Palestinian officials have rejected an offer by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt Jewish settlement activity if the Palestinians were to recognise Israel as a Jewish state. A Palestinian official said the offer was beside the point. Wyre Davies reports from Jerusalem.
The Palestinian response was swift and unequivocal, dismissing Mr Netanyahu's suggestion out of hand. A senior negotiator said the Palestinians had long ago recognised the state of Israel, and the real issue threatening the talks was illegal Jewish settlements on Palestinian land. The demand that Israel should be recognised explicitly as a Jewish state has long been rejected by the Palestinians, who say it discriminates against 20% of the Israeli population which is not Jewish.
The world's first official trial using human embryonic stem cells for clinical treatment has begun in the United States. Doctors at a hospital in the city of Atlanta say they have their first patient for the study which will involve the use of stem cells to treat severe spinal injuries. Opponents of the method which involves taking stem cells from human embryos argue that human embryos are destined for destruction as a result. The US government is currently fighting a legal battle to allow federal funding for stem cell research.
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Eight policemen have been killed in an attack on a police checkpoint in Mexico. At least one other officer was injured. The killings took place in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, home to one of Mexico's powerful drugs cartels.