Monday, March 03, 2008

03/03/08

* PM: Peace talks to go on, but so will hits on Hamas Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday that despite the Palestinian Authority's declared suspension of peace talks over the weekend, negotiations with the Palestinian Authority would continue.

* Oil Prices Spike on OPEC Speculation Oil, heating oil and gasoline prices spiked Tuesday as investors eyed the possibility that OPEC may cut production just ahead of the second quarter, when gasoline demand in the Northern Hemisphere usually becomes the central focus of the market.

* An Iranian in the Green Zone President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad travelled from Baghdad airport to the city centre in a black BMW with a heavily armed escort.

* Muted welcome for Russia leader Western leaders have congratulated Dmitry Medvedev on becoming Russia's new president, but Western observers have highlighted flaws in the election.

* Nato fears over Dutch Islam film Nato's secretary general says he fears the airing of a Dutch film criticising Islam will have repercussions for troops in Afghanistan.

* After oil, it's food shortages It may have been a coincidence that Saudi Arabia decided to end its highly-subsidized production of wheat in the same week that wheat prices in U.S. futures markets hit a whopping $24 a bushel. The price of wheat has doubled already this year, and risen from just $3 a bushel four years ago.

* Ahmadinejad: Real holocaust is happening in Gaza Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that "the real holocaust is happening in the Palestinian territories," Iranian television reported Monday.

* IDF prepares to unleash the 'Tiger' The IDF officially unveiled a new vehicle on Sunday designed to get infantry to and from the battlefield more efficiently.

* 'Hamas using US weapons against IDF' According to Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip, most of the gunmen who have been fighting the IDF over the past few days are members of Hamas's armed wing, Izaddin Kassam.