Friday, June 13, 2008

06/13/08

* Ireland rejects EU reform treaty Voters in Ireland have rejected the European Union's Lisbon reform treaty in a referendum by 53.4% to 46.6%.

* 'Peace talks mustn't start from scratch' Direct negotiations between Syria and Israel must resume from the point where they left off before the assassination of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995.

* Bush 'honoured' by Pope's welcome US President George W Bush has been afforded a special audience with Pope Benedict XVI, on his final official visit to meet the pontiff.

* Is Israel Indirectly buying Iranian oil? Having adamantly denied for months that Israel could possibly be purchasing any oil originating in Iran, an Israeli official has now acknowledged that the Jewish state cannot be sure that Iranian oil is not coming here indirectly.

* Outrage over Jerusalem housing plan Palestinian officials have expressed outrage at Israeli plans to build about 2,000 new housing units in occupied east Jerusalem.

* Israel expects upgraded EU ties The Foreign Ministry expects the European Union to boost its ties with Israel at a joint meeting in Luxembourg.

* Al-Sadr: New force to fight U.S. in Iraq Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is establishing a new fighting force to battle U.S.-led troops in Iraq.

* Turkey, Syria eye nuclear energy cooperation Turkey and Syria are considering setting up a joint energy company and could build joint nuclear power plants for electricity.

* Iraqi PM: Security talks with US have hit 'dead end' Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Friday that the talks with the United States on a long-term security agreement between the two nations have reached a "dead end."

* The Real World: Oil's Creative Destruction Oil demand appears in unexpected places, where there was very little demand in the recent past.