Thursday, June 24, 2010

06/24/10

* Iran Steps Up Production of Enriched Uranium Iran's atomic energy chief says his country can now produce 20-percent enriched uranium on a regular basis.

* Netanyahu Lashes Out at Iran and Hamas Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu took the opportunity, while greeting Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann, to mock and castigate Iran.

* US Warns Israel on Jerusalem Housing Demolition The United States warned Israel on Monday that a plan by officials in Jerusalem to demolish Palestinian housing to make way for a tourist center risks violence and could upset peace efforts.

* Russia's Medvedev raps EU, US sanctions against Iran Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has criticised the unilateral US and EU sanctions on Iran that go beyond those approved by the UN Security Council.

* Israel Rejects UN Proposal for Gaza Probe Israel has rejected a proposal from United Nations Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon to establish a multinational commission to investigate a deadly Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship.

* 87 Senators Tell Obama: Stand Behind Israel! An overwhelming majority of the United States Senate has signed a letter to President Obama encouraging him to stand strongly behind Israel in the face of "challenges" to its international standing.

* Turkey Detains 27 After Bombing by Rebels Turkey's state-run Anatolia news agency says police have detained 27 people for questioning about Tuesday's bomb attack that killed four soldiers and a teenage daughter of an officer in Istanbul.

* 'Put pressure on Hamas, not Israel' Austria should pressure Hamas to change its policy, rather than Israel, President Shimon Peres told his counterpart from Vienna on Thursday at Beit Hanassi.

* UN chief says East Jerusalem demolition plan 'illegal' UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said the plan to demolish Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem to make way for a tourist park is illegal and unhelpful.

* US Mideast Envoy to Pursue Direct Peace Talks U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is sending Middle East envoy George Mitchell back to the region next week.