Monday, November 05, 2007

11/05/07

* Hizbullah undertakes massive exercise Hizbullah recently held a large-scale exercise south of the Litani River that included thousands of gunmen.

* Ramon: Peace deal will go to referendum if gov't collapses Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will take any peace deal formulated at the Annapolis peace conference to a referendum if his Kadima-based coalition breaks up following the conference.

* Olmert: Core issues are on the Annapolis agenda Prime Minister Ehud Olmert took the stage at the Saban Forum on Sunday evening in Jerusalem, and delivered an impassioned speech promising to seriously pursue current Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

* Blair: Israel needs psychological shift Middle East envoy Tony Blair on Sunday urged Israel to make a "psychological shift" from indifference and skepticism about the prospects of progress with the Palestinians to an active determination to "make it happen on the right terms."

* China and US agree military hotline China and the US have agreed to set up a military hotline between their two capitals.

* Turkey seeks right to build monument in J'lem's Old City Turkey would like to build a monument to those who died fighting for the Ottoman Empire at the foot of the Temple Mount's eastern wall, not far from the Golden Gate.

* Bush, Turkish leader to discuss how to stop rebel attacks Tension along the Iraqi-Turkish border is expected to top the agenda Monday when Turkey's prime minister meets with President Bush.

* PetroChina's Value Tops $1 Trillion, Surpassing Exxon PetroChina Co. almost tripled on its first day of trading in Shanghai.

* Musharraf warned: hold elections and quit as army chief The US and Britain are today expected to demand that Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, honour pledges to hold elections in the next two months and step down as the army chief.

* Belgium government difficulties could endanger EU treaty ratification With Belgium still struggling to form a new government, fears are growing that the country will not be able to ratify the EU's Lisbon treaty in December.