JERUSALEM [MENL] -- Syria has completed a successful test of its Scud D ballistic missile.
Israeli intelligence sources said Damascus fired the Scud D in late January in northeastern Syria. The sources said the missile flew for several hundred kilometers and landed near an apparent target.
"From all indications, this was a successful test," an intelligence source said.
The sources said the Scud D launch was detected by the Green Pine radar system around Jan. 28. The Green Pine, with a reported range of more than 500 kilometers, was part of the Arrow-2 missile defense system.
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By ASSOCIATED PRESS
DAMASCUS, Syria   
President Bashar Assad said in an interview aired Monday by ABC-TV that Syria is ready to talk to the US about Iraq but is not optimistic Washington will seek a dialogue even though it may be the "last chance" to avoid full-scale civil war.
Assad criticized US President George W. Bush, saying his administration does not have the "vision" to bring peace in Iraq. In the interview with "Good Morning America," Assad praised Bush's father, saying the elder Bush had the "will to achieve the peace in the region."
Assad said Syria could play an important role in "supporting the dialogue between the different parties inside Iraq with the support from the other parties like the Americans and the other neighboring countries..."
"We're not the only player, not the single player. But we are the main player in this issue," Assad told ABC News' Diane Sawyer. "So that's how we can stop the violence."
The bipartisan Iraq Study Group recommended in December that the Bush administration make diplomatic overtures to Syria and Iran to use their influence with Sunni and Shi'ite extremist groups to curb the violence and prevent the conflict from spilling over ...   more »

By Meron Rapoport, Haaretz Correspondent, and Reuters  
The excavation of a tunnel under Jerusalem's City of David has gone on for months without a license from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), as required by law.
In addition, there is no operative plan for developing the site by the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority (INNPPA), which legally administers the area.
Nevertheless, no steps are being taken against the two IAA archaeologists who violated their license; instead, they are being allowed to dig in an area extending another 100 meters, to "explore" the site.    
The archaeologists, Professor Gabi Reich and Eli Shukrun, began the dig in the area of the village of Silwan a few months ago, following the discovery of part of a road that may have been Jerusalem's main street in the Second Temple era. The dig is being financed by Elad, an association that, inter alia, works to settle Jews in East Jerusalem.
Late last year, the archaeologists showed senior government officials a plan to continue tunneling under Silwan to the Old City's Dung Gate, some 600 meters away, and perhaps even as far as the wall around the Temple Mount.
The goal, they said, ...   more »

By JANET FRANKSTON LORIN
Associated Press Writer

          
 
 


NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) -- September's national spinach recall has shaken consumer confidence in the safety of leafy green vegetables, according to a new national survey.
Consumers are still avoiding greens and questioning safety issues, months after spinach contaminated with E. coli bacteria killed three people and sickened nearly 200.  
Plummeting spinach sales have also prompted the produce industry to seek federal oversight to assure buyers that fresh produce is safe.
"We need to be in front of this to maintain consumer confidence," said Tom Stenzel, president of the United Fresh Produce Association, a leading trade group. "Consumers need to eat fresh produce and feel safe in their choices," he said.
A new national survey to be released Monday by Rutgers University suggests that the broad recall could have lasting effects on spinach and other similar vegetables. As a result, consumers felt uncertain and threw away other bagged produce that was not affected by the recall.
William K. Hallman, director of the Food Policy Institute at Rutgers, called the September spinach recall _ and the E. coli contamination at Taco Bells on the East Coast three months later ...   more »

By LESLIE MILLER
 
(AP) Rep. Jim Guest, R-King City, listens to debate Monday, May 1, 2006, in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP...
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WASHINGTON (AP) - A revolt against a national driver's license, begun in Maine last month, is quickly spreading to other states.
The Maine Legislature on Jan. 26 overwhelmingly passed a resolution objecting to the Real ID Act of 2005. The federal law sets a national standard for driver's licenses and requires states to link their record-keeping systems to national databases.
Within a week of Maine's action, lawmakers in Georgia, Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, Vermont and Washington state also balked at Real ID. They are expected soon to pass laws or adopt resolutions declining to participate in the federal identification network.
"It's the whole privacy thing," said Matt Sundeen, a transportation analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures. "A lot of legislators are concerned about privacy issues and the cost. It's an estimated $11 billion implementation cost."
The law's supporters say it is needed to prevent terrorists and illegal immigrants from getting fake identification cards.
States will have to comply by May 2008. If they do not, driver's licenses that fall short of Real ...   more »