PP PLAYERS SKEPTICAL ABOUT OBAMA

AS OF YESTERDAY AT 6PM SUN JULY 20,08 (17TH OF TAMMUZ FAST) ISRAEL IS CELEBRATING THE 3 WEEK MOURNING PERIOD OF THE SECOND TEMPLE TILL AUG 10,08 WHEN THE ACTUAL DESTRUCTION IS MOURNED.

SO WATCH FOR DESTRUCTION ON EARTH TO HAPPEN FOR THE NEXT THREE WEEKS. INTERESTING THESE HURRICANES ARE REVING UP NOW.

Oldest New Testament Bible heads into cyberspace By Dave Graham Mon Jul 21, 12:46 PM ET

BERLIN (Reuters) - More than 1,600 years after it was written in Greek, one of the oldest copies of the Bible will become globally accessible online for the first time this week. From Thursday, sections of the Codex Sinaiticus, which contains the oldest complete New Testament, will be available on the Internet, said the University of Leipzig, one of the four curators of the ancient text worldwide.High resolution images of the Gospel of Mark, several Old Testament books, and notes on the work made over centuries will appear on www.codex-sinaiticus.net as a first step towards publishing the entire manuscript online by next July.Ulrich Johannes Schneider, director of Leipzig University Library, which holds part of the manuscript, said the publication of the Codex online would allow anyone to study a work of fundamental importance to Christians.

A manuscript is going onto the net which is like nothing else online to date, Schneider said. It's also an enrichment of the virtual world -- and a bit of a change from YouTube.Selected translations will be available in English and German for those not conversant in ancient Greek, he added.Dating from around 350, the document is believed by experts to be the oldest known copy of the Bible, along with the Codex Vaticanus, another ancient version of the Bible, Schneider said.The vellum manuscript came to Europe piece by piece from Saint Catherine's Monastery by Mount Sinai after German biblical scholar Konstantin von Tischendorf found a number of folios there in 1844. He was allowed to take some to Leipzig.Tischendorf returned to the monastery in 1859 with Russian backing and acquired the biggest section of the Bible for his imperial sponsors. It remained in St. Petersburg until the Soviet Union sold it to the British Museum in 1933.The first section was clearly a gift to Tischendorf, but that's not so clear in the case of the second portion. The monks all signed a contract at the time, but the rumor persists that they were given a raw deal, said Schneider.

And there is probably some truth to this.

Subsequent discoveries meant that the original Codex, missing roughly half the Old Testament, is now housed at four locations in Europe and the Middle East.The project, launched in cooperation with the Russian National Library, the British Library and Saint Catherine's Monastery, also details the condition of the Bible, believed to have been written by early Christians in Egypt.I think it's just fantastic that thanks to technology we can now make the oldest cultural artifacts -- ones that were once so precious you couldn't show them to anyone -- accessible to everyone, in really high quality, said Schneider.(editing by Ron Popeski)

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

BALTIMORE CITY UNDER HEATWAVE
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=4226712&cl=8919320&src=news

OIL JUMPS ON DOLLY FEARS
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8919520&ch=4226720&src=news

HARRIS COUNTY PREPARES FOR DOLLY
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=4226712&cl=8919270&src=news

Storm Dolly to become hurricane, hit Texas JULY 21,08

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Dolly churned toward southern Texas on Monday, and forecasters said they expected it to grow into a hurricane before hitting land near the Mexican border later this week. The storm, with sustained winds of nearly 50 miles per hour (85 km per hour), emerged from the Yucatan Peninsula over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A hurricane watch was issued for the southern Texas coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Dolly was 420 miles southeast of the border, where it was due to hit on Wednesday near Brownsville, well away from sensitive offshore drilling rigs and production platforms.The United States has largely escaped the past two Atlantic hurricane seasons, with just one hurricane -- Humberto in November 2007 -- making landfall on its coasts.But it was pummeled in 2004 and 2005, when a series of powerful hurricanes, including the catastrophic Katrina, ravaged Florida and the U.S. Gulf Coast.Concerns that Dolly could affect oil production from the Gulf of Mexico helped push crude futures up about $2 a barrel on Monday, although dealers said Dolly appeared likely to pass south and west of the biggest concentration of U.S. platforms.U.S. forecasters expect Dolly to hit the shore as a Category 1 hurricane with wind speeds up to 86 mph (139 kph) -- the weakest category -- as it gathers energy from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.In Texas, Gov. Rick Perry put 1,200 National Guard troops on alert, and told citizens to take precautions, though no mandatory evacuations were ordered.If the time comes where we do believe that we need to brace for impact from the storm, Texas will be ready, said Krista Pfeiffer, Perry's press secretary. Some 250 buses are standing by in San Antonio for quick evacuations, Pfeiffer said.The advancing storm turned emergency supplies like generators, plywood and sandbags into hot items.

We're seeing plywood, a lot of plywood, a lot of anchors, a lot of tarps, sandbags, said Sergio Alonzo, who manages Pico Ace Hardware, a home supply store on South Padre Island.In Mexico, Dolly dumped rain in Cancun, home to high-rise hotels overlooking white sand beaches, and other resorts in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, but no major damage was reported.The northeastern state of Tamaulipas on Mexico's Gulf Coast, already flooded following heavy rains last week, issued a hurricane warning and began preparing dozens of buildings to receive possible evacuees.Shell Oil Co. and Chevron Corp. began flying workers from platforms in the western Gulf ahead of the storm, but Mexico's state oil company Pemex said its production was unlikely to be hit.As of now there are no changes in the routine activities at Pemex platforms. The course of the storm is passing far away from the installations, said Javier Delgado, a local spokesman for Pemex on Mexico's coast.(Reporting by Jose Cortazar, Magdiel Hernandez and Mica Rosenberg in Mexico; Erwin Seba and Chris Baltimore in Houston; Jim Forsyth in San Antonio; and Michael Christie in Miami; Editing by Eric Beech)(For latest U.S. National Hurricane Center reports, see http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/)

Tropical Storm Dolly threatens to grow into hurricane JULY 21,08

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Tropical Storm Dolly churned over the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, threatening to grow into a hurricane within 36 hours as it headed toward the Mexico-Texas border, the US National Hurricane Center said. The governments of Texas and Mexico issued a hurricane watch for coastal areas, meaning they could be struck by hurricane-force conditions within 36 hours, the Miami-based center said.Dolly was packing 85-kilometer-per hour (50 miles per hour) winds after emerging from Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. The eye of the storm was about 220 kilometers (130 miles) north of the peninsula, moving west-northwest at 30 kilometers per hour (18 miles per hour).The storm was expected to produce two to four inches (five to 10 centimeters) of rain accumulation in northern Yucatan with isolated maximum amounts of up to six inches (15 centimeter), the center said.Gradual strengthening is forecast ... Dolly is forecast to become a hurricane within the next day or two before reaching the western Gulf of Mexico coast, the center said in its latest bulletin issued at 4:00 pm (2100 GMT).

Texas, Mexico prepare for Tropical Storm Dolly By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer JULY 21,08

McALLEN, Texas - Residents along the Texas-Mexico border kept a watchful eye on Tropical Storm Dolly on Monday, stocking up on plywood, generators and flashlights as forecasters predicted the storm would strengthen into a hurricane later this week and make landfall. The storm was expected to bring high winds and dump 10 to 20 inches of rain in coastal areas near the U.S.-Mexican border. Emergency officials feared major flooding problems and urged coastal residents to prepare.Shell Oil said it was evacuating workers from oil rigs in the western Gulf Of Mexico, and the federal government was trying to decide whether they could begin construction on a new border fence, which was to be combined with levee improvements along the Rio Grande in Hidalgo County.The National Hurricane Center in Miami issued a hurricane watch from Brownsville north to Port O'Connor.Mexico also announced a hurricane watch from Rio San Fernando north to Matamoros and the U.S. border.Dolly was expected to make landfall Wednesday as a Category 1 storm with sustained winds of 74 mph to 95 mph.Texas officials said they wouldn't order evacuations along the coast unless Dolly strengthens to a Category 3, with sustained winds of at least 111 mph.

At 5 p.m. EDT, the center of Tropical Storm Dolly was located about 420 miles east-southeast of the lower Rio Grande Valley. Mexico discontinued its tropical storm warning for the Yucatan peninsula, which was battered by strong winds and drenched with rain a day earlier.Dolly was moving toward the west-northwest at 18 mph. The storm was expected to gradually slow in the next couple days but stay on track toward the U.S.-Mexico border. Maximum sustained winds were 50 mph, and tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 175 miles.Dolly's winds were expected to strengthen Tuesday to hurricane force, which would mean at least 74 mph.Gov. Rick Perry activated 1,200 National Guard troops and other emergency crews. Mindful of the disastrous evacuation before Hurricane Rita hit the Texas Gulf Coast in 2005 — when far more people died from heat-related injuries and auto accidents fleeing the storm than from the severe weather — Perry also ordered 250 buses to be staged in San Antonio. The governor also ordered fuel teams to be ready to keep gas stations supplied and to help stranded motorists.There are about 2 million people in the Rio Grande Valley, which includes popular summer beach resort South Padre Island. Officials readied to evacuate residents in flood-prone areas and urged RV owners on South Padre to head for higher ground.That amount of rain will present a big flooding problem for us, said Cameron County Emergency Management Coordinator Johnny Cavazos.At a Home Depot in Brownsville near the border between the two countries, residents bought plywood, generators, batteries and flashlights, said store operations manager John Paul Martinez. He said a lot of people were just learning of Dolly, which became a tropical storm Sunday.We're expecting it to get a lot busier late this afternoon as people get out of work, Martinez said.The federal government was to begin this week constructing the first part of the new border fence in Hidalgo County. While project supervisors met with emergency officials about the storm, large cranes unloaded steel beams and other supplies at a staging area near the levee Monday. Concrete walls will be incorporated into the river side of the levees to keep floodwaters, illegal immigrants and smugglers out.The county is upgrading other levees and informed contractors Monday they should activate plans to prevent flooding, said Godfrey Garza, head of Hidalgo County Drainage District 1.Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Cristobal was moving toward the northeast near 13 mph, away from the U.S. Cristobal was located about 265 miles east-northeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., with maximum sustained winds near 65 mph. Forecasters said the storm, which dumped rain on the coast of the Carolinas, was no longer an immediate threat to the U.S. In the Pacific, Tropical Storm Genevieve formed off Mexico's coast, but forecasters said the storm was not expected to threaten land. Tropical Storm Fausto also was weakening and moving out to sea.

Pacific Tropical Storm Genevieve forms JULY 21,08

MEXICO CITY - The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Tropical Storm Genevieve has formed off Mexico's Pacific coast. Forecasters say the storm is not expected to threaten land. It was located 275 miles (440 kilometers) southwest of Acapulco on Monday afternoon.

The storm has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and is expected to move out over the open ocean in the coming days.

Tropical Storm Fausto also was moving out to sea off Mexico's Pacific coast. It was located 550 miles (885 kilometers) west-southwest of Cabo San Lucas.

Storm hits Iowa with 100 mph wind, causes blackout By MELANIE S. WELTE, Associated Press Writer Mon Jul 21, 3:35 PM ET

DES MOINES, Iowa - Thunderstorms battered Iowa with winds as high as 100 mph early Monday, knocking down trees and power lines and blacking out more than 200,000 homes and businesses across much of the state. No injuries were reported, and there were only a few reports of structural damage, including a roof torn off a small building at the state prison for women in Mitchellville near Des Moines.The storms didn't produce a lot of rain, but a wind speed of 100 mph was reported at Dawson, a town of about 150 people 30 miles northwest of Des Moines, the National Weather Service said.About 177,000 customers of MidAmerican Energy lost power from Sioux City on the state's western edge to the Davenport area on the east. Iowa's other large utility company, Alliant Energy, reported 31,000 customers without power.It started about midnight in Sioux City. One of the unique things about this storm was that it never really broke up. It just moved across our entire service territory, said Ann Thelen, spokeswoman for MidAmerican Energy.Thelen said the major problem was an enormous number of trees on power lines. It could take three days to restore power to some areas, she said.

Power failures in Des Moines shut down traffic lights, snarling the morning commute. Police posted signs or directed traffic at the busiest intersections.At the women's prison, part of the roof hit cars in a parking lot, but no one was hurt, said Fred Scaletta, spokesman for the Iowa Department of Corrections. The building houses a voluntary clothing donation center for inmates who are leaving prison, he said.

Bangladesh to escape flooding this year: experts Mon Jul 21, 12:14 PM ET

DHAKA (AFP) - Bangladesh is likely to escape major flooding this year despite higher than average rainfall since the beginning of the current monsoon season, weather experts said Monday. The head of the nation's meteorological department said scientists did not foresee heavy rainfalls posing a problem in the coming months.So far on the basis of meteorological data, we can say that there is very little possibility for a major flooding this summer, Arjumand Habib said.The flood-prone South Asian nation of 144 million people was hit by major flooding last year, which left 13 million people marooned and more than 1,000 people dead.Summer floods are common in the delta nation as monsoon rains sweep the Indian subcontinent from June to September which, combined with Himalayan snow melting, feeds major rivers that run to the Bay of Bengal.Last year's floods submerged more than 40 percent of the country's landmass, damaging rice crops across a widespread area, which later contributed to a food crisis.Habib said this year's heavier rainfall would result in better crops, helping farmers and easing the risk of a food crisis.

The government has targeted a record harvest of more than 13 million tonnes of rice during the rainy season, up at least 30 percent on last year.The government's Flood Forecasting and Warning Center was also optimistic that flooding would not pose a problem this year.We have 50 years of monsoon rains data. So far the monsoon is behaving most satisfactorily, said Saiful Hossain, the centre's chief analyst.

Storm Cristobal strengthens but moves off U.S. coast Mon Jul 21, 12:11 PM ET

MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical storm Cristobal strengthened on Monday as it moved away from the U.S. East coast after lashing North Carolina with rain and high winds but doing little damage.

Cristobal's winds were near 65 mph, below hurricane strength, and it was headed northeast on a path that would take it over the open Atlantic at around 13 mph, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.The storm dumped up to 5 inches of rain on parts of the North Carolina coast and caused high surf but there were no reports of serious flood damage.It was possible the storm would strengthen a little more before dissipating over the open Atlantic in a few days time, the center said.Its location at 11 a.m. EDT was about 190miles east-northeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.(Reporting by Matthew Bigg, Editing by Michael Christie and Sandra Maler)

Parts of Nova Scotia prepare for a downpour from tropical storm Cristobal By The Canadian Press JULY 21,08

DARTMOUTH, N.S. - Nova Scotia is bracing for a downpour as tropical storm Cristobal churns its way up the Atlantic Coast towards the province. Up to 100 millimetres of rain could be dumped on Halifax and other parts of Nova Scotia as the storm moves into the region early Tuesday. Environment Canada has issued rainfall warnings for southwestern and coastal areas reaching up to Guysborough County.

The Fundy coast of New Brunswick and southern parts of P.E.I. could see heavy rain, but not as much as southwestern Nova Scotia, said meteorologist Bob Robichaud. The Canadian Hurricane Centre in Dartmouth, N.S., cautioned that the heavy rains could cause flooding in some areas. Much of the Maritimes was already drenched on Monday by a separate weather system. Robichaud said there won't be much of a difference once Cristobal arrives. It's going to be showers that are becoming more frequent and heavier as the day goes on, he said. Forecasters said the storm's most powerful gusts would remain offshore as the centre of Cristobal moves over Georges Bank around midday Tuesday. The rain should end from west to east on Tuesday night as Cristobal moves east, and is due to settle off the coast of southern Newfoundland by Thursday. Cristobal formed as a tropical storm off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, but is expected to be downgraded to post-tropical storm status once it hits Nova Scotia. On Monday afternoon, Cristobal was moving away from the North Carolina coast at around 20 kilometres per hour, tracking northeast with maximum winds of 102 kilometres per hour.

Weather systems are considered tropical storms when they reach maximum sustained winds of 62 kilometres per hour. The storm brought heavy rain and rough seas to the Carolina coast over the weekend. Minor flooding was reported Saturday in Wilmington, N.C., and the area picked up over 87 millimetres of rain, a record for the day.

Hurricane Fausto grows to category 2 storm in the Pacific
Mon Jul 21, 5:39 AM By The Associated Press

MIAMI - Hurricane Fausto has increased to a category 2 storm in the Pacific while Tropical Storm Dolly moves over Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and heads for the Gulf of Mexico. Though Hurricane Fausto has increased in strength, the U-S National Hurricane Center in Miami says the storm has probably reached its peak intensity and is expected to weaken during the next 24 hours. Fausto's maximum sustained winds are near 160 kilometres per hour and the storm's center is 651 kilometres west-southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Dolly is expected to strengthen as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico and could become a hurricane on Tuesday. Its winds are near 80 kilometres per hour. Also in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Cristobal continues to move northeast, away from the U.S. coast.

China pulls troops from quake zone By TINI TRAN, Associated Press Writer JULY 21,08

BEIJING - China on Monday began withdrawing the first batch of 40,000 troops from three provinces hit by the massive May 12 earthquake, as authorities shift their focus away from rescue and toward reconstruction work. The first group of soldiers, about 500 paratroopers, left the Sichuan capital of Chengdu by train Monday morning, the official Xinhua News Agency said. No time frame was given for when the troop pullout will be complete.Departing soldiers autographed local children's t-shirts and crowds in Sichuan's Qingchuan county and Shifang city lined the road to wave at passing military convoys, according to Xinhua. Some people held up handwritten cardboard signs thanking the soldiers.China mobilized about 130,000 troops and armed police to help with quake relief and post-quake reconstruction in the provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi following the 7.9-magnitude temblor.Disasters always pose a test for the communist government, whose mandate rests heavily on maintaining order, delivering economic growth, and providing relief in emergencies.The quick deployment reflected China's emphasis on its ability to deliver efficient relief as well as its desire to show the world it stands ready for anything that may come during the Olympics in August.The troops began pouring into the quake zone almost immediately — their numbers already in the tens of thousands within 24 hours of the disaster. Their efforts ranged from rescuing survivors and shoring up weakened dams that threatened to flood thousands downriver to clearing rubble and beginning the process of reconstruction.In the two months since the quake, some soldiers, along with migrant workers, have been reconstructing communities and building camps of prefabricated housing for the displaced.

The remaining troops will continue their work repairing roads, cleaning up and preventing epidemics, Xinhua quoted Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army, as saying.The military is also helping to relocate quake survivors and transport relief supplies, the report said.The quake destroyed a massive swath of Sichuan and the two neighboring provinces, leaving 70,000 dead and another 18,000 missing. An estimated 5 million people were left homeless.The troops and armed forces as of July 18 had repaired more than 9,196 miles of roads, installed 220,000 shelters and relocated more than 1.4 million people, Xinhua said.

They had delivered 7,474 tons of relief supplies to the quake zone, it said.

FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

DEAD PENGUIN MYSTERY
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8919902&ch=4226714&src=news

Rain not expected to extinguish California wildfires, could bring thunderstorms Sun Jul 20, 5:57 PMBy The Associated Press

JUNCTION CITY, Calif. - Scattered showers forecast for California's northern mountains Sunday are unlikely to extinguish wildfires that still threaten homes and could bring more lightning to the charred region, fire officials said. The weather system is not expected to bring enough rain to have any effect on several huge blazes that have burned for nearly a month, said Pete Munoa, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. A bigger concern is thunderstorms predicted to accompany the system. But fire officials said cooler temperatures mean lightning strikes don't pose as much of a threat as they did a month ago, when storms sparked nearly 2,100 fires that have burned over 400,000 hectares.

The weather pattern, if it holds the way it is now, we should be able to get a foothold around these fires, Munoa said. In the rural town of Junction City, residents were under mandatory evacuation orders for a third day Sunday as flames crept across the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The month-old fire had spread to over 225 square kilometres by Sunday and was 49 per cent contained. All but 34 of the fires sparked after a lighting storm on June 20 have been contained around the state, leaving over 3,800 square kilometres of destruction in what officials call the largest fire event in California history. Fires consumed roughly 4,000 square kilometres in all of 2007. A handful of residents near Dry Lake in Humboldt County were still under orders to stay away from their homes as another remote blaze spread to more than 46 square kilometres. That fire was 60 per cent contained Sunday. Authorities say most of California's remaining fires are on remote federal forest land and pose little threat to homes.

Oil rises past $131 on Iran deadlock, Gulf storm
Mon Jul 21, 4:55 PM By Adam Schreck, The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Oil prices rose Monday on a threat of new sanctions against Iran and as Tropical Storm Dolly headed into the Gulf of Mexico, prompting a hurricane watch for parts of Texas and Mexico.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery added $2.16 to settle at $131.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was oil's first gain in a week. For drivers in the U.S., pump prices eased by a few pennies. A gallon of regular gasoline now sells for an average just shy of $4.07, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. Diesel prices also pulled back, to an average of $4.818 a gallon. Retail prices may decline even more in the coming days as gas station operators catch up to last week's four-day oil sell-off, which left crude more than $18 below the trading record of $147.27 it hit on July 11. If the futures market stays relatively flat this week, we could see some further declines at the pump, said Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates. Energy traders bid oil prices up after a weekend meeting between Iran and six world powers, including the U.S., failed to break the deadlock over Iran's disputed nuclear program. In her first public comments since Saturday's meeting in Switzerland, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice accused Iran of not being serious at the talks despite the presence of a senior U.S. diplomat, and warned it may soon face new sanctions. The six nations have given Tehran a two-week deadline to freeze suspect activities and start negotiations or be hit with new penalties. Iran is OPEC's second largest oil producer and is estimated to be No. 2 in terms of global natural gas reserves. Investor perception about the likelihood of conflict between Iran and the West has been a major reason for oil's rise in recent months. Traders fear Tehran could respond to an attack aimed at halting uranium enrichment by blocking oil supplies in the strategic Straight of Hormuz, a passageway that handles 40 per cent of the world's tanker traffic.

The buying has picked up ... as U.S. traders return to their desks after a weekend in which the only outcome to the much-anticipated talks in Geneva between Iran and the West was disappointment, Addison Armstrong, Tradition Energy's director of market research, said in a research note. Oil prices also rose Monday on concerns that Tropical Storm Dolly may disrupt operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Royal Dutch Shell PLC began evacuating workers from some work sites in the western part of the Gulf, although it said it did not expect Dolly to affect production. You see oil companies evacuate personnel ... that will lend support to prices, said John Kilduff, senior vice president for risk management at MF Global LLC in New York. He predicted other companies would pull workers off rigs as a precaution. Dolly drenched Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and headed into the warmer waters of the Gulf, packing sustained winds near 50 mph. The National Hurricane Center in Miami issued a hurricane watch from Brownsville, Texas, north to Port O'Connor, but so far U.S. government officials had not asked residents to leave the coast. Mexico also announced a hurricane watch from Rio San Fernando north to Matamoros and the U.S. border. Dolly was expected to make landfall Wednesday as a Category 1 storm with sustained winds of 74 mph to 95 mph. AccuWeather.com predicted the storm would not affect U.S. oil and natural gas platforms in the Gulf despite the likelihood of rough seas. However, Dolly could hit rigs operated by Mexican national oil company Petroleos Mexicanos in the Bay of Campeche, the forecasting company said. The impending expiration of the current oil contract added to the day's volatility, analysts said. Natural gas prices, which have fallen sharply since early this month, continued their slide. August futures fell six cents to settle at $10.51 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Kilduff attributed the ongoing sell-off in part to the weakening U.S. economy, which has cut industrial demand for the fuel, and a surprisingly large increase in storage levels last week. Technical models used to gauge pricing support, he added, have completely broken down - giving traders little reason to be bullish. In other Nymex trade, heating oil futures rose 5.64 cents to settle at $3.7479 a gallon while gasoline futures rose 4.62 cents to settle at $3.2171 a gallon. In London, September Brent crude rose $2.42 to settle at $132.61 a barrel on Monday on the ICE Futures exchange.

HBOS says rights issue flops amid fierce financial storm
Mon Jul 21, 9:39 AM

LONDON (AFP) - Lender HBOS failed on Monday to raise almost 4.0 billion pounds from shareholders to boost finances hit by the global credit crisis, forcing the underwriting banks to step in.A company spokesman blamed the miserable investor response on a fierce financial storm that has battered the world's banks in the fallout from the collapse of the US subprime home loan market and related credit crunch.Britain's biggest mortgage lender HBOS, seeking to boost its capital after heavy credit squeeze writedowns, said investors had agreed to buy just 8.29 percent of its 4.0-billion-pound rights issue.The miserable take-up by HBOS investors makes it the most unsuccessful cash call since British energy giant BP attempted to raise seven billion pounds after the 1987 stock market crash.HBOS said in a statement that underwriting banks Dresdner and Morgan Stanley would try to sell the remaining shares. The pair will be obliged to purchase the stock on Tuesday if they cannot find buyers.In early afternoon trade on Monday, HBOS shares sank once more under the issue price of 275 pence.The stock dived 2.50 percent to 274.96 pence on London's FTSE 100 leading shares index, which was up 0.58 percent at 5,407.40 points.The rights issue has been conducted in the middle of a fierce financial storm, said HBOS spokesman Shane O'Riordain.

We have seen unprecedented volatility in banking stocks, he said, adding: The bottom line is that we have raised 4.0 billion pounds of capital.Just like ships need more ballast in heavy seas, banks need more capital in tougher times. We have now raised that capital.
Under the terms of the rights issue, HBOS investors were offered two new shares at 275 pence for every five held at the end of April when the stock was trading at 500 pence.Since then, it has tumbled badly along with the other banks on deepening concerns over Britain's flagging property market and slowing economic growth.The share price last week fell 275 pence before closing at 282 pence on Friday, which was the issue deadline.Major commercial banks have suffered heavy losses related to complex investments in the US subprime or high-risk home loan market and the subsequent tightening of lending criteria.Other British banks have experienced varying success in their attempts to raise fresh cash from shareholders.Barclays announced last week that only one fifth of its 4.5-billion-pound rights issue had been taken up by existing investors, with the remainder bought by anchor investment groups from China, Japan, Qatar and Singapore.The Royal Bank of Scotland also had to finance the mammoth takeover of Dutch bank ABN Amro but with better timing, coming to market first, it had a take-up rate of 95 percent in its record-breaking 12-billion-pound rights issue.

Analysts said investors were growing weary of banks looking for more money.Banks are already close to raising 20 billion pounds of capital, primarily via rights issues, but there are signs of shareholder fatigue, said Roger Bootle of consultancy Capital Economics.UK banks are unlikely to raise enough capital to maintain their recent rates of lending so even if they overcome their immediate liquidity problems, the credit crunch is unlikely to ease soon.HBOS claims two in five British households as a customer through its subsidiary Halifax.

WORLD GOVERNMENT

DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

DANIEL 12:4,1
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

REVELATION 13:1-3,7,8,12,16-18
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

REVELATION 17:3,7,9-10,12,18
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

Trade powers struggle to save WTO round By William Schomberg and Laura MacInnis

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States, the European Union and emerging economic heavyweights will try again on Tuesday to line up the long-elusive trade-offs needed to save a deal to dismantle export barriers around the world.The United States resisted calls on Monday to announce a cut in its ceiling for farm subsidies as a critical week of talks opened, saying it was ready to act as long as others do likewise, especially developing economies like Brazil and China.The World Trade Organisation's Doha round of negotiations risks years of further delay without a breakthrough this week.But some top trade officials doubted that would be possible, given the range of issues to be resolved and the fundamental differences that still separate rich and poor countries.I have to say that after today's meeting I am less optimistic than before, said Egyptian Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid after WTO chief Pascal Lamy summoned more than 30 ministers to spell out what they can do to secure a deal.He told Reuters more talks might have to be scheduled in the coming two weeks, before Europe shuts down for the summer.

After that, the U.S. presidential election campaign is likely to put the Doha round on ice and it could be a year or two before it can be revived, officials say, dashing hopes for a rare piece of good news for the slowing global economy.The round was launched shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States to bolster the global economy and offer a chance to poor countries to export more and fight poverty.But the negotiations remain bogged down, largely because many poor countries insist their rich counterparts must bear the brunt of the concessions by scaling back farm protections while Brussels and Washington are leaning increasingly on big emerging nations to open up their economies.

TRADE NOW, CLIMATE TOMORROW?

The battle at the WTO is seen by many as a test of how other global deals can be done, notably next year on climate change, given the shifting balance of power as new heavyweights such as India and China grow in confidence.Many ministers in Geneva will be seeking a lead from the United States on Tuesday when it will again come under pressure to say how far it will lower its ceiling on farm subsidies.I'm sure it will come tomorrow...Otherwise it will be difficult to move a bit forward, said European Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel.But U.S. trade chief Susan Schwab said Washington would not be rushing into playing its key card in the negotiations without signs that the big emerging economies were ready to move too.When we address the...domestic support issue, it will address our desire to invite others to also participate in a can do type of conversation, instead of a can't do conversation, she told reporters.Latest WTO proposals would require the United States to cut trade-distorting farm subsidies to a range of $13 billion to $16.4 billion a year from a current ceiling of $48.2 billion.The range is above current U.S. spending on subsidies of about $7 billion although the handout figure is low because global foods prices are so high.The EU is under pressure to cut its farm tariffs and limit the number of sensitive products that would be shielded from the deepest tariff cuts.EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said the EU's offer on farm tariff cuts now represented an average cut of about 60 percent which represented a further iteration on a previous estimate of a reduction of 54 percent.(Additional reporting by Doug Palmer)

Chavez may hug king, won't shut up Mon Jul 21, 1:22 PM ET

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday he would like to give the king of Spain a hug when he visits Europe next week, but the outspoken leader, referring to a diplomatic spat last year, said he will not shut up. King Juan Carlos sparked a furor in November by shouting Why don't you shut up? at Chavez when he tried to interrupt a speech by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero at the Ibero-American summit in Chile.Ties have improved since then and the Spanish government said last week that Chavez will meet the king on a visit to Spain next week.I'd like to give the king a hug, but you know, Juan Carlos, that I am not going to shut up, a smiling Chavez said on his weekly television show before setting of to Russia for the first leg of his tour.We will keep talking for ourselves, for a just and equal world, the left-wing president said.The king's November outburst made headlines around the world, spawning songs, jokes and even a ringtone for mobile phones.Chavez threatened to review diplomatic and business ties with Venezuela's former colonial power, a major investor in the region.Despite ongoing tensions over Europe's immigration policies, tempers have now calmed and Chavez referred to the king as an old friend, during a meeting with the Spanish prime minister at a summit in Peru in May.

Chavez, making his first visit to Spain since the spat, will meet the king next Friday on the island of Mallorca after which he will travel to Madrid to meet Zapatero, Spain said last week.(Reporting by Patricia Rondon, editing by Vicki Allen)

FDA finds salmonella strain in jalapeno pepper By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer JULY 21,08

WASHINGTON - Government inspectors finally have a big clue in the nationwide salmonella outbreak: They found the same bacteria strain on a single Mexican-grown jalapeno pepper handled in Texas — and issued a stronger warning for consumers to avoid fresh jalapenos.

But Monday's discovery, the equivalent of a fingerprint, doesn't solve the mystery: Authorities still don't know where the pepper became tainted — on the farm, or in the McAllen, Texas, plant, or at some stop in between, such as a packing house.Nor are they saying the tainted pepper exonerates tomatoes sold earlier in the spring that consumers until last week had been told were the prime suspect.Still, this genetic match is a very important break in the case, said Dr. David Acheson, the Food and Drug Administration's food safety chief.For now, the government is strengthening its earlier precaution against hot peppers to a full-blown warning that no one should eat fresh jalapenos — or products such as fresh salsa made from them — until it can better pinpoint where tainted ones may have sold.Tomatoes currently on the market, in contrast, now are considered safe to eat.The Texas plant, Agricola Zaragoza, has suspended sales of fresh jalapenos and recalled those shipped since June 30 — shipments it said were made to Georgia and Texas.FDA said no other produce currently in the plant has tested positive for salmonella, and was continuing to probe where the produce came from and went.

But a sign over Agricola Zaragoza's spot inside a huge produce warehouse on Monday displayed pictures of tomatoes, onions and tomatillos alongside jalapenos — suggesting the small vendor might have handled both major suspects in the outbreak that has sickened 1,251 people.McAllen, Texas, near the Mexican border, is in a region deemed a major hub for both Texas-grown and imported produce. Although Agricola Zaragoza is a small operation, it's unclear whether inspectors have yet visited the company's neighboring vendors inside the huge warehouse filled with tractor-trailers loading and unloading fruits and vegetables.I recognize there is a need to narrow this as soon as possible, Acheson added — as parts of the country are entering prime hot pepper season.A person who answered the phone at Agricola Zaragoza declined comment.

The pepper industry was bracing for an economic hit and urged FDA to quickly clear jalapenos grown in certain areas, like it earlier did with tomatoes.That is a very broad brush to tar the industry with, said John McClung, president of the Texas Produce Association.

Tomato producers have insisted their summertime staple couldn't be to blame, and are estimating that industry losses may reach $250 million.But health officials maintain they had good evidence linking certain raw tomatoes to the outbreak's early weeks in April and May, and that the jalapeno connection appeared only in June.

There may be more than one vehicle here, Dr. Robert Tauxe of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday.The tomato cases are not exonerated, Acheson added. The tainted pepper is an important clue but the investigation is far from complete, said Caroline Smith DeWaal of the consumer advocacy Center for Science in the Public Interest, who described a maze of channels the FDA now must follow to determine where the contamination occurred.

Among top questions: Did the farm, packing house and distributors all use clean water? What fertilizer was used, and when? Given this distributor's small size, who else distributed contaminated supply —or could there have been cross contamination with other products?

While health officials were cautiously excited at finally finding a firm clue, lawmakers decried the probe's slow pace. The fact that it has taken over 14 weeks to identify the source of the contamination is simply unacceptable, said Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., who is pushing for stronger requirements to help trace tainted produce. Much like (the) tomato industry, the result is a blanket warning that will decimate the entire industry and further depress consumer confidence when only a tiny fraction of peppers may be contaminated.The outbreak isn't over yet, said Tauxe said. But the CDC said last week that it appeared to be slowing, and indeed has confirmed just 14 additional cases since then. The latest that someone fell ill was July 4. Associated Press Writer Christopher Sherman in McAllen, Texas, contributed to this report.

DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TR BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).

Sarkozy heads to Dublin amid tension over EU treaty solution
HONOR MAHONY 21.07.2008 @ 09:21 CET

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is to travel to Dublin to today to asses Ireland's options following its rejection of the EU treaty. He arrives confronting controversy over who he should meet and comments he has made on the country holding a second referendum.

Over the past week, Paris and Dublin have been tussling over who Mr Sarkozy should see during the scheduled four-hour meeting.Mr Sarkozy's visit to Dublin is being viewed with some trepidation by the Irish government (Photo: EUobserver)The Irish Times reports that Mr Sarkozy agreed to meet separately the leaders of the main opposition party, Fine Gael, and the Labour Party only after the direct intervention of Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen.Previously he was due to meet them along with a group of 15 other treaty campaigners, including Declan Ganley, the leader of the influential anti-treaty group Libertas, in the French embassy. Each will be given three minutes to make their case to the president.Mr Sarkozy is also due to have lunch with Mr Cowen before they have a joint press conference and the president jets back to Paris.The visit has provoked great tension on the Irish side. Mr Sakorzy, who is seen as unpredictable and too inclined to say exactly what is on his mind, has already infuriated Dublin by saying last week: The Irish will have to vote again.Ireland rejected the EU treaty on 12 June and Mr Cowen is fast becoming an isolated figure on the European stage as one by one, the remaining EU states ratify the document, with 23 of the 27 countries now having taken such a step.Most analysts suggest that if the Lisbon Treaty is still to go into force - as Germany and France are pushing for - Ireland will have to have a second referendum. But Dublin has yet to say anything public on the issue, believing it is too soon to come with options.

Mr Sarkozy's words last week put Mr Cowen in a political tight spot, forcing several politicians to respond, saying Ireland would not be pushed into any particular course of action.The Irish Independent reports that the prime minister is to tell the French president that he is swelling the ranks of the No side each time he intervenes.The anger mirrors the feelings expressed when another French politician - foreign minister Bernard Kouchner - made an unwelcome intervention just ahead of the Irish referendum when he implied that Irish citizens would be considered ungrateful in the rest of Europe if they rejected the treaty.The treaty was rejected by 53.4 percent against, with 46.6 percent in favour. The anti-treaty campaign touched on a wide range of issues including tax sovereignty, neutrality and democratic accountability.The high turnout and the relatively wide margin between the Yes and the No votes have lessened Mr Cowen's room for manuoeuvre. But Mr Sarkozy, who currently heads the EU, has made it clear that he is seeking to start putting shape to an exit strategy when EU leaders meet in October and have a solution wrapped up by the end of the year.The Irish government, for its part, has repeatedly said that October is too early for a solution.Ahead of the meeting, Sinn Fein, which campaigned against the treaty, said that subtle threats of Ireland's isolation within the union are nonsense adding that a new treaty negotiation is the only way forward.For Sarkozy to tell Ireland to vote again is a shocking indictment of the anti-democratic attitude of some European leaders, said Mr Ganley, from Libertas.Meanwhile, Eoin Ryan, a member of the European Parliament and government Fianna Fail party, noted that France has been an ally of Ireland in the past and particularly now during the ongoing world trade liberalisation talks, with Paris and Dublin both forming part of a more protectionist camp.

BERLISCONI TALKS TO CNN
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Barroso calls for more concessions from developing economies ahead of WTO talks LEIGH PHILLIPS 21.07.2008 @ 09:21 CET

All eyes are on Geneva on Monday (21 July) as world trade talks open in a last-ditch attempt at reaching a global agreement some seven years after discussions were launched.European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, in a statement released on Sunday night as trade ministers from 30 nations met for dinner in the Swiss city ahead of the negotiations, called the talks the last great opportunity for a deal, and called on the third world to make greater concessions.Mr Sarkozy (r) has a different opinion on trade talks to the commission (Photo: © European Community, 2008 )For those negotiations to succeed, the other developed countries and the emerging economies in the WTO also have to make a major contribution, he said. Europe cannot be the sole banker of this deal, he added. Moreover, Doha is not just about agriculture -- we also need to make progress on industrial tariffs, and in other areas of the negotiations such as services and geographical indications.The EU feels that the meeting is the last chance to clinch a deal on a basic framework for a final agreement in the Doha Round of WTO world trade talks ahead of the November US presidential and congressional elections. The positions of the incoming president and members of congress are expected to be much more protectionist than has been the case for decades, making a deal after the end of the year unlikely.

An agreement has been blocked for years since negotiations opened in 2001 in Doha, Qatar. The main sticking points have been wealthy countries' demands that developing countries reduce duties on imports and open their markets to more manufactured goods. In return, poorer countries want the EU and US to reduce subsidies for agricultural products, something that Northern countries have been loath to do.Within the EU, key players are themselves divided over the level of reductions in financial support for the agricultural sector. Trade commissioner Peter Mandelson and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have been in an ongoing scrap in recent weeks, with Mr Sarkozy going so far as to blame the commissioner's position on WTO talks for the defeat of the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland's 12 June referendum.Paris believes too many concessions have been made already, without sufficient commitments from the developing world on access to their markets for European industrial goods. Although Ireland has not been as blunt as Mr Sarkozy, the country's prime minister, Brian Cowen promised farmers that he would veto any deal that harmed their interests - a commitment made in what proved to be an unsuccessful attempt to win Ireland's rural areas to the Yes side in the referendum.Development NGOs for their part warn that the talks are stacked in favour of the wealthier nations, saying that what is currently up for discussion will exacerbate ongoing problems with food prices and worsen levels of poverty in the third world.Forcing open the markets of [developing] countries still further will deepen the [food] crisis by handing greater control to multinational corporations, which put their own profits before people's needs, said John Hilary, the executive director of War on Want, a UK development charity.Developing countries are still being pressed to open up their markets, despite the risks involved, while rich countries fail to address their own farm subsidies, he added.

If the deal on the table goes through, millions of the world's most vulnerable people stand to lose their jobs and fall into poverty, he said, calling on ministers to abandon the talks.

Sarkozy pushes for more control of European Central Bank
RENATA GOLDIROVA 21.07.2008 @ 09:38 CET

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a long-time critic of the European Central Bank's monetary policy, is set to push for a change in the way the Frankfurt-based body is run.According to the Financial Times, France is working on a three point plan, which should encourage EU states to express their views on the ECB's monetary policy - something that Paris considers legitimate. The French president wants greater co-ordination between the ECB and the eurogroup (Photo: European Community)Mr Sarkozy wants the ECB to publish regular minutes of its governing council meetings where interest rates are set. Currently, this is done behind closed doors. He would also like to see the development of a permanent secretariat for the eurogroup - representing finance ministers from countries using the euro currency - in order to boost its policy co-ordination with the ECB.In addition, French leader wants to establish an economic government for the eurozone.Such French-tailored ideas are likely to ruffle feathers in several EU capitals and Frankfurt, where they could be seen as yet another attempt by France to challenge the ECB's independence.The bank has for a long time opposed the idea of publishing minutes, arguing it would put national central bank governors under enormous pressure to explain their position to national audiences.

But the UK financial daily says France does not aim to push the plan during its EU presidency, running until December 2008, as it could prove too divisive. We must convince our partners that our project is not a Trojan horse, a senior French official told the paper.Most recently, at the beginning of July, President Sarkozy criticised the ECB for raising the rates in order to bring inflation levels down. The ECB should ask itself some questions about economic growth in Europe and not just inflation, he said at the time, adding: Inflation today is due to the boom in [prices of] raw materials. You can't tell me that in order to fight inflation you have to raise interest rates.

British premier vows to thwart Iranian atomic arms By STEVE WEIZMAN, Associated Press Writer Mon Jul 21, 10:07 AM ET

JERUSALEM - Visiting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Monday said his country would remain at the forefront of efforts to block Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, directly addressing one of Israel's greatest fears. Speaking to Israel's parliament in the first-ever address there by a British premier, Brown said Iran must either halt its program or face international isolation.It is totally abhorrent for the President of Iran to call for Israel to be wiped from the map of the world, Brown said. The U.K. will continue to lead - with the U.S. and our EU partners - in our determination to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapons program.Israel considers Iran to be its most dangerous enemy. It does not believe Iran's claims that its nuclear program is peaceful, and takes seriously Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's repeated calls to wipe the Jewish state off the map.Challenging one of Israel's sacred precepts from the heart of its legislature, Brown said peace should be built on the principle of an independent Palestinian state living peacefully alongside Israel, with Jerusalem the capital for both.Israel captured east Jerusalem, where more than 200,000 Palestinians live, in the 1967 Middle east war and swiftly annexed it, declaring the entire city its eternal and indivisible capital.The Palestinians claim the east side as the capital of their future state.Brown's address in Parliament Monday echoed a call made last month from the same podium by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and reflected current EU thinking.The U.S. defines the future status of Jerusalem as an issue to be decided in negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians.In 1995, Congress recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and ordered the U.S. embassy to move there from its present location in Tel Aviv but successive U.S. administrations suspended the relocation of the embassy, citing national security concerns.

In a speech welcoming Brown to the legislature Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that after eight months of peace talks with the Palestinians, major gaps remained.There are still deep disagreements on decisive issues, he said. But they can be bridged.Brown arrived Saturday night on a two-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, his first as Britain's leader. He was due to depart after the speech to parliament.On Sunday he met Palestinian leaders in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, where he told reporters that Israel must stop construction on Jewish settlements.Israel and the Palestinians resumed peace talks last November at a U.S.-mentored conference in Annapolis, Md. Both sides had originally aspired to reach a final peace deal by the end of the year, but have backed away from that goal because of arguments over settlements and whether the Palestinians are capable of enforcing security in areas they control.Brown spoke of the deep affection for Israel instilled in him as a child by his father, a Church of Scotland minister who spoke Hebrew and led groups of pilgrims to the Holy Land.For the whole of my life I have counted myself as a friend of Israel, he said, pledging to bring his own young children on a visit in their grandfather's footsteps.

Israel plans to build first new Arab city in Galilee Mon Jul 21, 6:03 AM ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel plans to build a new city for Arab citizens in the Galilee region, the first housing project of its kind since the creation of the Jewish state in 1948, local media reported on Monday. The proposal for the city, whose location has still to be determined, was made by Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit and approved by the cabinet on Sunday.There is a need to broaden the range of opportunities available to the non-Jewish population, Sheetrit was quoted as saying.My aspiration is for a new Arab city in the Galilee, where young couples can buy a house, just like in any other city in the world.Israel's population of more than seven million people includes about 1.2 million Arabs, most of whom live in the north, in older Arab towns and villages that tend to lack modern infrastructure and adequate building space.But while Israel has constructed dozens of Jewish settlements in the West Bank since it occupied the territory in the 1967 war, the development of new Arab housing within its internationally recognised borders has lagged.Israel has never built a new Arab or Palestinian village within its borders. It would definitely be the first, said Suhad Bishara, a lawyer with Adalah, the legal centre for Arab minority rights in Israel.Israeli Arabs remain divided on the question of whether the construction of the new city is the best response to their growing housing crisis, with some fearing the new project could lead to further segregation.This is a way for them to ease the pressure on Jewish settlements and towns, Bishara said. Within the Arab community I doubt this is what we need.

Many also fear that the new city could drain educated middle and upper income residents from existing towns and villages.The project, which has the backing of the prime minister and the housing minister, will now go to the preliminary planning stage.A committee, which will include Arab representatives, is expected to present its conclusions by year-end.

Israeli, Palestinian presidents to meet Mon Jul 21, 10:28 AM ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli President Shimon Peres is to host Palestinian counterpart Mahmud Abbas on Tuesday to discuss Middle East peace efforts and regional issues, Peres's office said on Monday. The talks at Peres's official residence in Jerusalem will focus on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the regional geopolitical situation and the development of joint economic projects to bolster the peace process, it said.Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat confirmed the meeting, and told AFP the two men would discuss developments in the peace process.Peres, 84, won the Nobel peace prize in 1994 jointly with assassinated Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and the late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat for launching the Oslo peace process the previous year.The largely ceremonial president has remained a staunch supporter of peace talks launched at a US-hosted conference last November when Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed to try to sign a deal by the end of 2008.Despite strong international backing, the sluggish talks have so far failed to make any concrete progress and have been marred by Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Top U.S. Middle East diplomat may meet Syrian group JULY 21,08

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. diplomat may meet members of a Syrian group, possibly including Syria's lead negotiator in indirect talks with Israel, who are on a private visit to Washington, the U.S. State Department said on Monday. The State Department said Assistant Secretary of State David Welch was prepared to meet the group, visiting under the sponsorship of Search for Common Ground, a nongovernmental organization that promotes conflict resolution.We are aware of the visit sponsored by Search for Common Ground ... that includes Syrian intellectuals and possibly officials, State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos told reporters. The group is coming as private citizens and academics, not as a government delegation.Gallegos said the United States was not certain who was in the Syrian group. No meeting with Welch, the top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, has been scheduled and if one were to be scheduled, he would meet group members in their private capacity.Syrian foreign ministry adviser Riad Daoudi, who has led the Syrian delegation in Turkish-sponsored indirect talks with Israel, is a member of Search for Common Ground's U.S.-Syria Working Group and was expected to visit Washington this week.However, it was not clear whether he had yet arrived.It was unclear whether any meeting would reflect a change in the U.S. stance toward the Israeli-Syrian peace effort.U.S. officials have been cool to the talks between Israel and Syria since they were disclosed in May, saying they would welcome a peace agreement between the two but that they saw the Israeli-Palestinian track as more promising.

When the Israeli-Syrian effort was first disclosed, Welch suggested it would be very hard to achieve a peace agreement.Alluding to the U.S. view that Syria supports terrorism, allows insurgents to enter Iraq and interferes in Lebanon, Welch said in May Washington has had concerns about Syrian behavior in any number of dimensions that suggested to us it would be rather more difficult to pursue that track.Israeli-Palestinian talks have made little visible progress since U.S. President George W. Bush announced in November that they would try to reach a peace deal by the end of this year.(Edited by Todd Eastham)

Israel's Olmert survives no-confidence votes Mon Jul 21, 2:16 PM ET

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government survived three no-confidence motions in parliament on Monday in a vote boycotted by a key member of his ruling coalition.

One of the three motions was approved by 41 votes to 40 after Olmert's Shas coalition partner shunned the vote. It was the first time since taking office over two years ago that more parliament members had voted against Olmert's government in a no-confidence motion than for it.Under Israeli law, 61 votes are needed to pass a no-confidence motion, leading to the dissolution of the 120 member parliament and heralding new elections.Local media reported that legislators from the Orthodox Jewish party Shas stayed away from the vote in protest at the appointment of a legislator from the Labor Party, Olmert's main coalition partner, as head of parliament's powerful Finance Committee.The result cast further doubt on whether Olmert would survive a police investigation into allegations that he took bribes from an American Jewish businessman.

The veteran politician denies any wrong doing but has said he would step down if indicted. His Kadima party is to hold an internal vote in September that could replace him.(Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Sami Aboudi)

OBAMA GETS WITHDRAWL SUPPORT FROM IRAQUIS
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CAFFERTY OBOMAMANIA IN EUROPE
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Israelis, Palestinians skeptical about Obama By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer JULY 21,08

JERUSALEM - When Barack Obama comes to Israel this week, he's going to find plenty of skeptics wondering whether such a foreign policy neophyte has what it takes to finally nail down a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Democratic presidential hopeful has already gotten himself into hot water over one of the thorniest issues in the Israeli-Palestinian divide: the status of disputed Jerusalem. Last month, he tried to woo Israel's powerful lobby in Congress by saying Jerusalem should be Israel's capital and must remain undivided.Palestinians, who claim the city's eastern sector as capital of a future state, were furious. Obama's attempts to defuse the flap then got him into trouble with some Israelis and their U.S. supporters, when he clarified his remarks to say Jerusalem's fate should be negotiated — the long-standing U.S. position.When the candidate lands here tomorrow, a fog of ambiguity will still hover over his position: It remains unclear whether Jerusalem, the focus of his brief trip, will be a united city under Israeli sovereignty or the capital of two states. Barack Obama doesn't have a clear idea himself, and he has been straddling the fence, former dovish lawmaker Yossi Sarid wrote in Monday's Haaretz newspaper.Obama arrives in Israel late Tuesday after visiting Afghanistan, Iraq and Jordan. He is to meet with Israeli leaders and, unlike Republican rival John McCain, an avid Israel supporter who visited in March, he'll travel to the West Bank for talks with Palestinian leaders, too.Obama has a solid Senate record of supporting Israel. He has reaffirmed his backing for Israel's right to defend itself and underscored the need to stop Iran from promoting terrorism or getting nuclear weapons. Like the Bush administration, he opposes negotiations with the Islamic militant Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.Still, his openness to talking to Iran — Israel's bitterest enemy — and his relatively short stint on the U.S. national stage has made many Israelis uncomfortable at the prospect of an Obama presidency.Ofer Malachi, a 40-year-old contractor from Jerusalem, says Obama would be very dangerous for Israel because of his willingness to engage in dialogue with Iran.

Israel is convinced Tehran is building nuclear weapons, despite its protestations to the contrary. Iran also backs two other Israeli foes, the Islamic Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip and Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrilla group.Obama doesn't have a clue about what is needed to survive in the Middle East, Malachi said.The U.S. historically has been Israel's strongest ally, and has made the Jewish state the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid. Politicians traditionally have courted the Jewish vote in the U.S. with demonstrations of loyalty to Israel.But as far as Israel is concerned, Obama will have an especially hard act to follow. The Bush administration was a particularly staunch Israel backer.

During his first term, Bush handed Israel a letter supporting the Jewish state's retention of major settlement blocs under any final settlement with the Palestinians. And despite repeated Palestinian protests, U.S. officials did little more than slap Israel on the wrist when it flouted U.S. policy on issues like settlement building, or reneged on promises to remove settlement satellites known as outposts.Laine Katz, who emigrated from Philadelphia to Israel in the 1970s, counts herself as one of Obama's earliest supporters. She maintains Israel would be better off with an American president who would take the Israeli government to task for thumbing its nose at U.S. policy.Maybe if we have an American president that actually set boundaries and expected Israel to stick to these boundaries, maybe we'd have some progress in the peace process, instead of behaving like a spoiled child that always gets its way, said Katz, 50.Obama is a Christian who makes much of his faith. But some Israelis worry about his allegiances, seizing on the fact that his father and stepfather were Muslims, that he spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, and that he has an Arabic middle name, Hussein.Lawmaker Arieh Eldad of the ultranationalist National Union Party said the name concerned him.I guess that the Arab citizens of the Arab states around Israel would be concerned if a nominee for being president of the United States, his family name would be Cohen, he said. Eldad said he feared Obama would identify more easily with Arabs than with Israelis, and added, If you combine it with policies to leave Iraq and to negotiate with Iran, that adds to our concerns here.Obama's comment embracing Jerusalem as Israel's undivided capital alienated Palestinians looking for an American leader who will pressure Israel into key concessions. His clarifications haven't undone the damage. Saqer Al Tamimi, a 42-year-old merchant from the West Bank town of Ramallah, is a disillusioned former fan. We used to expect he would be better because he's black, and black people were subject to discrimination, and so they may do us, the Palestinians, justice, Al Tamimi said. Unfortunately, when they reach a certain level, the policy is already formulated for them.But the candidate has also generated interest in the Palestinian territories because of his magnetism and the attention he shows to the disenfranchised and underprivileged. I am attracted to Obama's charisma, said Marwan Alian, 22, a law student in Gaza City. At the same time, Alian said, I doubt he can make any significant changes in our lives. He has a very tough mission regarding Iraq and regarding the American economy, so I don't think he will have time to help us, even if he wants to.