Israel has announced it will ease the land blockade of the Gaza Strip and allow more civilian goods to enter the Palestinian territory.
The move comes amid growing international pressure to end the embargo.
An Israeli raid on an aid flotilla attempting to break the blockade last month was widely condemned.
Nine Turkish activists died in the commando raid on the flotilla in international waters.
The decision to ease the blockade, agreed by Israel's security cabinet after a two-day meeting, will see the expansion of the number of products Israel will allow into Gaza, including construction materials.
The international Middle East Envoy, Tony Blair, had indicated that Israeli leaders would agree to a partial lifting of the blockade.
Israel and Egypt tightened their blockade on Gaza after the Islamist Hamas movement took control of the Palestinian territory in 2007.
Israel says the aim of the blockade is to prevent war material entering Gaza while allowing the entry of humanitarian aid.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
German cathedral bones 'are Saxon queen Eadgyth
Scientists are to announce that bones found in a German cathedral are those of one of the earliest members of the English royal family.
The remains of Queen Eadgyth, who died in 946, were excavated in Magdeburg Cathedral in 2008.
The granddaughter of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, the Saxon princess married Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, in 929.
The findings are due to be presented at the University of Bristol later.
A spokesman from the university said the bones were the oldest surviving remains of an English royal burial.
As the half sister of Athelstan, who is considered to have been the first king of all of England, Eadgyth had at least two children with Otto and lived most of her married life in Magdeburg, Saxony. She died aged about 36.
She was buried in the monastery of St Maurice but her bones were moved at least three times.
She was finally interred in an elaborate tomb at Magdeburg Cathedral in 1510, wrapped in silk in a lead coffin.
A study of the bones at the University of Mainz confirmed that the remains were those of a female who died aged between 30 and 40.
Professor Kurt Alt also found evidence that she was a frequent horse rider and ate a high-protein diet including a lot of fish, hinting at her high status.
Director of the project Professor Harald Meller, of Germany's State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology, said: "Medieval bones were moved frequently and often mixed up, so it required some exceptional science to prove that they are indeed those of Eadgyth.
"It is incredible that we have been able to do this using the most recent analytical techniques."
Crucial evidence came from the study of teeth in Eadgyth's upper jaw.
Researchers at the University of Bristol's Department of Archaeology and the Institute of Anthropology at Mainz University studied strontium and oxygen isotopes that mineralise in the teeth when they form.
Dr Alistair Pike, from the University of Bristol, explained: "By micro-sampling, using a laser, we can reconstruct the sequence of a person's whereabouts, month by month up to the age of 14."
They found the isotope results exactly matched records of Eadgyth's childhood and adolescence in Wessex.
Bristol's Professor Mark Horton said: "Eadgyth seems to have spent the first eight years of her life in southern England, but changed her domicile frequently, matching quite variable strontium ratios in her teeth. Only from the age of nine, the isotope values remain constant.
"Eadgyth must have moved around the kingdom following her father, King Edward the Elder, during his reign.
"When her mother was divorced in 919 - Eadgyth was between nine and 10 at that point - both were banished to a monastery, maybe Winchester or Wilton in Salisbury."
Her bones will be reburied in Magdeburg Cathedral later this year, 500 years after they were interred there in 1510.
The remains of Queen Eadgyth, who died in 946, were excavated in Magdeburg Cathedral in 2008.
The granddaughter of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, the Saxon princess married Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, in 929.
The findings are due to be presented at the University of Bristol later.
A spokesman from the university said the bones were the oldest surviving remains of an English royal burial.
As the half sister of Athelstan, who is considered to have been the first king of all of England, Eadgyth had at least two children with Otto and lived most of her married life in Magdeburg, Saxony. She died aged about 36.
She was buried in the monastery of St Maurice but her bones were moved at least three times.
She was finally interred in an elaborate tomb at Magdeburg Cathedral in 1510, wrapped in silk in a lead coffin.
A study of the bones at the University of Mainz confirmed that the remains were those of a female who died aged between 30 and 40.
Professor Kurt Alt also found evidence that she was a frequent horse rider and ate a high-protein diet including a lot of fish, hinting at her high status.
Director of the project Professor Harald Meller, of Germany's State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology, said: "Medieval bones were moved frequently and often mixed up, so it required some exceptional science to prove that they are indeed those of Eadgyth.
"It is incredible that we have been able to do this using the most recent analytical techniques."
Mineralise in teeth
The queen was interred in an elaborate tomb
Researchers at the University of Bristol's Department of Archaeology and the Institute of Anthropology at Mainz University studied strontium and oxygen isotopes that mineralise in the teeth when they form.
Dr Alistair Pike, from the University of Bristol, explained: "By micro-sampling, using a laser, we can reconstruct the sequence of a person's whereabouts, month by month up to the age of 14."
They found the isotope results exactly matched records of Eadgyth's childhood and adolescence in Wessex.
Bristol's Professor Mark Horton said: "Eadgyth seems to have spent the first eight years of her life in southern England, but changed her domicile frequently, matching quite variable strontium ratios in her teeth. Only from the age of nine, the isotope values remain constant.
"Eadgyth must have moved around the kingdom following her father, King Edward the Elder, during his reign.
"When her mother was divorced in 919 - Eadgyth was between nine and 10 at that point - both were banished to a monastery, maybe Winchester or Wilton in Salisbury."
Her bones will be reburied in Magdeburg Cathedral later this year, 500 years after they were interred there in 1510.
Syria says war more likely after raid on Gaza flotilla
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said Israel's attack on the Gaza aid flotilla has increased the chances of war in the Middle East.
In an interview with BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen, he said Syria was working to prevent a regional war. But he added that there was no chance of a peace deal with the current Israeli administration, which he called a "pyromaniac government".
Mr Assad also rejected claims he was arming Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
Mr Assad said last month's Israeli commando assault on the Free Gaza flotilla in international waters was having serious consequences.
The attack on ships attempting to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip killed nine Turkish activists.
Israel has set up an inquiry into the raid after rejecting a United Nations proposal for an international investigation.
"[The raid has] destroyed any chance for peace in the near future," Mr Assad said.
"Mainly because it proved that this government is another pyromaniac government, and you cannot achieve peace with such [a] government."
Mr Assad denied that he was sending weapons to the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, which fought a month-long war with Israel in 2006.
He said he was happy to do business with the United States, but insisted that Iran would remain an ally.
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