Israel’s Labor Party Votes to Join Netanyahu Coalition ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - March 24, 2009 - 12:00am A deeply divided Labor Party voted Tuesday to join the governing coalition being formed by Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister-designate and the leader of the conservative Likud Party. The decision paves the way for a broader government than the narrow and hawkish one that Mr. Netanyahu would otherwise have had to settle for, increasing his chances of gaining international acceptance and possibly avoiding friction with the Obama administration. » Read more

Medhat's killing deals blow to efforts to repair Palestinian rifts - analysts ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star by Andrew Wander - March 25, 2009 - 12:00am The fragile peace between rival Palestinian factions in Lebanon has been jeopardized by Monday's assasination of senior Fatah official Kamal Medhat, experts warned on Tuesday. Medhat was killed, alongside three others, in a massive explosion that tore through his convoy, hurling his car from the road into a field near the Mieh Mieh camp outside Sidon. He had been visiting the camp to solve a dispute between rival families that had escalated into armed clashes, killing two people over the weekend. » Read more

Obama still backs two-state solution ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National March 25, 2009 - 12:00am The emergence of an Israeli government led by a strong sceptic of peace negotiations with the Palestinians makes it no less necessary for the US to push for a resolution of the generations-old conflict, President Barack Obama said yesterday. In his most direct public comments on the evolving make-up of the Israeli government, following inconclusive national elections in February, Mr Obama told a White House news conference that he remains committed to pushing for a two-state solution: separate Israeli and Palestinian states existing side-by-side in peace. » Read more

Transcript of presidential news conference ATFP World Press Roundup Article from MSNBC March 24, 2009 - 12:00am Text of President Barack Obama's news conference Tuesday at the White House, as transcribed by CQ Transcriptions: Obama: Good evening. Now, before I take questions from the correspondents, I want to give everyone who's watching tonight an update on the steps we're taking to move this economy from recession to recovery, and ultimately to prosperity. » Read more