MIDDLE EAST

ISRAEL NEGOTIATES HANDOVER OF GREENHOUSES

Israel is negotiating to hand over greenhouses in Gaza settlements to Palestinian Arabs after its planned withdrawal in the summer, an official said yesterday, and the military scrapped a contentious plan to dig a deep, wide moat along the Gaza-Egypt border. The head of Israel’s Disengagement Authority, Yonatan Bassi, told reporters that peppers and tomatoes grown in the greenhouses could help feed the 1.3 million Palestinian Arabs packed into the narrow coastal strip. Luxury items such as flowers and strawberries would be exported, mainly to the European Union. “Israel is negotiating now with America and with others, with the international community, to leave all the infrastructure of the greenhouses to the Palestinians through a third party,” Mr. Bassi said, without giving further details.

A USAID official in Tel Aviv said 3,000 Palestinian Arabs were working in settlement greenhouses and turning them over to Palestinian Arab ownership could create a further 7,000 jobs. With each Gaza laborer supporting about eight other people, that could help an estimated 63,000 people.

– Associated Press

WESTERN EUROPE

IRAN SAYS FEAR OF LEAKED INFORMATION BEHIND BAN ON U.N. VISITS

Declaring some sites off-limits to U.N. inspectors, Iran said yesterday it fears that leaked information gathered by them could help those planning a possible strike on its military installations. Meanwhile, America, which has not ruled out such an attack on Iran urged the U.N. Security Council to take action against Tehran, saying the Islamic republic is “cynically” pursuing nuclear arms while hiding its intentions from the world – an allegation Iran denies. The chief American delegate, Jackie Sanders, to the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N nuclear watchdog, made the comments in response to an update on Iran’s nuclear record after more than two years of examination by the agency. Ms. Sanders called the IAEA report a “startling list of Iranian attempts to hide and mislead and delay the work” of agency experts, and urged other countries to support an American drive to have Iran referred to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions – which past board meetings have refused to do.

– Associated Press

SOUTHEAST ASIA

TERROR CHIEF SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR 2002 BALI BOMBING

The accused leader of an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group was sentenced to 30 months in jail by an Indonesian court today for conspiracy charges related to the 2002 Bali nightclub bombing that killed 202 people, including seven Americans. Abu Bakar Bashir was cleared of more serious charges that he ordered the bombing, which was aimed at foreign tourists and also killed 88 Australians. He was also cleared of charges related to the 2003 bombing of the J.W. Marriott hotel in Jakarta that killed 12 and charges he incited his followers to launch terrorist attacks.

– Associated Press

EAST ASIA

EXPLOSION IN CHINA KILLS AT LEAST 20 SCHOOLCHILDREN

BEIJING – A cache of explosives at the home of a coal mine manager blew up in a town in northern China, killing at least 20 children at a nearby grade school, news reports said today. The explosion occurred yesterday in Kecheng, a town in Shanxi province, one of China’s biggest coal-mining regions, newspapers reported.

“Grade school students who were in class were buried,” the Shanxi Commercial News said. “At least 20 people are dead.” The mine manager, identified as Lu Maolin, was among the dead and his wife was injured, the Commercial News and the Shanxi Evening News reported. They said an unspecified number of injured children from the Beixin Village Elementary School were hospitalized.

China’s coal mining industry is the world’s deadliest, with thousands of deaths reported every year despite a marathon government safety crackdown.

– Associated Press