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Artifacts with links to Bible unearthed
By Jay Bushinsky
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
January 2, 2006

JERUSALEM -- Israeli archaeologists, screening tons of rubble scooped out of this ancient city's sacred Temple Mount, have discovered hundreds of artifacts and coins, as well as jewelry, some with biblical links dating back more than three millennia.
Most of the stones and earth originally were taken to an organic garbage dump in nearby Bethany, the New Testament town known in Arabic as Al-Azariya, and could not be retrieved. But a substantial portion was diverted to the Valley of Kidron, mentioned in the Old Testament and located just outside the Old City's massive walls.
This ambitious archaeological project, known as the Temple Mount Antiquities Operation, was started in November 2004, when Muslims excavated the sector north of Solomon's Stables to build the massive underground Marwani Mosque. Its second season, now under way, will last until February.
The Waqf, or Muslim officials who administer the site -- known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary -- helped the Israelis arrange the transfer.
Among the unusual finds extracted by Bar-Ilan University's Gabriel Barkai and his team of students and volunteers is a "bulla," or seal impression, thought to be used to close cloth sacks of silver.
"It bears the name Gedalyahu Ben Immer Ha-Cohen, suggesting that the owner may have been a brother of Pashur Ben Immer, described in the Bible [Jeremiah 20:1] as a priest and temple official," Mr. Barkai said.
That verse says: "Pashur, the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the House of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things."
The team's discoveries span 10,000 years "and belong to all the historical periods that transpired in Jerusalem," Mr. Barkai said.
One of the finds is a stone weight equivalent to four shekels (an ancient Hebrew measure, about 2 ounces), marked with words written in the ancient Hebrew alphabet.
The site is not considered an archaeological dig. The workers use a technique called "wet sifting," similar to the way prospectors pan for gold.
Mr. Barkai's team examines every particle, using large wire filters to rinse each one with cold water while looking for valuable objects.
Some finds reflect the Temple Mount's unique and dramatic history. An example of this is an iron arrowhead with a shaft used by the Roman legions during the siege of the Second Hebrew Temple 2,000 years ago.

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More at link...
http://washingtontimes.com/world/20060102-123421-5168r.htm

Reputed Terrorist Al-Zarqawi Still Shrouded in U.S.-Fed Myth, Mystery
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GSS: 900% Increase in Terrorist Smuggling in Four Months
According to the report, released Monday, there has been a 900% increase in the number of anti-tank missile launchers Arab terrorists have brought into Gaza from Egypt since Israel's unilateral withdrawal in August as compared with the preceding seven months. Approximately 350 anti-tank missiles were brought across the border in the same post-Disengagement period, representing a 600% increase since the Palestinian Authority took over Gaza.
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Key arrest is revealing of terrorist underworld
Loa'i Mohammad Haj Bakr al-Saqa, wanted by Turkey for 2003 bombings in Istanbul that killed 58 people, is said to have eluded intelligence services by using an array of fake IDs, employing aliases even with his al-Qaida contacts and finally faking his death in Fallujah, Iraq, in late 2004.
The Syrian radical didn't surface until last August, when an accidental explosion forced him to flee his safehouse in the Turkish resort of Antalya, police say. Officers reported finding bomb-making materials meant for an attack on an Israeli cruise ship.
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Terrorist with Bangladesh link arrested
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Gelatine sticks seized
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China, Russia pledge stronger relations

BEIJING: Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to build stronger ties between the two neighbours in the new year, state media reported Monday.

The two leaders exchanged greetings on New Year’s Eve and reiterated plans to further develop bilateral relations by deepening cultural exchanges, the Xinhua news agency said.

Hu told Putin that the Chinese government attaches great importance to the 2006 celebration of the “Year of Russia” and promised to make it a “complete success.” Russia will mark the “Year of China” in 2007.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C01%5C03%5Cstory_3-1-2006_pg4_5

DC--Here is the article you were referring to.

JAN. 2 1:53 P.M. ET What kind of neighbor cuts off gas supplies in winter? That question is being asked of Russia after it closed natural gas taps feeding Ukraine, a decision with implications for the rest of Europe.

In language reminiscent of the Cold War, many Europeans castigated Russia on Monday for shutting gas supplies to Ukraine over a price dispute. Russia's critics say the cutoff was Ukraine's punishment for reaching out to the West.

Beneath the criticism lay deeper questions about Russia's role in today's Europe. The shut-off came the same day Russia assumed the leadership of the G-8, after years of seeking a full-fledged place in the elite group of rich nations.

"The novelty of 2006 is Russia's reappearance on the map of world threats," said Italian daily La Stampa. "Only its tool has changed: Instead of nuclear warheads and the international communist movement, today there is the gas tap."
"In the year of the Russian G-8, the West must decide, for the umpteenth time, how to act toward a Russian czar with a claim not anymore on their lives, but on their stoves."

The cutoff threatens shipments throughout Europe because Ukraine acts as a transit country for most of Russia's gas consignment to the continent.

In the wake of the European criticism, Russian officials said late Monday they would resume some gas supplies intended for Europe. And most analysts expect Russia and Ukraine to reach agreement soon.

Still, the crisis is the latest sign that Russia has its own idea of where it fits in the global marketplace and political arena. And that idea doesn't always match the dependable, predictable Russia that Europe dreams of.

"Russia is saying clearly to its partners that it is an energy superpower, saying 'We are actors on the world stage. You should listen to us,'" said Thomas Gomart, an expert at the French Institute of International Relations, a Paris think-tank.

Beyond re-igniting European concerns about energy security, the crisis threatened to revive anti-Russian sentiment that last flared in Europe a year ago, during Ukraine's democratic revolution. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also been worrying Europe by clamping down on foreign non-governmental organizations and with his perceived backsliding on Russian democracy.

"Seeing Russia use this weapon is bound to have a political impact on the image of Russia as a well-behaved neighbor," Philip Hanson, a Russia expert at Birmingham University in England, said of the gas shut-off.

The gas dispute has simmered since the early 1990s, prompting questions of why Russia chose to cut off supplies now -- just months before parliamentary elections in Ukraine.

Moscow "is trying to satisfy its imperial ambitions, paying little attention to the fact that the way it has chosen undermines its reputation as a trade partner," commentator Slawomir Popowski wrote in the Polish daily Rzeczpospolita.

In Poland, the crisis reinforced fears that Russia will play rough to maintain influence over its former satellites. Germany, which depends on Russia for 30 percent of its gas, is also nervous.

"Russia is using unrestrained monopoly power to discipline a politically insubordinate neighbor," said Werner Hoyer, a senior lawmaker for Germany's Free Democratic Party.

"Who can guarantee that Russia won't one day use the gas tap as a way to exert pressure or impose discipline on other countries, such as Germany?"

Russia insists it is only enforcing its commercial rights, demanding that Ukraine pay market price for gas.

European government officials were cautious about casting blame and alienating Putin. But the cutoff has continentwide implications, and European Union energy ministers will meet Wednesday to discuss it.

Amid the criticism, Russia won a bit of indirect support from Pascal Lamy, director of the World Trade Organization: "Whatever the political or legal problems are, in the short term, these countries should pay for their energy at today's energy prices to improve the efficiency of their economies."