Palestinian hunger striker Khader Adnan 'near death' in Israeli detention ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Harriet Sherwood - February 16, 2012 - 1:00am A Palestinian prisoner on his 61st day of hunger strike while shackled to a bed in an Israeli hospital is in immediate danger of death, according to a medical report submitted to the supreme court in an effort to secure his release. Khader Adnan, 33, a baker from a village near Jenin, is being held without charge by the Israeli authorities under a four-month term of "administrative detention". He began his hunger strike on 18 December, the day after being arrested. » Read more

Transatlantic Jewish Meeting Triggers Row ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jewish Daily Forward by Nathan Guttman - February 15, 2012 - 1:00am Washington — A recent meeting between American Jewry’s primary umbrella group for Israel and other foreign affairs, and a controversial new European group has sparked heated exchanges among European and American Jewish leaders. In the days leading up to the meeting, communal officials on both continents warned the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations against its plans for an official exchange involving the American umbrella group and the European Jewish Union. » Read more

Obama administration to seek waiver on UNESCO funding ban ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - February 15, 2012 - 1:00am WASHINGTON (JTA) -- The Obama administration formally announced its intention to ask Congress to waive a ban on funding UNESCO over its recognition of Palestinian statehood. "The Department of State intends to work with Congress to seek legislation that would provide authority to waive restrictions on paying the U.S. assessed contributions to UNESCO," says a footnote in the budget that the White House submitted to Congress this month. » Read more

Israeli Arab journalist switches airline after 'humiliating' El Al security check ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Jack Khoury - February 16, 2012 - 1:00am An Arab journalist says she was so profoundly insulted by El Al security staff at a Milan airport that she changed her itinerary and may sue the Israeli national carrier. Yara Mashour is the editor of the Nazareth-based women's magazine Lilac and the daughter of the late Lutfi Mashour, the editor and publisher of the Arabic weekly Al-Sinara. Yesterday she related what she said happened to her, her brother-in-law and another relative when they arrived at Milan's Malpensa Airport on Monday for their return flight to Israel, and reached the El Al security checkpoint. » Read more

Gaza power plant stops due to smuggled fuel shortage ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Nidal al-Mughrabi - February 14, 2012 - 1:00am GAZA, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The Gaza Strip's only power station, which supplies the Palestinian enclave with up to two-thirds of its energy needs, was shut down on Tuesday because of a shortage of fuel smuggled in from neighbouring Egypt. The closure led to widespread blackouts for Gaza's 1.7 million inhabitants. The local power company warned that households would receive only six hours of electricity a day until the problem was resolved. » Read more

Israeli leader pays historic visit to Cyprus ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Menelaos Hadjicostis - February 15, 2012 - 1:00am NICOSIA, Cyprus — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a historic visit to Cyprus on Thursday, declaring the two countries' warming ties a "natural relationship" in a reflection of the rapidly shifting alliances in this turbulent part of the world. The visit — the first ever by an Israeli leader to the nearby island nation — was also a testimony to warming ties that have emerged from political and economic turmoil, as well as new economic prospects. It followed a succession of reciprocal visits by senior officials from both countries and several low-level agreements. » Read more

Israel PM: Iran sanctions are not working ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Daniel Estrin - February 16, 2012 - 1:00am NICOSIA, Cyprus — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says sanctions imposed on Iran are important but so far haven't been effective. Netanyahu said Thursday that the Iranian president's guided tour of centrifuges at Tehran research reactor on Wednesday was proof that sanctions have not properly crippled Iran's efforts to develop nuclear capabilities. The Israeli leader was speaking to reporters in Cyprus, where he was meeting officials on a brief visit to discuss cooperation on energy and other matters. » Read more

Thailand: Iranians planned to attack Israelis ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press by Thanrayat Doksone - February 16, 2012 - 1:00am BANGKOK — Three Iranians detained after accidentally setting off explosives in Bangkok were planning to attack Israeli diplomats, Thailand's top policeman said Thursday in the first confirmation by local officials that the group was plotting attacks in Thailand. The allegation came after days of strong accusations by Israel that Iran was behind the botched plot as well as two others in India and the former Soviet republic of Georgia this week. Iran has denied the charges. » Read more

Israel says Thai bombs similar to those in India, Georgia ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Joel Greenberg - February 15, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM — Israeli officials said Wednesday that magnetic explosive devices found after a series of explosions in Bangkok on Tuesday were similar to bombs used a day earlier to target Israeli diplomats in New Delhi and in Tbilisi, Georgia. The officials, citing findings of local investigations, said the forensic evidence buttressed earlier Israeli assertions that Iran was behind the attacks. Iran, which had threatened to retaliate for the killings of several of its nuclear scientists in similar bombings, has denied any involvement in the explosions, calling them Israeli provocations. » Read more

8 Palestinian Children, Teacher Killed in Crash ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press February 16, 2012 - 1:00am JERUSALEM (AP) — A truck lost control in slick, rainy weather and barreled into a Palestinian school bus on Thursday, killing at least seven children and a teacher and drawing hundreds of people to a West Bank hospital in an outpouring of grief, police said. The bus left the city of Ramallah on a school excursion but returned due to heavy rains and stormy weather, according to Palestinian police spokesman Yousif Osrael. On the way back, a truck careened into the school bus, causing it to flip and catch fire, Osrael said. The children killed were aged four to six. » Read more