pose challenges to Israeli air strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, though setup, deployment time may take 6-12 months
Hanan Greenberg
Iran is set to receive an advanced Russian-made anti-aircraft system by year-end that could help fend off any preemptive strikes against its nuclear facilities, senior Israeli defense sources said on Wednesday.  
First delivery of the S-300 missile batteries was expected as soon as early September, one source said, though it could take six to 12 months for them to be deployed and operable – a possible reprieve for Israeli and American military planners.  
Nuke Talks  
Rice: Tired of Iran's 'stalling' tactics 
US secretary of state slams accuses Tehran of not taking negotiations seriously, warns new sanctions may be forthcoming. 'We will see what Iran does in two weeks," she says, '… but if they do not decide to suspend then we will be in a situation where we have to return to the Security Council'
Iran, which already has TOR-M1 surface-to-air missiles from Russia, announced last December that an unspecified number of S-300s were on order. But Moscow denied there was any such deal.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, on his first visit to Washington as Israel's top military officer, said on Wednesday it was crucial to block what he called "Iranian aggression" in the Middle East.
Western nations accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of its civil nuclear program. Iran denies that, saying its atomic program is to generate power so it can export more of its valuable oil and gas.
Washington also accuses Iran of fomenting violence in Iraq and of supplying arms to Palestinian militants and to Lebanon's Hezbollah, which the United States regards as a terrorist organization.
"We are witnessing, I believe, a paradigmatic change in the Middle East in which radical countries and elements are trying to (install) a new order to replace the traditional national, secular one that exists today," Ashkenazi said in a brief speech at the Israeli Embassy.
"At the center of this radical axis is Iran, who seeks to achieve its regional aspiration of hegemony by upsetting the existing balance of power," he added, accusing Iran of backing "terror organizations and radical groups" and of pursuing nuclear arms "to project power within the region and beyond."
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By Griff Witte
JERUSALEM, July 24 -- Israeli officials on Thursday revived plans to construct a new settlement in the occupied West Bank, two years after U.S. pressure forced Israel to shelve the idea.
Although only about 20 homes are slated to be built at a site known as Maskiyot, in the Jordan Valley, the plan is significant because it would appear to defy an Israeli promise made at the Annapolis peace conference last November not to establish any new settlements.
The State Department issued a statement noting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's frequent observation that "settlement expansion is not helpful."
Referring to a 2003 peace initiative, the statement said that settlement expansion "is inconsistent with Israel's commitments under the Road Map and does not contribute to an environment supportive of negotiations."
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ARIEL COHENPublished:
Ariel CohenIn March 2009, Russia will deploy modern S-300 long-range anti-aircraft missiles in Iran. By June 2009 they will become fully operational, as Iranian teams finish training provided by their Russian instructors, a high-level Russian source who requested anonymity told the Middle East Times.
According to multiple sources, Iran is likely to produce a nuclear bomb soon, and, given the blood curdling rhetoric of its President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, may use it against Israel.
The deployment of the anti-aircraft shield next spring effectively limits the window in which Israel or the United States can conduct an effective aerial campaign aimed at destroying, delaying or crippling the Iranian nuclear program.
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By Jennifer Riley
E-mail Print RSS More on Topic  Mosques are multiplying across the country and their inspiration may come as a bit of a surprise – Christian megachurches.
Similar to many megachurches, new mosques are popping up as extension campuses to a main mosque with the stated goal of making it more convenient for Muslims in an area to worship. These extended mosque sites are sometimes referred to as “mosque chains” and tend to be adopted by more progressive Muslim congregations.
"Because of how streamlined we are, you can get off the highway from anywhere and find a mosque that is well-maintained, well-structured and that will always be open," said Abeer Abdulla, media specialist for the nine mosques owned by the Islamic Society of Central Florida in Orlando, according to Religion News Service.
Besides serving as a place of worship, the campuses sometimes double up as a Muslim community center. Some sites feature gymnasiums, adult education classes, psychological counseling, sewing lessons, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts programs.
One such mosque is operated by the All-Dulles Area Muslim Society in the greater Washington, D.C.-area. It has a main mosque in Sterling, Va., and seven branch locations that offer a range ...   more »

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's president said Saturday his country now possesses 6,000 centrifuges, a significant increase in its nuclear program that is certain to further rankle the United States and others who fear Tehran is intent on developing weapons.  The new figure is double the 3,000 uranium-enriching machines Iran had previously said it was operating.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's announcement, reported by the semi-official Fars news agency, comes a week after the U.S. reversed course in negotiations over Iran's nuclear program by sending a top American diplomat to participate in talks between Tehran and world powers.
The bend in policy had prompted hopes for a compromise under which Iran would agree to temporarily stop expansion of enrichment activities. But the White House said Saturday's development did not facilitate a resolution.
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