January 30th

Israelis Halt Gaza Project Backed By Tony Blair ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Telegraph by Tim Butcher - January 30, 2008 - 5:52pm Work on a Palestinian water treatment plant, championed by the former prime minister, has been halted after Israel refused to allow construction materials into Gaza to finish the job. Further delay risks what Mr Blair has called "a humanitarian catastrophe" as winter rains threaten to cause the existing facility to overflow, flooding the homes of more than 10,000 people who live nearby. » Read more

A Fight For Life In A Power Struggle ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent by Donald Macintyre - January 30, 2008 - 5:51pm It's 8pm on Monday evening and the Aseli family is in full emergency mode. The power has just gone down in their apartment – for the second time that day – blacking out the lights and the electric heater. » Read more

Report On Lebanon War Threatens Ehud Olmert Power Amid Call For Resignation ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Times by James Hider - January 30, 2008 - 5:50pm Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, will face one of his toughest challenges today when a damning report into his leadership during the 2006 Lebanon War is released, threatening his political career and the renewed peace process on which he has staked his reputation. » Read more

Israeli And Palestinian ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune by Daniel Barenboim - January 30, 2008 - 5:49pm BERLIN: I have often made the statement that the destinies of the Israeli and Palestinian people are inextricably linked and that there is no military solution to the conflict. My recent acceptance of Palestinian nationality has given me the opportunity to demonstrate this more tangibly. When my family moved to Israel from Argentina in the 1950s, one of my parents' intentions was to spare me the experience of growing up as part of a minority - a Jewish minority. They wanted to me to grow up as part of a majority - a Jewish majority. » Read more

Ahead Of Super Tuesday, Obama Tackles E-mail Smears ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - January 30, 2008 - 5:48pm A packed auditorium was waiting for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama to receive a pivotal endorsement and his aide was rushing him along, but he had something important to say first -- to American Jews. "Before we go, I'd like to add one last comment," the Democratic presidential hopeful told the aide in a conference call with the Jewish news media Monday morning, just minutes before being endorsed by U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) at American University here. "My strong and deep commitment and connection to the Jewish community should not be questioned." » Read more

One More Year Of The Same ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS) by Jim Lobe - January 30, 2008 - 5:47pm With just less than one year left in his presidency, George W. Bush remains as focused as ever on the Middle East and Iraq and appears reluctant to take on any major new foreign policy challenges in the time that he remains in power. That appears to be the consensus of most analysts here in the wake of Bush's last State of the Union address, which was delivered in the stately Capitol building Monday night. » Read more

Better U.s. Image Abroad: How To Attain It? ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Howard Lafranchi - (Opinion) January 30, 2008 - 5:45pm Hillary Rodham Clinton would send prominent emissaries to world capitals the day after being elected president. John McCain would close the Guantánamo detention facility and renounce the use of torture. Barack Obama would speak to all foreign leaders, even America's worst enemies. » Read more

Bush's Delusions Die In Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Salon.com by Gary Kamiya - January 30, 2008 - 5:44pm It was a heart-wrenching story. Hundreds of thousands of people, trapped for endless years in an open-air jail and recently subjected to an airtight siege, blew up their prison wall and poured out to freedom. » Read more

Egypt-hamas Tensions Rise Over Border ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press January 30, 2008 - 5:42pm Movement across the Gaza-Egypt border slowed to a trickle Tuesday as security forces made progress in sealing off breaches and cold, rainy weather discouraged travelers. The focus of the weeklong crisis shifted to growing tensions between Egypt and the militant Hamas rulers of Gaza, who are now demanding a role in overseeing the border. » Read more

Gaza Crisis Talks Start, Hamas Seeks Say Over Border ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Alaa Shahine - January 30, 2008 - 5:40pm Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas began crisis talks with Egypt on Wednesday about restoring order at the breached Gaza border, facing a challenge from his Hamas rivals for control of the frontier. Hamas Islamists, who seized control of Gaza in June after routing Abbas's secular Fatah forces, blasted open the Egyptian border last week in defiance of an Israeli blockade, letting Gazans pour into Egypt to stock up on goods in short supply. » Read more