TEL AVIV, Israel -- The Jewish Agency for Israel welcomed 40 Jewish immigrants from Iran amid allegations of an intolerant regime in the Islamic Republic.The Jewish Agency for Israel welcomed the new immigrants at Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport Tuesday afternoon, marking the largest group of Iranian immigrants fostered by the agency.Yossi Shraga with the Jewish Agency said Jewish people in Iran were "starting to feel the earth burn beneath their feet" and referenced a rising ... [full story]

JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced plans to discuss settlement issues during a Thursday meeting.The two leaders are expected to discuss issues settlement issues that have slowed the process of negotiations since the Annapolis, Md., summit in November, Haaretz reported Wednesday.Palestinian negotiators object to the Israeli Housing Ministry's plan to build 307 housing units in Jerusalem's Har Homa neighborhood, which falls on the Palestinian side of the Green ... [full story]

ALGARVE, Portugal -- Police are focusing on one British pedophile in the investigation into the disappearance of 4-year-old Madeleine McCann, Sky News said.British police supplied a list of 52 pedophiles to Portuguese authorities investigating the girl's disappearance in May and all but one has been cleared, Sky News said. The suspect's identity hasn't been revealed, FOX News said.McCann disappeared from a hotel room as her parents dined at a nearby restaurant while the family vacationed ... [full story]

JERUSALEM -- A global search has accelerated for missing pages of the world's oldest Hebrew Bible that disappeared 60 years ago in Syria.The Ben-Zvi Institute is enlisting the help of former residents of Aleppo, Syria, where nearly half of the pages of the ancient Bible disappeared during anti-Jewish riots, The Washington Times said."We are appealing to the older members of Aleppo's once-great Jewish community, who are scattered throughout the world, to look for the missing ... [full story]

BERLIN -- As many as 12,000 people worldwide have been identified as suspects by German police who cracked an Internet child pornography network.The investigation codenamed "Heaven" went on for months before police in Berlin made the announcement Monday, Deutsche Welle reported.Police said 1,700 people in Germany have been charged with possessing illegal material.Using Internet Protocol addresses unique to each computer, thousands of other suspects were identified by investigators in 70 other countries, the report said.The ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- Talks were held Monday in Washington and the Middle East among U.S., Turkish and Iraqi leaders about Turkey's recent bombing of Kurdish Rebels.President George W. Bush and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a phone conference while two senior Iraqi officials spoke with the head of the country's Kurdish region in a separate meeting, CNN reported.The push for diplomacy stemmed from Turkish warplanes bombing Kurdish separatist targets in northern Iraq during the ... [full story]

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt -- At least five people died and one woman was pulled alive from the rubble of a 12-story building that collapsed Monday in Alexandria, Egypt.The Middle East News Agency reported buildings on either side of the collapsed structure suffered structural damage and were evacuated. The collapse occurred as construction workers were doing repair work on the first floor and the building tilted and collapsed, MENA quoted Alexandria Gov. Adel Labib as saying, the ... [full story]

JERUSALEM -- Palestinians celebrated Christmas Eve Monday, marching through the streets of Bethlehem playing drums and bagpipes.Palestinian Christian children celebrated by wearing festive costumes as they gathered outside the Church of the Nativity the day before Christmas, the Voice of America reported Monday.With the city's Manger Square decorated with Christmas trees and colorful balloons, the celebrations were set to culminate with midnight mass at the Church of the Nativity. Copyright © 2007, by United Press International. ... [full story]

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania -- Four French nationals, all members of the same family, have been killed and a fifth person injured at a popular sightseeing area in Mauritania.Euronews.net reported at least two of the dead were children.The attack occurred about 160 miles southeast of the capital where the family had stopped for a picnic.French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris called for a full investigation. Copyright © 2007, by United Press International. All Rights Reserved. [full story]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Seven United Arab Emirates seafarers spent two days adrift in a raft in rough Arabian Gulf seas before being rescued by U.S. Navy ships.Crewmembers from the carrier USS Harry S. Truman and the fast combat support ship Arctic recovered four Pakistani and three Indian mariners Sunday, The (Norfolk, Va.) Virginian-Pilot reported.Petty Officer 2nd Class Bobby Northnagle, a Navy spokesman aboard the Truman, said the Arctic performed the rescue using two ... [full story]