This week the United States will welcome South Asian teenagers to the State Departments under the “Seeds of Peace” programme... Founded in 1993 by journalist John Wallach, Seeds of Peace describes itself as being dedicated to empowering young leaders from regions of conflict...

Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer is threatening to sabotage the bill banning fur imports, following pressure from foreign ambassadors. Ben-Eliezer said the bill would damage Israel's trade ties with many countries and could cause a diplomatic crisis: Some states fear that Israel's far-reaching legislation would make other countries follow its lead.

[Syrian President Bashar] Assad's balanced position was a surprise. Instead of getting up and cursing Israel for its "aggression" against a Gaza-bound flotilla in May, he acted like a responsible neighbor by trying to calm the dispute.

President Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday at the White House. They have met on five previous occasions, but their spouses will get acquainted for the first time today, a diplomatic move that comes as the two leaders try to lessen the tensions in their sometimes rocky relationship.

Later on Monday, however, a spokesman for the Turkish government told the Reuters news agency that Davutoglu had been misquoted in the newspaper reports. The official claimed that Davutoglu actually said that relations with Israel would not improve if an apology was not issued.

Israel is failing to win US public opinion in the wake of its assault on the Gaza aid flotilla that left nine activists dead, according to a leaked memo by Republican political consultant Frank Lunz.

"Of course, we had in the past and also now Taiwanese students studying in Israeli leading universities, but this is the first time that Taiwanese students will benefit from our government scholarships" said Raphael Gamzou, the head of the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei.

Turkey has said before it was reviewing ties with the Jewish state. But Davutoglu's words are the first time Ankara has explicitly threatened to sever ties unless its demands are met.