"We reject the teachings of Christian Zionism that facilitate and support these policies as they advance racial exclusivity and perpetual war," the declaration added.

The three main Christian Zionist groups in Jerusalem said in a statement that they were concerned at the declaration's "inflammatory language" and that it was far from the truth.

Christian Zionists stress Christianity's Jewish roots. Some back the movement to settle the occupied West Bank, the cradle of Jewish civilization, which Palestinians want as part of an independent state.

INFLAMMATORY

"We pray for peace. But we note with sadness that the present Palestinian government is totally dedicated to the destruction of Israel," the Christian Zionist groups said in their statement, referring to the governing Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

The prospect of Middle East peace talks has looked even more unlikely since Hamas's election victory in January. The group is formally dedicated to destroying Israel.

"The problem in the region is not as simple as the Jerusalem Declaration makes out," the Christian Zionists' statement said.

Some Christian Zionists believe that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land will bring about the end of the world and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Some also believe Jews themselves will have to become Christians or perish.

The Christian Zionist groups in Jerusalem said they had no "thirst for Armageddon" and do not base their theological position on "end time prophecy." They called for dialogue with the clerics behind the declaration that condemned them.

Christian Zionism is strongest in the United States, where support is much higher than in Europe or other parts of the world for Israel in its conflicts with the Palestinians and in its recent war with Hizbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.

James Rudin, senior advisor on inter-religious affairs for the American Jewish Committee in New York, said there are "millions and millions of American Christians" who support Israel but who do not consider themselves Zionists.

He said they represent a core of support far larger than those who base their backing of Israel on the Bible.

Under the old agreement, airlines were required to provide the US authorities with more than 30 pieces of data on passengers and crew, including credit card information, addresses and telephone numbers, 15 minutes before departure.

The EU-US accord was reached in 2004 as a number of aircraft were being prevented from entering the United States over concerns that suspicious passengers were aboard. It was lambasted by civil liberties and privacy groups.

Meanwhile, IATA also predicted that the global airline industry will almost halve its losses in 2006 thanks to buoyant economic growth and deep cost cuts.

After a loss of 3.2 billion dollars in 2005, the industry is now expected to remain in the red to the tune of 1.7 billion dollars this year, much less than the 3.0 billion dollars previously feared, the association said.

"With an average price of oil at 68 dollars (per barrel) for the year we expect the total fuel bill to be 115 billion dollars but losses will be cut to 1.7 billion dollars," Bisignani said.

He attributed the improvement to "efficiency, hard work and a strong revenue environment.

"Overall, the industry has never been so lean, mean and well poised to return to profitability," he added.

The bombs were set off in 22 of Yala's 30 bank branches, which are normally crowded at month's end as customers draw on pay-check accounts.

The Islamic Bank of Thailand was among those attacked, according to reporters at the scene. The bank, set up in five southern provinces by the government, was created according to Muslim law, which prohibits interest.

Deputy Prime Minister Chitchai Wannasathit told reporters in Bangkok that authorities had learned militants planned to launch a major attack Thursday to coincide with the national day of neighboring Malaysia and the founding day of Bersatu, believed to be an umbrella group for a number of rebel groups fighting the Bangkok government.

"I ordered them [the authorities] to take precautions and prevention but this incident still occurred," he said.

More than 1,500 people have been killed in the insurgency in southern Thailand since early 2004, most of them in the Muslim-dominated provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani. The militants are seeking to separate from a country where Buddhists form the vast majority.

Their targets have included government officials, school teachers, policemen, Buddhist monks and many Muslims accused of co-operating with the government. Violent incidents - bombings, drive-by shootings and beheadings - occur almost daily.

"The program is obviously still in full swing, and to make a judgment about its success or failure at this point would be premature," Stuart Bowen, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, told journalists in Baghdad.

Of the 56 sample projects his office had inspected, 70 percent had met "contract expectations," he said. "Admittedly there have been some failures in that other 30 percent, but the overwhelming majority indicate good work."

Fraud and corruption were not common but "waste is an issue," he said, noting that $6 billion, the biggest percentage of the fund, had been swallowed by the cost of protecting sites from insurgents.

"Poor security limits movement, which prevents contractors from getting the job done. It is a cost."

He said the U.S. government should have made less use of expensive U.S. corporations. There has been a big shift in the past year toward giving most contracts to Iraqi firms, he added.

PAYING FOR EVERYTHING

"We used them because we did not know what the conditions would be in postwar Iraq. But we could have moved sooner away from design-build consortia, employing more Iraqi firms. That puts money where it should be, into the Iraqi economy."

He said the U.S. corporations had been given cost-plus contracts, under which the contractors are paid in full even if mistakes are made and the costs of the project go over budget.

"You pay for everything. Mistakes, everything. It is the cost of doing business," Bowen, a former White House lawyer on his 13th visit to Iraq, told Reuters.

Of the $22 billion in the reconstruction fund, $15 billion had now been spent, he said. A total of $21 billion had been "obligated," or put under contract. The remaining money would be obligated by September 30, when all unused funds are due to revert to the U.S. Treasury.

Bowen also said the United States needed to give more help to the Iraqi government in fighting corruption, which Iraqi graft inspectors estimate costs $4 billion a year.

"More U.S. financial and personnel support needs to be given to the anti-corruption effort," said Bowen, whose office was created by the U.S. Congress in November 2003.