Pakistan's military denies intentions of extending its anti-militant campaign to North Waziristan, urging people in the tribal region to cooperate with the army.

Talks on troubled industrial complex come amid reports of imminent missile launch.

Raids on Taliban positions in northwest Pakistan kill at least 28 fighters, army says.

A look at what's making the headlines in Thursday's morning newspapers.

The US ambassador to Venezuela has returned to Caracas to breach the gap that widened between the two countries during George W. Bush's presidency.

UN food agency says millions of North Koreans at risk as aid supplies dry up.

Pakistani tribesmen have launched a massive attack on Taliban-linked militants in the violent northwest, killing more than 42 insurgents.

Amnesty International report accuses Israel and Hamas of war crimes.

Grim new report shows the gaps in living conditions between Aborigines and other Australians are growing wider.

Afghans in Calais dream of Channel crossing to London

A bipartisan group of US senators call for the immediate release of a Vietnamese priest, Father Nguyen Van Ly, jailed for dissent.

Government militia accuses losing candidate of "disturbing the nation's security".

The US government will pull its support from GM if the automaker does not get court permission for an exit from bankruptcy protection by July 10.

Thousands of marines seek to wrest Helmand stronghold from Taliban.

By cartoonist Leon Kuhn whose work can also be seen on his own website http://www.leonkuhn.org.uk where postcards of some of his cartoons can be ordered.

See Leon Kuhn's page on "SpideredNews | Politics" at http://www.spiderednews.com/LeonKuhn.htm

Please email NOW to David Miliband (msu.correspondence@fco.gov.uk) and send a copy to your MP (http://www.writetothem.com)

Dear Foreign Secretary,

I was extremely concerned to hear the news today that the Israeli Navy illegally intercepted and boarded the Free Gaza ship 'Spirit of Humanity', whilst it was in
international waters. It appears they have kidnapped the 21 human rights workers from 11 countries, including UK citizens Ishmahil Blagrove, Alex Harrison, Denis Healey, Fathi Jaouadi, Theresa McDermott and Adnan Mormesh, and taken the boat to an Israeli port.

The boat holds medicine, toys, and other much needed humanitarian relief for the Palestinians living in Gaza under siege. Its cargo was searched and it received a security clearance by Cypriot Port Authorities before departure.

As the International Committee of the Red Cross said in their report released yesterday, the Palestinians living in Gaza are "trapped in despair." Thousands of
Gazans whose homes were destroyed earlier during Israel's December/January massacre are still without shelter despite pledges of almost $4.5 billion in aid,
because Israel refuses to allow cement and other building material into the Gaza Strip. The report also notes that hospitals are struggling to meet the needs of their patients due to Israel's disruption of medical supplies.

I urge you to insist that the Israeli Government immediately release the Spirit of Humanity and all its passengers, and take all the necessary steps to ensure it can complete its humanitarian mission in safety. I also urge you to act to ensure that the Israeli government does not commit any further acts of piracy and kidnapping of boats and their crew in international waters.

=====================================

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) aims to raise public awareness about the occupation of Palestine and the struggle of the Palestinian people. PSC seek to bring pressure on both the British and Israeli government to bring their policies in line with international law. PSC is an independent, non-governmental and non-party political organisation with members from communities across the UK. Join PSC today!

Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Box BM PSA
London
WC1N 3XX

Tel:   020 7700 6192
Fax:  020 7609 7779

Email: info@palestinecampaign.org

Web: http://www.palestinecampaign.org

Vessel carrying aid to Gaza intercepted by Israeli navy.

In another act of piracy outside its territorial waters, the Zionist regime's navy seized a foreign vessel carrying humanitarian assistance for Gaza and forcibly diverted it and all onboard to Israel on Tuesday.

Israeli drones unlawfully killed at least 29 Palestinian civilians during the recent Gaza conflict, Human Rights Watch says.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on Tuesday he deplored Israel's decision to approve construction of 50 new homes at a West Bank settlement in defiance of a U.S. call for a settlement freeze. ...

Freighter tracked by US navy believed to be headed back to North Korea.

Rwanda is urged to drop a draft law which would forcibly sterilise people who are mentally disabled.

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak denies an impasse over settlements as talks with the US envoy end without agreement.

The parliament (Majlis) investigation committee will continue its work concerning an investigation into the recent unrest in the country after the June 12 presidential election.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has cancelled a planned visit to Libya where he was due to address an African Union summit.

A North Korean ship, suspected of transporting a cargo of weapons, has suddenly changed course while being monitored by the US Navy, a US official has claimed.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cancels his trip to an African Union summit in Libya, without giving any reason.

Military ruler says new charter by 2013 ahead of polls the following year.

Following the conclusion of a probe into the complaints into the 10th presidential elections in Iran, the Interior Ministry has ordered all election headquarters to end their activities.

First Minister Peter Robinson is due to meet Gordon Brown later to discuss the devolution of policing and justice powers.

The newspapers are forthright in their condemnation of the ID cards scheme after the government said they would not be compulsory.

Hong Kong marks the 12th anniversary of its handover to Chinese rule with official celebrations ahead of an anti-government rally.

US President Barack Obama hails the withdrawal of US forces from Iraqi towns and cities as a "milestone" but warns of the "difficult days" he believes are yet to come.

Swine flu has claimed the life of a pregnant 20-year-old woman in Spain -- marking the first fatality from the virus in the country and the fourth in Europe.

A United Nations inquiry into the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is to begin.

A senior UN official makes an urgent plea for more money to support the displaced in north-west Pakistan.

Car bomb kills up to 40 people after Iraqi forces assume control in urban areas.

US official says North Korean ship it was tracking on suspicion it was carrying weapons to Burma has turned around.

Ordinarily, we in Israel examine the Arab world from the political and ...

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's request of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he replace Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman exposes a sad truth: At present Israel does not have a functioning foreign minister. The international community refuses to speak to a politician who is considered racist in the wake of the campaign conducted by his party, Yisrael Beiteinu, against Arab citizens during the recent Knesset election campaign. There is not and cannot be any other way to interpret Sarkozy's comparison between Lieberman and far-right French politician Jean-Marie Le Pen. ...

A top British diplomat says that all foreign troops are losing in Afghanistan because their leaders do not know how to handle the war.

The Zionist regime army has handed out demolition orders for the destruction of Palestinian homes and structures located in Al Kahder town in the occupied West Bank.

Democrat Al Franken has been declared the US senator from Minnesota after months of legal battle to boost his party's position in the Senate.

Japan plans to send two new warships on an anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia to replace two destroyers that have been in the Gulf of Aden since March.

Delayed election result could help Barack Obama push through his agenda in congress.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has congratulated President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his victory in Iran's presidential election.

New rules come into force requiring MPs to disclose income they receive from second jobs and how much time they devote to them.

Campaigners are calling for a national crackdown on the sale of counterfeit goods at street markets and boot fairs.

The Israelis and Palestinians are at a key point in their relations: they can have a true, lasting peace or else take the road to self destruction, Ron Pundak, one of the key architects of the original 1993 peace accord between the two Middle-Eastern neighbors warned Tuesday.