Monday, June 30 (early edition)

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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_8458652.htm
Israeli cabinet approves prisoners swap deal with Hezbollah
JERUSALEM, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Israeli cabinet on Sunday approves a prisoners swap deal with the Lebanese movement Hezbollah, which will bring back two kidnapped Israeli soldiers who Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said are already dead. A majority of the ministers voted in favor of the deal at the end of a cabinet meeting, after Olmert urged the cabinet to greenlight the proposal to exchange Lebanese prisoners with Israeli reservists Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, who were taken away by Hezbollah militants two years ago in an cross-border attack which sparked a month-long war between Israel and Hizbollah.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_8458610.htm
Leaders of world oil industry meet on soaring oil prices
MADRID, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Leaders in the world oil industry are holding their biggest meeting in three years here on Sunday, with high hopes of finding possible solutions to the soaring oil prices. Some 4,000 delegates, including prominent executives from oil companies and policy makers, are expected to attend the 19th World Petroleum Congress (WPC), which would kick off Sunday evening with an opening dinner.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=622708
World food prices may rise due to Midwest flooding
ST. LOUIS -- Levees on the cresting Mississippi River held on Sunday as the worst U.S. Midwest flooding in 15 years began to ebb, but multibillion-dollar crop losses may boost world food prices for years.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/...ss/30trade.php
Cost of a meal driven higher by hoarding nations
BANGKOK: At least 29 countries have sharply curbed food exports in recent months, to ensure that their own people have enough to eat, at affordable prices. When it comes to rice, India, Vietnam, China and 11 other countries have limited or banned exports. Fifteen countries, including Pakistan and Bolivia, have capped or halted wheat exports. More than a dozen have limited corn exports. Kazakhstan has restricted exports of sunflower seeds.

http://www.keysnews.com/351693644676275.bsp.htm
Mysterious illness kills Keys doves
Doves literally are falling out of trees throughout the Florida Keys and no one knows yet what's causing them to die. "It's not normal," said Kelly Grinter, executive director of the Marathon Wild Bird Center and the Key West Wildlife Center. "We have seen a dozen dead doves in Marathon, and one to two dozen in Key West. What we're seeing is birds dying a half-hour to 24 hours after we find them. We have had several calls from people saying they are finding dead doves around their yards."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7457054.stm
Bird flu 'still a major threat'
The world is still at risk from a new pandemic strain of flu according to leading scientists. The H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus has been out of the headlines for some time but experts say it still poses a potential threat.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/997257.html
First rabbis ordained in Poland since the Holocaust
Two rabbis, the first to be ordained in Poland since World War Two, received their diplomas from Warsaw's Rabbinical College on Sunday. Nine students from the United States and Israel were granted rabbinical rights at a ceremony presided over by Poland's chief rabbi, U.S.-born Michael Schudrich, and attended by Jewish clergy from Poland, Israel and Britain.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,373453,00.html
Grizzly Mauls Teen During Alaska Bike Race
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A 14-year-old girl riding in a mountain bike race was attacked in the dark of night by a bear Sunday and severely injured, but she was able to make a brief 911 call that eventually resulted in her rescue. The girl suffered head, neck, torso and leg wounds. She underwent surgery and was in critical condition Sunday afternoon at Providence Alaska Medical Center, police said

[Guest]

Re: Monday, June 30

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1
Israeli authorities warn hospitals to prepare for earthquake
A strong earthquake could soon rock Lebanon and parts of Israel, authorities said on Monday, urging health officials in northern Israel to make preparations for such an event. "The probability of an earthquake of a magnitude of up to six on the Richter scale, originating in Lebanon and being felt in Israel has increased," the health ministry said in a letter sent to medical officials in northern Israel.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1
Calif. firefighters battle more than 1,400 blazes
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The good news in northern California is that more than a thousand wildfires aren't growing. The bad news: There's no relief in sight. No new major fires had broken out Sunday as fire crews inched closer to getting some of the largest of 1,420 blazes surrounded, according to the state Office of Emergency Services. Some 364,600 acres—or almost 570 square miles—have burned. A "red flag warning"—meaning the most extreme fire danger—was still in effect for Northern California until 8 a.m. EDT Monday. And the coming days and months are expected to bring little relief.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1
Iran to ready thousands of graves for enemy soldiers
Iran is to dig 320,000 graves in border districts to allow for the burial of enemy soldiers in the event of any attack on its territory, a top commander said on Sunday. "In implementation of the Geneva Conventions... the necessary measures are being taken to provide for the burial of enemy soldiers," the Mehr news agency quoted General Mir-Faisal Bagherzadeh as saying. "We have plans to dig 15,000 to 20,000 graves in each of the border provinces or a total of 320,000," the general said, some of them mass graves if necessary.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1
Oil prices close in on record-high 143 dollars
World oil prices rose to within touching distance of a record-high point of 143 dollars on Monday, as French truckers protested at high fuel costs and energy leaders met to discuss soaring crude. New York crude oil had hit an all-time record of 142.99 dollars on Friday as the US currency remained weak. The ailing dollar has fueled demand for oil, which is priced in dollars, from traders holding stronger currencies.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7011457785
G8 Summit In Japan To Discuss Global Food Crisis
Tokyo, Japan (AHN)- Eight leaders who belong to the global industrial economies will agree to establish a task force at their coming summit this July in Toyako, Japan to address the world food crisis. The leaders will address the immediate problem of food shortages in poor countries as well as resolve longer-term challenges such as boosting food production, officials said. The working group is also expected to discuss export restrictions and the delivery of global food stockpiles to countries with the most need.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5...oaBcmaGu9d_8jw
Strong quake rattles South Sandwich Islands
WASHINGTON (AFP) — A strong 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck Monday near the South Sandwich Islands, a remote British territory near Antarctica and South America's southern tip, the US Geological Survey said. The earthquake, which was 10 kilometers (six miles) deep, took place 283 kilometers (176 miles) southeast of Bristol Island and 2,374 kilometers (1,476 miles) southeast of Punta Arenas, Chile, the USGS said. The quake occurred at 0617 GMT, USGS said.