ISRAEL

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak urged the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers on Monday to rein in militant groups behind a surge in attacks on Israel, coupling his appeal with a veiled threat of Israeli action.

Once you've seen one walking trail you've seen 'em all? Not in these eight cases, where you'll tramp on unusual surfaces and wander through some curious lands.

A U.S. peace envoy's suggestion that Washington could penalize Israel financially to force it into making concessions to the Palestinians drew Israeli ire on Sunday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to launch an immediate and powerful response to any rocket fire at Israel after days of increased tension along the border with Hamas-ruled Gaza.

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad threw a box of settler products on a bonfire this week as Palestinians pushed a campaign to cleanse their markets of goods made by Israelis living in the West Bank.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd , the world's largest generic drugmaker, on Thursday set a target of revenue of $31 billion in 2015, more than double its current annual amount as it sees major growth in overall use of generics.

Israel launched three air strikes in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, witnesses and the Islamist group Hamas said, after a day in which about a dozen mortar bombs and rockets fired from the territory struck inside the Jewish state.

With Israel's polished diamond exports more than doubled to $308.2 million in December 2009, Surat hopes to improve its diamond trade in 2010. Surat's diamond traders expect that the new year will spell a boom for the diamond business in the city, which processes almost every diamond made in the world.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gave no indication on Monday of any resumption soon of peace talks with Israel, despite optimism of progress voiced by officials on both sides. Abbas met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, but did not make any comment at a brief news conference about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal for an Egyptian-hosted summit with Abbas.Israel, Egypt and the United States wa...

Saudi Arabia said on Saturday said Israel was the world's spoilt child and got away with what Riyadh said were violations of international law and war crimes without punishment.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed an Egyptian-hosted summit with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as a possible way to resume stalled peace talks, Israeli officials said on Thursday.

Israeli and Palestinian officials suggested on Wednesday progress had been made towards resuming negotiations following Egyptian-Israeli talks on a year-long deadlock in the Middle East peace process.

Several thousand mourners attended funerals on Tuesday for victims of a suicide bombing that killed 43 people in Pakistan's commercial capital, an emotional reminder of a raging Taliban insurgency.

Thousands of Christians crowded into Bethlehem on an unseasonably warm Thursday evening, before celebrating Christmas midnight mass in the Church of the Nativity at the birthplace of Jesus.

Spain's Telefonica (TEF.MC) said on Wednesday its O2 unit had bought voice-over-Internet-protocol provider Jajah for 145 million euros ($207.6 million). The all cash deal is subject to approval by Spain's antitrust authorities, Telefonica said.

Next year will be crucial for global nuclear non-proliferation efforts and all eyes will be on the United States and Russia to see if the two top atomic powers can reach a deal to reduce their arsenals.

A German mediator arrived in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday with Israel's response to a proposed deal with Hamas to secure the release of a captured Israel soldier in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

A leaked memo appearing to show Tehran's efforts to design an atomic bomb trigger was forged by the United States, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a U.S. news programme.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held marathon talks with cabinet ministers on Monday but without any announcement for a prisoner swap with Gaza's Hamas rulers to secure the release of a captured soldier.

OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc (OGXI.O) has entered into a licensing deal with Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TEVA.O) (TEVA.TA) for its cancer therapy, and said Teva will make an equity investment in the U.S. company.

Significantly more Americans are nearsighted today than in the early 1970s, a report released today indicates.