Egyptian Envoy Urges Palestinians to declare cease-fire In a visit with Yasser Arafat, top Mubarak aid Osama el-Baz urged the Palestinians to unilaterally declare a cease-fire hoping that Israel will respond in kind... Sounds familiar.
US removes sanctions from Iran The Americans eliminated sanctions for 90-days to allow U.S. citizens and non-profit organizations to donate money directly to non-governmental organisations working in Iran on relief for victims of the December 26 2003 earthquake in Bam. Both sides give hints relations are warming.
Israel plans vast expansion of Golan settlements Almost in response to an offer to restart peace talks from Syria just last month, Israel decided to approve a plan by the agriculture minister, Yisrael Katz, to spend about US$70 million on housing for more than 10,000 settlers. They will be encouraged to move into the area by land grants and tax breaks.
Iran declines American advance The US offered to send a humanitarian delegation headed by Republican senator Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, former president of the American Red Cross. Iran said it prefers that the U.S. proposal be "held in abeyance" because of the current situation on the ground in Iran.
Egyptian plane crashes into Red Sea The Boeing 737 operated by Flash Airlines was carrying 148 people, mostly French tourists. The plane disappeared from radar screens minutes after take-off from Sharm el-Sheikh. Egyptian authorities said the problem was technical, and not terrorist. The plane was trying to turn back when it disappeared. There were no survivors.
Israel identifies 28 outposts to remove Israel has identified 28 unauthorised West Bank outposts to be torn down, in an attempt to satisfy the road map peace plan. The list was made public by a request from the Meretz party, and it expected to be challenge by settlers. They have removed some small outposts in recent weeks, but many others have been put up in their place. Yasser Arafat calls the list "deceptive." Critics say the Israelis need to dismantle double that amount to satisfy the roadmap.
Palestinians talk about one state solution The Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qurei, said that if an agreement creating a Palestinian state could not be reached, the Palestinians may push to become citizens of a single state including Israel.
US gives up search for WMD in Iraq A 400-strong US military team which has been looking for WMD was withdrawn after finding nothing of substance. The head of the US search, David Kay, confirmed rumours of his resignation last month. A separate group looking for weapons still remains.
Saddam Officially Declared POW The US Defence Department finally declares Saddam Hussein a prisoner of war. Under the "prisoner of war" classification, the Geneva Convention applys and Saddam Hussein must be given an international trial... but it seems America wants an Iraqi trial.
Libya agrees to more compensation payments Qaddafi agreed to pay $1m to the relatives of the 170 victims of a 1989 bombing of a French airliner, though he continues to deny involvement. Families of those killed welcomed the compensation deal from Libya.
Terror Alert lowered America's alert level was lowered one step from "high" (orange) to "elevated" (yellow). However, airports and airlines remain at high alert.
Palestinians threaten their own unilateral moves Seen as a response to Sharon's unilateral moves, the PLO executive committee, headed by Yasser Arafat, issued a statement saying the Palestinians had "the right to declare an independent democratic Palestine on all the territories that were occupied" since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
Bush planned an Iraq invasion before 911 Former US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neil writes in his new book that President Bush began making plans for an invasion of Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein from power within days of his inauguration in January 2001, eight months before Sep 11. He described the President as a "blind man in a room full of deaf people."
Sharon refuses peace talks In response to a Syrian proposal to restart peace talks Sharon told his cabinet there was no need to re-start talks with Syria until they understood the reason for their call for dialogue (whatever that means). He also said, as usual, Syria must stop supporting terrorism before any they can start any talks.
Israeli President invites Syrian President to Israel Moshe Katsav invited Bashar Assad to Jerusalem to discuss peace negotiations on the condition that Assad not set any preconditions. Syria wants to restart peace talks where they left off a few years ago, and dismissed this invitation as not serious.
Ayatollah orders a review Iran's supreme leader ordered the Guardian Council, which is dominated by conservatives, to reconsider a decision to ban thousands of reformist candidates from February's parliamentary elections.
Al-Sistani organizes massive protest Iraq's foremost Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, flexed his muscles by organizing a large nation wide protest against the US plan for the transfer of power. Bremer wants 18 regional committees to appoint members of the legislature, but Al-Sistani wants true elections. An aide to Al-Sistani said that a fatwa (religious edict) declaring the U.S. plan illegitimate may be issued if his demand for direct elections are ignored.
Bremer visits Washington US "administrator" in Iraq, Paul Bremer, discussed plans to return sovereignty to Iraq with President Bush and his advisers.
Israeli Ambassador to Sweden goes on a rampage The Israeli envoy, Zvi Mazel, was angered by artwork depicting the picture of a Palestinian suicide bomber in a small boat floating in a large pool of red water. He unplugged a spotlight and threw it into the pool, damaging the exhibit and setting off a diplomatic row between the two countries. The Israeli born artist, Dror Feiler, called the Ambassador "an intellectual dwarf". He said, "People in Sweden who hear about the affair say to themselves that if this is how the Israeli ambassador - who is supposed to be a restrained diplomat - behaves, how do soldiers in the occupied territories behave?"
Pentagon to probe alleged abuse of Iraq detainees The investigation involves more than one incident. "These are not rumors," said a US military spokesperson. Earlier this month 2 soldiers had their ranks lowered and Master Sgt. Lisa Girman, Staff Sgt. Scott McKenzie and Spec. Timothy Canjar were ordered to forfeit pay for two months after being found guilty of dereliction of duty for "failing to safeguard Iraqis under their control" and "maltreatment of Iraqi detainees." The abuse included kicking prisoners in the groin and twisting a prisoner's injured arm.
Sharon supports Ambassador to Sweden Ariel Sharon praised Israel's ambassador to Sweden for wrecking an art exhibit in Stockholm depicting a Palestinian suicide bomber, saying the envoy had struck a blow against anti-Semitism.
Bremer seeks help from UN Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan met with US "administrator" of Iraq Paul Bremer in New York and promised the UN would study a request to help with the "elections" in Iraq.
Violence on the Lebanese-Israeli border A flare-up of violence started with Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace that drew a response of anti-aircraft fire from Hezbollah and UN condemnation. Hezbollah later destroyed an Israeli military bulldozer which UN peacekeepers in the region said had crossed over into Lebanese soil.
Israel attacks Lebanon In retaliation for the Jan 19 rocket attack Israel launched air strikes on two abandoned bases in southern Lebanon. No casualties were reported in the strikes.
Israel violates Lebanese Airspace An Israeli warplane broke the sound barrier over southern Lebanon.
Maher Arar to sue US Government The American Centre for Constitutional Rights, which is representing Canadian Maher Arar, who was deported to Syria by American authorities in 2002 and imprisoned for a year and tortured by Syrian authorities, say they will formally file a law suit against U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft in New York on Jan 22.
Charges laid in Sharon bribery scandal An Israeli court charges Israeli real-estate developer David Appel with paying more than a $500,000 in bribes to Israeli PM Ariel Sharon. Sharon says he will not step down. The investigation continues.
Iranian ministers resign The political standoff in Iran continues as the government announces many of its ministers and vice presidents have submitted resignations in protest over the barring of thousands of potential candidates from the upcoming elections by the Guardian council.
David Kay calls US Intelligence a failure David Kay, the outgoing chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq said, "My summary view, based on what I've seen, is that we're very unlikely to find large stockpiles of weapons. I don't think they exist."
Lord Hutton releases his long awaited report British Judge Lord Hutton releases a report into the allegations made by BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan that Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Director of Communications Alastair Campbell "sexed up" the Iraq dossier on weapons of mass destruction. The inquiry also examined the David Kelly affair, the British weapons expert who commit suicide after it was revealed by Tony Blair that Mr. Kelly was the source of the BBC report. The Hutton report finds that changes were made by the Blair administration in the wording of certain documents, including changing the word "could" to "can" in the famously false claim that Iraq "can" launch a chemical attack within 45 minutes. However most people perceive this report as being strongly in Tony Blair's favor and highly critical of the corporation. BBC chairman Gavyn Davies resigns.
BBC Journalist Andrew Gilligan resigns Mr. Gilligan resigns after Lord Hutton's inquiry was critical of his reporting that the government "sexed up" intelligence reports concerning Iraqi WMD. "My departure is at my own initiative. But the BBC collectively has been the victim of a grave injustice," he said.
