All beds booked in the birthplace of Jesus for first time in seven years 
By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries
BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK (ANS) – A British journalist has revealed that all the beds for tourists in Bethlehem are booked for the first time in seven years – and there is no now more room in […]

GENEVA - The U.N. Children’s Fund says an estimated two-million children in Iraq are facing poor nutrition, disease and interrupted education. UNICEF says Iraqi children are paying too high a price for a war that was none of their doing.
The U.N. Children’s Fund says children in Kurdistan in northern Iraq are thriving and the situation […]

JERUSALEM - The Islamic militant group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, is seeking a cease-fire with Israel. But Israel has rejected the offer.
Israel Radio says Hamas is drafting terms for a truce and trying to get other Palestinian factions to halt rocket attacks on Israel. Hamas did not comment on the report, but it […]

WASHINGTON - President Bush has praised U.S. troops this Christmas season.In his weekly radio address, President Bush thanked U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families for their sacrifices. “This Christmas, many will sit down for dinner thinking of their loved ones half a world away. These families deserve the thanks and the […]

HONG KONG - Japan has backed down from a highly controversial plan to hunt endangered humpback whales off Antarctica, after fierce criticism by Australia. The Japanese whaling fleet, however, still plans to hunt almost 1,000 whales this season.
Japan’s decision Friday will save 50 humpback whales that Japanese whalers had planned to catch and kill in […]

WASHINGTON - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has criticized the U.S. Congress for providing only three months worth of funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The short-term funding means President Bush will have to go back to the Democratic-controlled Congress for more war funding in March.Congress this week approved $70 billion for the […]

WASHINGTON - The commander of U.S. forces in East Africa and the Middle East says he has ordered his naval commanders to take a tougher approach to pirates off the coast of Somalia, in an effort to help the region’s economy and promote stability.
In a year-end VOA interview, Admiral William Fallon said that, in recent […]

KABUL - A top U.S. military commander says coalition forces in Afghanistan will continue to press Taliban and al-Qaida elements during the coming winter in spite of the severe weather in much of the country. The officer also said Pakistan is showing signs it may be willing to do more to eliminate safe havens on […]

LANDSTUHL, GERMANY - The commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East has called on Iran to officially stop helping insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. The officer spoke after visiting soldiers at a U.S. military hospital in Germany who had been wounded in Iraq by high-powered roadside bombs supplied by Iran.
The piece of shrapnel one […]

STATE DEPARTMENT - President Bush told his news conference Thursday that Syria should stay out of Lebanon and allow that country to democratically elect a new president. Lebanon has been without a president since late November amid charges Syria is trying to prolong the country’s political stalemate.
The year-end news conference included the President’s strongest rhetoric […]

CAIRO - A political stalemate in Lebanon that started at the end of 2006 has dragged on through the entire year, culminating in a crisis that has left the country without a president. 
As the year opened, Lebanon was in crisis.  Opposition protesters were camped outside the prime minister’s office, demanding the government’s resignation.  Opposition ministers […]

JERUSALEM - Israel has rejected a ceasefire offer from the Islamic militant group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.
Hamas offered Israel the truce a day after 13 Palestinian militants, including two top commanders, were killed in a wave of Israeli air strikes in Gaza. Israel launched the raids in response to daily Palestinian rocket attacks.
Hamas […]

WHITE HOUSE - The United States is boosting fuel efficiency standards in automobiles for the first time in 32 years.  President Bush signed the new standards into law.
The new energy policy requires cars and light trucks sold in the United States to average 15 kilometers per liter by 2020.  That is nearly five more kilometers […]

WASHINGTON - The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a massive spending bill for the 2008 fiscal year that includes $70 billion to fund U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. By a vote of 272 to 142, lawmakers Wednesday voted in favor of the legislation that the Senate cleared late Tuesday. The $555 billion […]

HONG KONG - Japan says it has successfully completed its first test of a U.S.-developed missile interceptor, striking down a ballistic missile over the Pacific Ocean early Tuesday. Washington and Japan have been working together for years to boost Japan’s defense capabilities, especially against a threat by North Korea.
Japanese officials say the Standard Missile 3 […]

WASHINGTON - The White House has announced President Bush’s itinerary for his trip to the Middle East in early January. It will be his first visit as president to Israel and the West Bank.
The president will make seven stops during the trip: Israel, the West Bank, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and […]

WHITE HOUSE - With fewer than 400 days left in office, President Bush says he is sprinting to the finish line.  
President Bush opened his second term vowing to spend political capital on reforming the federal retirement system and U.S. immigration law. But White House influence failed to deliver either, and frustration over the war in […]

CAIRO - Millions of Muslims from around the world have arrived in the Muslim holy city of Mecca to begin the annual Hajj pilgrimage. The four-day ritual is taking place under tight security, and officials in Saudi Arabia have made significant efforts to streamline the traffic flow to prevent a repeat of last year’s deadly […]

WASHINGTON - President Bush says now that Iran has received an initial shipment of nuclear fuel for its Bushehr power plant from Russia, there is no need for Tehran to enrich uranium.
President Bush says he has no objections to the nuclear fuel shipment from Russia. He says it is part of an effort designed to […]

CAPITOL HILL - Democrats took control of Congress for the first time in 12 years in 2007, promising to fulfill an ambitious legislative agenda and to change the course of the unpopular war in Iraq. They conclude the year accomplishing few of their key priorities, including affecting the course of the war. 
President Bush offered his […]

By Jeremy Reynalds
Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
ISNA, EGYPT (ANS) – Seven Muslims were detained in southern Egypt on Sunday after setting fire to a church, and stores owned by Christians.
The violence was in retaliation for the alleged rape of a Muslim girl, a security source told AFP News.
According to AFP, the seven individuals set […]

HONG KONG - China has announced plans to triple the amount of money foreign institutions can place in the country’s local stock markets, and the world’s biggest exporter of dairy products is raising payments to its farmers.
China has confirmed it will triple the amount of money that foreign financial institutions can collectively place in the […]

SYDNEY - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has warned that NATO’s anti-Taliban tactics in Afghanistan are not working. The newly elected leader said it is “critical” that security in the troubled country be stabilized.
Prime Minister Rudd issued his blunt warning to the NATO governments after a cabinet meeting in the capital, Canberra, on Monday.
The prime […]

PARIS - Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi wrapped up a visit to France Saturday that fulfilled all expectations of sparking controversy.
Mr. Gadhafi got the red carpet treatment from French President Nicolas Sarkozy during his five-day visit here. The Libyan leader was the featured guest at a state dinner. The Libyan and French leaders also signed a […]

WASHINGTON - Turkey’s military says its warplanes have attacked Kurdish rebel targets inside northern Iraq.
The military says the airstrike targeted bases of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in regions close to the Turkish border and in the Qandil mountains. The statement said such operations will continue “according to military needs.”
Officials in Iraq say […]