SANAA: A bomb killed four South Korean tourists and their local guide in Yemen yesterday, the latest attack targeting foreigners visiting this poor Arab country that has both famed historic sites and a strong al-Qa'ida presence.

The attack occurred as the tourists were posing for photographs near the ancient fortress city of Shibam, a UNESCO World Heritage site known as the Manhattan of the desert because of its towering 16th-century mud brick buildings.

There were conflicting reports about the bombing, with one security official saying it was a suicide attack and another saying it was a roadside bomb detonated by remote control.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry confirmed that the attack killed the four tourists.

The city of Shibam in the southern Hadramut province is one of the country's most prized tourist sites. The ministry said it had stepped up security there.

This impoverished country on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula is Osama bin Laden's ancestral homeland.

NEGOTIATIONS to free captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit collapsed last night with Israel branding Hamas "hardcore terrorists" who had backtracked on agreements already made during the talks.......
Israel was prepared to agree to the release of at least 450 Hamas prisoners in exchange for Sergeant Shalit, making it one of the largest prisoner exchanges in Israel's history. ........
It would also have led to a fascinating legal situation -- under Israel's constitution anyone has 48 hours to protest to the Supreme Court about the early release of a prisoner.

It was expected that families of some of those killed by Hamas actions could have launched legal actions in the Supreme Court once they knew the names of the prisoners to be released.

Mr Regev would not go into detail about why the talks failed, saying to do so could jeopardise future attempts to free Sergeant Shalit.

But Israeli media has reported widely that the major obstacle was Israel's insistence that some of the Hamas prisoners deemed to be a terrorist threat to Israel be forced to leave Gaza or the West Bank for other countries.

It is believed that Hamas had agreed to this condition at one point in recent days but then changed its mind.

Mr Regev said: "Obviously the process of trying to get him out will continue. But Israel came to these talks with a great deal of flexibility because we wanted to get our serviceman released."

Of Hamas, he said: "They're hardcore terrorists and we have got to be very careful about how we deal with them."

Couldn't come up with your own thread title? 

Btw, Israel are the ones who want to make the prisoner swap, not Hamas. Hamas are not even talking to them about it. Israel is begging Egypt to ask Hamas to do it, cos Olmert wants to do something before he goes out.

As for the tourists in Yemen, that was about 2 days ago, not quite "this day", keep trying though