WESTERN EUROPE

ANGLICAN CHURCH MAY DIVEST FROM ISRAEL-LINKED BUSINESSES

LONDON – The worldwide association of Anglican churches will consider a report Friday that calls for companies in its investment portfolios to drop any business activity supporting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

The Anglican Consultative Council, the association’s policymaking body, will discuss at its 10-day meeting underway in Nottingham whether to recommend the proposal to the Anglican Communion. The communion is composed of 77 million members belonging to the Church of England, the U.S. Episcopal Church, and three dozen related churches. The association’s decision will be scrutinized by those with a stake in the Middle East peace process and could affect Anglican-Jewish relations. It was not immediately clear how much money might be involved. Consideration of the report comes a month after Britain’s largest union of university teachers ended a month-long boycott of two Israeli universities accused of pursuing anti-Palestinian policies. Also last month, the Church of England Ethical Investment Advisory Group, which guides the church on its nearly $12 billion in investments, rejected calls to sell its stock in Caterpillar Inc. The Illinois-based company’s bulldozers have been used by the Israeli army to demolish houses of suspected Palestinian Arab terrorists and their relatives.

– Los Angeles Times

G8 LEADERS AGREE ON GAZA WITHDRAWAL, IRAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM

LONDON – Two weeks before a Group of Eight summit in Scotland, the nations’ foreign ministers agreed yesterday on a host of issues, including Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, Iran’s nuclear program, and human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.

Secretary of State Rice insisted Israel’s disengagement from Gaza must be peaceful, and urged Middle Eastern countries not to turn a blind eye to terrorism.

The G8 nations also urged North Korea to resume dialogue on its nuclear program, called on Iran not to resume its uranium enrichment activities, and condemned human rights abuses in Zimbabwe and the Darfur region of Sudan.

Less than two months before Israel’s withdrawal from all 21 Jewish settlements on the Gaza Strip and four in the West Bank, the Middle East peace process dominated much of the daylong summit in London.

– Associated Press

MIDDLE EAST

PALESTINIAN OFFICIALS OFFER SECURITY JOBS TO TERRORISTS

NABLUS, West Bank – Palestinian officials said yesterday they reached a tentative agreement to absorb about 700 gunmen in this West Bank city into the Palestinian security services, pushing forward with a campaign aimed at disarming rogue terrorists.

The program of offering government jobs to militants in exchange for giving up their weapons has been a centerpiece of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’s efforts to impose law and order in the chaotic West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Israel has said the tactic is ineffective and has demanded tougher action against the terrorists, and even Palestinian officials conceded the weapons collection would not take place anytime soon. Still, reaching a deal in Nablus could be significant. The city is widely considered to be a center of terrorist activity – a concern that was underscored Wednesday when gunmen in a nearby refugee camp opened fire and detonated a bomb as the Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qureia, delivered a lecture about the need to end the chaos. No one was injured. Also yesterday, representatives of the so-called Quartet that drafted the “road map” peace plan tried to revive the process, stressing the need for an orderly Israeli withdrawal from parts of the Palestinian Arab territories.

– Associated Press

NORTH AMERICA

CANADA TO RESTRICT MAIL-ORDER PRESCRIPTION SALES TO AMERICA

TORONTO – Canada will soon announce measures aimed at restricting Internet pharmacies from selling mail-order prescription drugs to American consumers, Canada’s Health Minister said yesterday. Such a move would cut into a $700 million industry that has become increasingly popular with underinsured patients in search of cheaper medicine. The American government has argued that reimporting American-made drugs from Canada would put consumers at risk because American regulators could not guarantee their safety. The pharmaceutical industry vehemently opposes the practice, which undercuts American sales. As part of its socialized medical system, the Canadian government sets drug prices that are lower than those charged in America. Various bills have been introduced into Congress to permit the importation of lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada and elsewhere.

– Associated Press