Gunmen Kill 10 in Saudi Housing Compound
AP reports, "Suspected Islamic militants wearing military-style uniforms sprayed gunfire inside two office compounds in the heart of the Saudi oil production region Saturday, killing at least 10 people - including an American - before taking dozens of hostages at a luxury expatriate resort...According to Oasis residents and an employee, the militants asked questions when they arrived that indicated they were trying to separate Muslims from non-Muslims."

Plan Ahead: Rare Transit of Sun by Venus
Space.com reports, "Put a big red circle around June 8 on your calendar. On that day, you may have a chance to see a celestial event not witnessed by human eyes in 122 years when Venus crosses in front of the Sun."

France: No Religion in EU Constitution
AP & Yahoo News report, "The French prime minister said Wednesday there is no need for Christian references in the European Union's hotly debated constitution. 'The European project is secular,' said Jean-Pierre Raffarin. 'Our future is a European society which should include secularism as a founding value.'"

Dominican, Haiti Floods Kill at Least 363
AP reports, "Sobbing villagers tore through heaps of mud with their bare hands Tuesday, searching for loved ones as the death toll from flooding in the Dominican Republic and Haiti rose to at least 363. "

Terrorists Planning Summer Attack
AP reports, "U.S. officials have obtained new intelligence deemed highly credible indicating al-Qaida or other terrorists are in the United States and preparing to launch a major attack this summer, The Associated Press has learned."

New biometric approach secures ID cards
New Scientist reports, "A novel biometric identification system could counter many of the objections to ID card schemes such as the one being proposed by the UK government.

Devils hit cyber church
CNN reports, "The world's first online church has been forced into an urgent rethink after computer hackers logged in as "Satan" and disrupted services with four-letter expletives and racist remarks."

Arab Leaders Cheer Anti-Israel Resolution
AP reports, "Arab diplomats said Friday they were encouraged by a U.S. decision to allow passage of a U.N. resolution criticizing Israel, saying they hoped it signaled a tougher line against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon."

Sudan Investigated for Ebola-Like Illness
USA Today reports, "World Health Organization experts are investigating cases of an Ebola-like hemorrhagic fever in southern Sudan, WHO officials said Thursday."

On the Verge of Mass Famine in Darfur
All Africa reports, "The threat of famine looms in the Darfur region of western Sudan, according to the international medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)."

Eeastern Temple wall in danger of immediate collapse
Jerusalem Post reports, "The eastern wall of Jerusalem's Temple Mount is in danger of immediate collapse, which could cause a 'domino effect' and bring down other sections..."

Lawmakers Push Agency to Develop ID Cards
AP reports, "The government must move faster to develop high-tech ID cards that could prevent armed terrorists from boarding a plane by posing as airport workers or law officers, lawmakers said Wednesday."

Newsweek: Apocalyptic Novels
PR Newswire reports, "The cover story in the May 24 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, May 17) focuses on the phenomenal success of the bestselling "Left Behind" series of apocalyptic Christian novels."

Poll suggests ID card backlash
BBC reports, "A survey suggests that some people would be prepared to go to prison rather than register for an ID card."

China Reportedly Detains Two Priests
AP reports, "Authorities in northern China detained two priests from the underground Roman Catholic Church as they were about to begin classes on natural birth control and theology, a Connecticut-based lobby group said Monday."

Official: al-Qaida Seeks Chemical Strike
AP reports, "The top intelligence official at the Homeland Security Department, worried about an increased risk of attack in coming months, says al-Qaida wants to strike on U.S. soil with something other than a conventional explosive - perhaps with a chemical or biological weapon."

Jewish Ad Campaign Shows Muslim Nations Denying Existence of Israel
Agape Press reports, "A Jewish organization has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for newspaper ads that show maps produced in Muslim countries that don't show the nation of Israel."

Rice Meets With Palestinian Prime Minister
AP reports, "National security adviser Condoleezza Rice stressed that the United States is committed to bringing about Palestinian statehood during talks Monday with Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, a Palestinian delegate said."

Bomb Kills Head of Iraqi Governing Council
AP reports, "The head of the Iraqi Governing Council was killed in a suicide car bombing near a checkpoint outside the coalition headquarters in central Baghdad on Monday, dealing a blow to U.S. efforts to stabilize Iraq ahead of a handover of sovereignty on June 30."

Powell Unable to Make Headway in Mideast
AP reports, "Secretary of State Colin Powell came up short in his latest foray into Middle East peacemaking, blocked by Yasser Arafat from reshaping Palestinian security forces and waiting for Ariel Sharon to devise a new plan to pull Israel out of Gaza."

Fight against terrorism tops EU-US agenda
EUobserver reports, "However the US-imposed deadline of October 2004 for the inclusion of biometric data on passports remains a thorny issue."

Powell: Palestinians to Mull Gaza Deal
AP reports, "Secretary of State Colin Powell said Saturday the Palestinians are willing to consider a proposed Israeli pullout from Gaza depending on how Prime Minister Ariel Sharon revises a plan rejected by his party."

U.S. Troops Battle Militiamen in Iraq
AP reports, "The U.S. military said Saturday it killed 18 gunmen believed loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Baghdad, and jet fighters bombarded militia positions on the capital's outskirts. Skirmishes persisted in the southern holy cities of Najaf and Karbala."

U.S. Will Accept Germany on UN Security Council
Bloomberg reports, "The US will not veto a German application for a permanent seat on an enlarged United Nations Security Council."

U.S. Soldiers Attack Targets in Najaf
AP reports, "Backed by helicopters, American tanks charged into the center of this holy city on Friday and shelled positions held by fighters loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who condemned the United States and its chief coalition partner, Britain, in a sermon at a nearby city. The Shrine of Imam Ali, one of the most sacred sites for Shiite Muslims, was slightly damaged in the fighting."

Group of 8 Ministers Pledge to Redouble Anti-Terror Fight
VOA reports, "Justice and home affairs ministers from the Group of Eight nations have pledged to redouble international cooperation in the fight against terrorism. The ministers held a news conference in Washington Tuesday at the conclusion of a two-day meeting hosted by the United States."

Canada May Face Worst Drought in Years
AP reports, "With dry weather predicted for a third summer in a row, British Columbia may experience its worst drought since the Great Depression, water experts warned."

Mexican Air Force Pilots Film 11 UFOs
AP reports, "Mexican Air Force pilots filmed 11 unidentified flying objects in the skies over southern Campeche state, a Defense Department spokesman confirmed Tuesday."

Gaza Bomb Kills Five Israeli Soldiers
AP reports, "An explosion ripped apart an Israeli armored vehicle Wednesday, reportedly killing five soldiers, in the second such attack by Palestinian militants in Gaza in two days."

Commission slams Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt for abuses of religious freedom
AFP reports, "A semi-official US religious freedom watchdog heavily criticized Saudi Arabia, Iran and Egypt for discrimination and again recommended threatening the Saudi government with sanctions unless its record improves."

Rabbis Criticize Evangelicals in Israel
AP reports, "Prominent Israeli rabbis are for the first time speaking out against Israel's profitable alliance with evangelical Christians in the United States who have funneled tens of millions of dollars to the Jewish state. The rabbis fear the Christians' real intent is to convert Jews, their aides said Monday."

U.N.: World Must Brace for Diseases
AP reports, "The world must brace for future outbreaks of diseases like bird flu that leap the species barrier from animals to humans, the United Nations health agency said Wednesday."

Peacemakers Seek New Palestinian Leaders
AP reports, "...the intent of the Quartet is for Israel to withdraw from all territory it captured from the Arabs in the 1967 Middle East war. That would mean not only Gaza, which Sharon is prepared to yield, but all of the West Bank and part of Jerusalem."

MIDEAST GEO: Mideast peace sponsors meet at United Nations

Reuters: Quartet: Final Mideast Peace Deal Must Be Negotiated

Lunar eclipse on Tuesday night
CNN International reports, "A total eclipse of the moon will occur on Tuesday,
May 4, which is the third such event in less than a year's time."

WorldNetDaily: Could Noah's Ark really hold 2 of every kind?
An actual expedition now intends to find out. Specifically, some of the ice on Mount Ararat has melted, and a large structure is now exposed. Uncannily, this structure's physical dimensions would appear to match those given in the account of Noah's Ark [Genesis 6-8]. This commentary reminds us that a triple-decker barge of such dimensions could indeed have held two of every kind of animal then extant, plus provisions for fifty-two-odd weeks at sea. Previous experiments with proportional ship models have shown that the Ark would not only have been seaworthy but also would have endured the worst of the stormy seas that the Flood must have produced. What will this discovery contribute to the debates on the age of the earth, the truth of the Flood account, and the very truth of Scripture Itself?