Activists to sail for Gza in defiance of blockade

Nicosia: Protesters who defied Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip to bring aid to Palestinians last month say they are making a return voyage.

Free Gaza organiser Greta Berlin said about 20 protesters were to sail on Wednesdayday from Cyprus aboard a boat named Hope for the 20-hour trip to the Palestinian territory.

Berlin says Irish Nobel peace prize winner Mairead McGuire and an Italian opera tenor will be among the passengers. She said yesterday the activists hoped to deliver a consignment of medicine and ferry Palestinians back to the east Mediterranean island on the return trip.

Protesters sailed to Gaza last month to protest Israel's year-long blockade of Gaza imposed after Hamas fighters overran the territory.