* Olmert Demands Abbas Avoid Unity with Hamas Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered major concessions at his meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas Monday afternoon in Jerusalem, but demanded in return that Abbas avoid any form of unity with the Hamas terrorist organization in the future.
* Iran military solution back in US favor With 18 months left in US President George W. Bush's second term, the White House is now leaning in favor of military action on the burgeoning Iran nuclear crisis, Britain's Guardian newspaper reported Monday.
* Peres: "We Must Rid Ourselves of the Territories" Shimon Peres, on the eve of becoming President of Israel, tells AP that he won't insult the minority, but that he has not changed his opinions.
* Report: Iran has 600 targets for missile strike in Israel if attacked The Qatari newspaper Al Watan on Sunday quoted diplomatic sources in Damascus as saying that Iran has marked 600 targets in Israel for missile strikes in case it is attacked.
* Sons of Aaron - The Priestly Tribe - Convene in Jerusalem A four-day International Conference of Descendants of the biblical figure Aaron, the Priestly Tribe (Kohanim) and the whole Tribe of Levi to which the Kohanim are a part, begins on Sunday, July 15.
* Israel vulnerable to chemical attack The home front is woefully under-protected from the dangers of a chemical weapons attack, according to a damning report released on Monday by a subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee headed by Likud MK Yuval Steinitz.
* Iraq oil city blasts kill dozens Bomb attacks in the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk have killed at least 85 people and wounded more than 180.
* Nuke reactor 'leaked' after quake A Japanese nuclear power plant shut down following a major earthquake on Monday leaked water containing radioactive materials from a reactor, according to the company running the facility.
* Bush like Hitler, says first Muslim in Congress America's first Muslim congressman has provoked outrage by apparently comparing President George W Bush to Adolf Hitler and hinting that he might have been responsible for the September 11 attacks.
* Sarkozy brings in EU troops to celebrate Bastille day French president Nicolas Sarkozy has reiterated calls for a common European defence policy, with troops from all EU member states present for a march in Paris to celebrate the 14 July Bastille Day.