by Gil Ronen and Hillel Fendel
(IsraelNN.com) The IDF Home Front Command is holding the largest civil defense drill in Israel's history today and tomorrow (Tuesday and Wednesday). Simulating a combined attack on Israel on all fronts, the drill was suspended for over an hour because of intelligence warnings of a genuine attack.The exercise was preceded by this Home Front Command announcement, repeated on radio broadcasts throughout the morning: "Sirens will be heard at 2 PM Tuesday in many parts of central and southern Israel and heightened activity of IDF, police and rescue forces will be noticeable during the exercise. Traffic disruptions may be felt and blast sounds may be heard across the country."The wail of sirens were heard in most of Israel, from Hadera to the Negev desert, including Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Be'er Sheva, Raanana, Ashkelon, and Dimona. In case of a real emergency, the public was told it would be notified through the mass media. Preparations for the drill were suspended for over an hour in the forenoon hours in light of warnings of a genuine terrorist alert.  The Coastal Highway was closed to traffic until a taxi carrying two suspects - as well as several innocent passengers ...   more »

Deep in a 2,000-year-old tunnel system outside Jerusalem, a young woman unearthed a rare oil lamp used in ancient rituals during an archaeological dig. For Abby Krewson, the discovery is especially gratifying: Krewson is a 10th-grader from Philadelphia participating in a "dig for a day" archaeological experience with her family and a Bible college group. "I didn't expect to find something like that, so it's very exciting," Krewson said. Tourists like Krewson pay $25 to spend the day working in ancient tunnels in Israel's Bet Guvrin National Park, about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem. Participants do the dirty work, digging and sifting through the ruins, while their fees underwrite the more difficult parts of archaeological work: Washing pottery shards, logging finds, and publishing papers in academic journals. Ian Stern, director of Archaeological Seminars, which is licensed by the Israeli government to do the dig, said it's a "Tom Sawyer-ish, paint-the-fence-white kind of a situation." 'It helps them connect to their roots'About 30,000 to 50,000 people pay to do the dig each year, raising about $1 million, he said. He says hundreds of thousands of people have participated in the experience since the project started 25 years ago. Different "excavation vacations" exist around the world, from a ...   more »

Histadrut declares general strike over unpaid wages to 3,700 workers. Strike will see all government ministries, offices, airports closed, except for Defense Ministry Tani Goldstein First of Israel 's public sector, including Ben-Gurion Airport, will grind to a halt as of 6 am tomorrow in compliance with a decision by the Histadrut labor federation to hold a general strike in protest at the local authorities' failure to pay the wages of 3,700 workers.The government has petitioned the Labor Court to issue an injunction against the strike. The court will convene at 1 a.m. tonight to decide on the matter. If the strike goes ahead as planned, all government ministries except for the Defense Ministry will be closed to the public on Wednesday. The Israel Railways, all ports, local authorities, the Israel Electric Company, the National Insurance Institute, the religious councils, firefighters, the Land Administration, the National Water Company, the vehicle licensing office, the Ben-Gurion Airport and all border crossings will all be on strike tomorrow. In an effort to make the strike less inconvenient to the public, the Histadrut said that a number of sectors would be allowed to operate. The Bank of Israel will release cash to refill ATMs and approve transactions, while ...   more »

The FBI has issued an "informational bulletin" to state and local officials saying to watch out for people tied to extremist groups trying to earn licenses to drive school buses.The Associated Press reports that members of the unnamed extremist groups have succeeded in gaining the drivers licenses, but a Department of Homeland Security official told FOX News that "at this time there is no evidence that any of these individuals have got these jobs, or got hold of school buses.""There is no plot. There is no threat. And parents and children can feel perfectly safe," FBI spokesman Richard Kolko told FOXNews.com.The Department of Homeland Security official said the bulletin was sent to state and local law enforcement officials, and "some school districts have reported an increased number of foreign nationals seeking school bus driver positions and a number of other unusual events."The official said that, out of an abundance of caution, FBI shared the information.An unnamed counterterrorism official told The Associated Press that the bulletin — sent Friday to state and local law enforcement agencies — did not say how often foreign extremists attempted to get licenses or drive school buses, and did not specify where this might have happened.The ...   more »

Muslim clerics around the world preach against the temptations of the West – meaning movies, music, television and other cultural influences. But some in Egypt worry about a more direct threat to their social structure and traditions – older, foreign, wealthy, female tourists who are dazzling their young men and stealing their hearts. In other words, real-life "Desperate Housewives" are invading the nation of the pyramids and turning the country upside down. Authorities in the city of Luxor, where some 40 percent of young men are married to Western women, recently launched a new campaign designed to provide incentives to stick with local women. Dr. Samir Faraj, who heads the Luxor municipality, explained to Al Sharq Al Awsat the main reason behind the marriages of young Egyptian men and the aging westerners – including many in their 40s and 50s – is for financial security. Faraj says better jobs need to be found for the young men, who will then be free to marry the women of their choice and raise families. Luxor is one of several Upper Egyptian cities struggling with poverty. But it also attracts tourists from across the world to its ancient ruins. Egypt last year drew ...   more »

Islamic groups impose tax on Christian “subjects”
Islamic militias in Baghdad and Mosul order Christians to pay the jizya, a poll tax which dates back to the period of the Ottoman Empire, which guaranteed non Muslims the right to practise their religion as well as Muslim protection; the groups are ordered “not to reveal their activities” to Iraqi authorities while all contributions are given in alms to the Mosques.
Baghdad (AsiaNews) – “Non Muslim subjects must pay a contribution to the jihad if they wish to be allowed to live and practise their faith in Iraq”. These orders are being imposed on the Christians of Mosul and Baghdad by Islamic militias.  Besides these threats of extortion, thousands of non Muslims are also being forced to leave their homes by letters assigning their house to Muslim citizens.  The initiative is part of the general campaign to Islamafy the entire country, which begun with the imposition of the veil on all women.  The website Ankawa.com was the first to carry news of this latest development; the website has eye witness accounts of Iraqi refugees in Erbil, in the semi autonomous region of Kurdistan. The fourth anniversary of the US military’s arrival in ...   more »

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have been pretty cozy up until now....in recent years, Russia has built nuclear facilities for Iran, sold Iran hundreds of millions of dollars worth of nuclear technology, trained over a thousand Iranian nuclear scientists, run political interference for Iran at the United Nations over the nuclear issue and was due, this month, to deliver enriched uranium to Iran....but now Moscow is balking, and Tehran sounds testy....poor Mahmoud....not a fun way to spend the Persian New Year, fretting about how best to complete his nuclear weapons arsenal....the Russians are claiming that Iran has failed to pay its bills for the nuclear reactor it's building at Bushehr....the Iranians say that's nonsense....they claim they are all paid up and that the Russians are just delaying -- yet again....."It is deplorable that there has been a delay in launching the Bushehr plant," said Iran's chief nuclear negotatiator Ali Larijani, according to a report by Agence France Presse. "The Russians should keep their promises on time....According to the initial contract the plant was set to be launched on July 8, 1999. It has been delayed five times."....Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization of ...   more »