Comatose Sharon turns 79
Former prime minister Ariel Sharon turned 79 years old Tuesday, Feb. 27 but remained deep in a coma more than 13 months after his devastating second stroke.
A spokesman for Tel Hashomer hospital said the condition of the former prime minister, who is still attached to a respirator, was “unchanged.” — jps
Yoga bus a free treat in Tel Aviv
Stressed-out commuters got a peaceful surprise as they boarded an Israeli bus this week. Miri Harovi, a 21-year veteran yoga teacher, coached them on how to breathe correctly and showed them yoga positions that can be done while seated.
Harovi said the idea of for a yoga bus came to her in the middle of the night. The Tel Aviv bus company jumped on her idea.
The yoga bus has run every Tuesday for three weeks, but Harovi hopes that the program will continue and expand. — ap
New homes built in territories?
Israel is constructing some 3,000 new settler homes, Peace Now reported.
The settler watchdog group also said in a report this week that some 2,000 Israelis are living in outposts, and quoted the Interior Ministry as saying that some 268,000 Israelis are living in West Bank settlements, a 5 percent increase from the previous year.
The group reported that no new outposts were constructed in 2006, though some of the 102 existing ones were expanded or improved. — jta
Moderate joins P.A. government
A Palestinian economist with ties to the Bush administration is slated to join the new Hamas-led coalition government. Salaam Fayyad said he had been asked to become the next Palestinian Authority finance minister, and agreed.
The move could complicate U.S.-led efforts to keep the P.A. government isolated after Hamas and the more moderate Fatah faction signed a power-sharing pact earlier this month. Fayyad, who was partly educated in the United States and is welcomed in both Washington and Jerusalem, is not identified with Hamas. — jta
CopyrightJ, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California