News in Brief

Killer Gets Death in Yemen Case
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- A Yemen appeals court sentenced a Jewish man's killer to death on the same day that 16 Yemenite Jews arrived in Israel.

Abdul-Aziz al-Abdi was sentenced to death June 21, nearly three months after a lower court ruled that he was mentally unfit and ordered him to a psychiatric institution.

The victim's father had appealed the lower court ruling.

Al-Abdi, a retired Air Force pilot, shot Jewish teacher Moshe Yaish Nahari last December in a town north of the capital of Sana'a.

Al-Abdi had told police that he had sent a message to Jews in the neighborhood that they should either convert to Islam or be killed.

The ruling came as three families of Yemenite Jews landed at Ben-Gurion International Airport to make aliyah under the auspices of the Jewish Agency for Israel.

The rescue of the 16 Jews comes after a family of 10 was brought to Israel by the Jewish Agency in March.

Dead Sea Kept From Contest?
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Politics will likely prevent the Dead Sea from continuing in a contest choosing the new Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

The elimination comes as the World Bank reportedly approved a pilot plan for a canal to link the Dead Sea to the Red Sea in an effort to prevent the Dead Sea from shrinking to dangerous levels.

Under the rules of the global Natural Wonders Internet contest, if the nominated site is located in more than one country, each one must have a contest committee, to be formed by July 7.

The Dead Sea, which is said to have a good chance of winning a spot, sits in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.

Israel and Jordan have a supporting committee, but the Palestinian Authority refuses to establish one due to the participation of an Israel municipal council that represents settlements.

Next week, the field will be narrowed from 261 to 77. From that list, 21 sites will be chosen for the final vote in 2011.

Under the first phase of the Dead Sea canal plan, a 110-mile channel will transport water to the sea, as well as to a desalination plant run by Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.

The second stage would bring 2 billion cubic meters of water a year to the sea, which could dry out completely by 2050, according to the French news agency AFP.

Israeli Development Minister Silvan Shalom was told in a meeting June 26 in Washington with World Bank President Robert Zoellick that the bank would provide $1.25 billion for the project, according to Israel Radio.

Casspi First to Go in NBA Round
WASHINGTON (JTA) -- An Israeli basketball player was picked in the first round of the NBA Draft for the first time.

Omri Casspi, 21, a 6-9 forward with Maccabi Tel Aviv, was selected last week by the Sacramento Kings as the 23rd pick.

Israeli players had been chosen in the second round three times.

A first-round pick receives a guaranteed multi-year contract, while a second-rounder's contract is not required to be guaranteed -- the player is not paid if he does not make the team.

Casspi led Maccabi Tel Aviv to a league championship last year, averaging 12.6 points per game.

He was also named to the all-league team and is a member of the Israeli national squad.

"I can't speak," Casspi said, tears pouring down his face, according to the Associated Press. "I've been waiting for this moment all my life."