Israeli President Shimon Peres says that his Russian counterpart has promised to reconsider the planned delivery of top-range air defense missiles to Iran. Peres said Wednesday that the sale of the S-300 missiles would tilt a delicate balance of forces in the Middle East.

In the strongest message yet from the U.S. government, the House has voted to condemn Tehran’s crackdown on demonstrators and the government’s interference with Internet and cell phone communications. The resolution was initiated by Republicans as a veiled criticism of President Barack Obama.

Pope Benedict XVI says the cries of Holocaust victims continue to reverberate 60 years after the second World War. The German-born Benedict is paying his respects to the 6 million Jewish victims of the Nazi genocide at Israel’s national Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem.

Pope Benedict XVI says he hopes the Catholic church can play a role in the Middle East peace process.

Reports of swine flu continue to emerge around the world, sparking fears of a possible pandemic. Hong Kong’s leader says the territory has a confirmed case of swine flu, Asia’s first. Besides Mexico and the U.S., cases have also been confirmed in six European nations, Canada, New Zealand and Israel. Scottish authorities have confirmed their first case of swine flu in a person who had not traveled to Mexico, but caught it from someone who had.

President Barack Obama says he expects Israelis and Palestinians to make “gestures of good faith” within months.

President Barack Obama says inflammatory anti-Israel rhetoric by the Iranian president “hurts Iran’s position in the world.“

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pledging that there will be no second Holocaust against the Jewish people. Netanyahu spoke Monday at the opening ceremony of Israel’s annual memorial day for the 6 million Jews who were killed by the Nazis of Germany and their collaborators during World War II.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes in Jerusalem has been “unhelpful” to Mideast peace efforts. Israel has issued orders for the demolition of dozens of Palestinian homes in east Jerusalem in recent days. It says the homes were built illegally.

Final results in Israel’s election show the moderate Kadima Party has one more seat in the new parliament than Benjamin Netanyahu’s hawkish Likud. Kadima won 28 and Likud 27 in the 120-seat parliament.

Hamas and seven other Damascus-based Palestinian groups have called for a national dialogue between rival factions but insist they will not give up their fight against Israel.

Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden has issued a new audiotape urging Muslims to launch a jihad, or holy war, to stop the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

The Israeli Defense Ministry says the point man in efforts to reach a cease-fire with Hamas is headed to Egypt later this week for what officials call decisive talks. Egypt has been a key mediator in attempts to forge a truce during Israel’s 18-day offensive in Gaza.

An Israeli official says Palestinian militants fired on Israeli soldiers from the courtyard of a U.N. school where dozens of people died in fiery explosions.

As the war between Israel and Hamas continues, many who live in Augusta and have ties to the Middle East have been paying close attention. Count on WJBF News channel 6’s Barclay Bishop for the details.