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Yishai tells Shas daily that he has clarified this stance to the U.S., and plans to expedite construction in the capital. Interior Minister Eli Yishai declared Thursday that Israel had not agreed to freeze construction in East Jerusalem, adding that American demands to do so would never be met. "There is not and never has been a freeze on construction in Jerusalem, nor will there ever be," said Yishai, whose approval of a 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem during U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's visit in March sparked tension in U.S.-Israeli ties.

Yishai tells Shas daily that he has clarified this stance to the U.S., and plans to expedite construction in the capital. Interior Minister Eli Yishai declared Thursday that Israel had not agreed to freeze construction in East Jerusalem, adding that American demands to do so would never be met. "There is not and never has been a freeze on construction in Jerusalem, nor will there ever be," said Yishai, whose approval of a 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem during U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's visit in March sparked tension in U.S.-Israeli ties.

AFP - A senior minister on Sunday warned that Israel would "liquidate" the Islamist Hamas-run government in Gaza following deadly weekend clashes that killed two Israeli soldiers. "Sooner or later we will liquidate the military regime of the pro-Iranian Hamas which controls the Gaza Strip," Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, from the governing rightwing Likud party, told public radio. "I am not setting a timetable, but we will not tolerate this regime continuing to strengthen itself militarily and providing itself with an arsenal of rockets that threaten our territory," he added.

Islamabad, PAKISTAN - President Obama's plan to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan in July 2011 has emboldened terrorists and increased distrust of U.S. intentions in the region, Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Thursday. "The administration's withdrawal date was music to the ears of the militants and terrorists," Qureshi said in an exclusive interview with The Washington Examiner. "This sends the wrong signal, and you will have chaos and confusion in Afghanistan if this comes to fruition.

J.P. Hale usually stands behind a pulpit, but this week he was standing in front of a police camera as they snapped mug shots. The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office says this week the 73-year-old pastor was arrested and charged with one count of indecent liberties with a child. It’s a class six felony. Thursday afternoon we showed up at Hale’s house to talk to the accused religious leader, but he had been advised by his attorney not to talk. The Pulaski County Sheriff won’t give any details on the alleged crime or when it happened, but Sheriff Jim Davis did...

(IsraelNN.com) British Foreign Minister David Miliband phoned Opposition Head Tzipi Livni Tuesday and expressed “shock” at the arrest warrant that was issued against her by a British court. Livni reportedly told him in reply that she does not see the matter as personal but as something that concerns the entire state of Israel, and the ability to continue to act against threats that Israel and Britain face together.

MAYS LANDING, N.J. - Eugene Robinson said sex was the last thing on his mind as he drove the pretty young woman who had asked for a ride to her motel. "I was waiting for God to send me the one that's supposed to be my Christian wife," he said. "That's what it says in the Bible." Yet within minutes of taking the woman to a cheap motel in neighboring Absecon, the 67-year-old Atlantic City Councilman and Baptist minister was receiving oral sex. "I was so surprised," he testified Wednesday in an Atlantic County courtroom. "I, um, hadn't really had...

DEFENCE Minister Joel Fitzgibbon has resigned from his portfolio. Mr Fitzgibbon resigned after it was revealed that he had instructed an Army general to meet with a US Insurance company, of which his brother Mark is an employee, Sky News reports. Major-General Paul Alexander, who is in charge of defence health services, told a parliamentary committee that staff of a junior minister and defence staff told him to attend the meetings with Mark Fitzgibbon, the chief executive of insurer NIB Health. The resignation comes after revelations of the meeting was made during a Senate Estimates hearing last night. “Having read...

When Steve Olmstead served as a Presbyterian minister in Juneau, he would often finish his duties on Sunday, close up the church and head to Mass with his devout Catholic wife and their children.“I had a place to worship, which a lot of pastors don’t,” Olmstead said in an interview with the Anchor. “It was nice to go to a place and worship where I wasn’t the minister.”The Anchorage Archdiocese’s newest seminarian grew up in a Presbyterian home and always had a strong spiritual life. When Olmstead entered adulthood, he felt called to serve as a youth minister, and was...

Ed Balls, the Children's and Schools Secretary, said the downturn was likely to be the most serious for 100 years, and his comments appeared to raise the prospect of a return to the Far Right politics of the 1930s and the rise of Facism. His warning, in a speech to activists at the weekend, came after a trade union baron warned that far right parties were trying to hijack the campaign for "British jobs for British workers". The row over foreign workers has gathered momentum in recent weeks and Mr Balls seemed to suggest the recession could trigger a return...

This is a transcription of a presentation by Dr. Keller at the 2004 FAIR Conference. The transcription was made from an audio recording of the event. Every effort has been made to transcribe the presentation as completely as possible. The Apostasy by Roger Keller I appreciate being here again with you this year, and thanks to Jack for the introduction. It has been fun to have her in class and to gain perspective from her and what she was talking about really is pretty much what I want to talk about today: How do we approach the topic of the...

After a trial that lasted late into the night Friday, a jury found a minister from Radford guilty of sexually abusing a girl in 2000 when she was 8 years old. Hawthorne Reed Jr., 63, was found guilty on two counts of forcible sodomy and one of aggravated sexual battery. The girl said the events happened in 2000, but she didn't tell anyone until six years later. The Roanoke Times is not identifying the girl because of the nature of the case. She doesn't live in Virginia. Jurors on Friday heard from both Reed and the now-16-year-old girl. She was...

A former youth minister at a Kingston church is accused of molesting at least two teenage girls who belonged to his congregation. Pastor Brian A. Neiswender repeatedly fondled the girls while playing hide and seek in the dark and teaching one-on-one music lessons, according to arrest papers. The 26-year-old Baptist minister surrendered to authorities Wednesday to face charges of indecent assault and corruption of minors in connection with the alleged sex crimes at Christ Community Church, 100 W. Dorrance St. The two girls, now 17 and 18 years old, came forward in February. They said the abuse dates back to...

Minister calls for children to be locked in school to stop them buying junk food Last updated at 16:47pm on 06.07.08   Children's Minister Kevin Brennan has called for secondary school children to be locked inside school grounds during breaks to stop them buying unhealthy food Children should be locked inside school grounds to stop them buying unhealthy food from shops and takeaways, a minister said yesterday.The drastic proposal comes amid new evidence that the Jamie Oliver-inspired drive to ensure school canteens offer more nutritious meals is being shunned by pupils.Children's Minister Kevin Brennan said secondary school children should...

Royden Wood leaves the courthouse with his wife Linda yesterday after being charged with six new counts of sexual assault. (Mike Hensen, Sun Media) Already awaiting sentencing on 12 charges, a former London pastor was back in court yesterday -- charged with six counts of sexual assault.   Royden Wood, former pastor of London's Ambassador Baptist Church, was released after a bail hearing with conditions, a $10,000 deposit and his employer acting as a surety.  Wood declined comment as he left the court, holding his wife's hand and accompanied by his employer, Earl Dunn, owner of a Muskoka-area marina where...

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - District Heights Mayor James L. Walls, also an associate minister at a local church, will keep his jobs, for now, after being charged with soliciting a male prostitute in the District of Columbia early Thursday morning, his colleagues said. The 30-year-old fast-rising black political star — he holds positions with nationwide civic groups and the local NAACP chapter, among others — has been charged with solicitation for lewd and immoral purposes after he allegedly attempted to pick up an undercover District officer who was posing as a male prostitute around 12:30 a.m. at Sixth and F...

Army deserters told fellow soldier they committed the crime, court papers say. Two U.S. Army deserters were arrested Friday and charged with killing the Rev. Mark McCalla, a former Franklin pastor. First-degree murder charges were filed against Stephen C. Wilson, 19, of Cincinnati, and Daniel R. Smith, 22, of Newport News, Va. The men were captured after 9 p.m. Friday in downtown Columbus, according to Sgt. Dana Norman of the Columbus Police Dept. homicide bureau. The men told a fellow soldier they had shot and killed McCalla, according to criminal complaints filed in Wayne County, W.Va., magistrate court. Wilson and...

A Machesney Park minister faces additional counts of sexual assault charges. Jonathon Christopher Powell, 40, was arrested last week after accusations he sexually abused an underage girl. The Winnebago County Sheriff's Department said there could be a second victim. Now, Powell's been charged in that case too. He now faces two more counts of Criminal Sexual Abuse, for a total of four counts in the two cases. Powell is still in jail, with no bond. Detectives tell us Powell was a minister at New Hope Baptist Church in Machesney Park. 13 News has tried contacting the church and has not...

PLAY VIDEO: Former Lay A former Colorado Springs lay pastor at a church, charged with sex assault on a child, was in court Thursday. A preliminary hearing was scheduled, but Jon Moore waived it. The 51-year-old is accused of sexually assaulting a teenager. The allegations span over three years. The two met at Lighthouse Baptist Church near Austin Bluffs and Academy.  On his way into court, we asked Moore about the charges against him. He didn’t want to answer any of our questions.Moore used to work as an assistant to the preacher at Lighthouse Baptist. He’s charged with sex...

The minister who survived a lightning bolt [Rockaway, NJ] -- A fall into Purgatory Chasm couldn't take down the Rev. Matthew McNamara many years ago, and a bolt of lightning that ripped through him from head to toe this week was no match either. "I feel blessed," McNamara said yesterday from his hospital bed at Morristown Memorial Hospital, where he is in good condition and being treated for burns to his head and foot. The Pequannock resident was hit by lightning Monday night as he was readying Camp Marcella, a state-run summer camp for blind and visually impaired children, for...