* Military vote could help decide Israeli election Israel planned to announce on Thursday the final results of its gridlocked election after tallying soldiers’ votes that could tip the balance in the ongoing battle to lead the country.

* U.S. now sees Iran as pursuing nuclear bomb Little more than a year after U.S. spy agencies concluded that Iran had halted work on a nuclear weapon, the Obama administration has made it clear that it believes there is no question that Tehran is seeking the bomb.

* EU urges Israel to stick to peace process The Czech EU presidency has urged any future Israeli government to stick to the two-state solution on Palestine.

* Arabs Distressed by Islamic Revolution’s Success Thirty years after the success of its Islamic revolution, the Iranian influence in the region may not have grown as much as the ruling clerics would have wished.

* White House: Obama to push peace process, regardless of Israel leader United States President Barack Obama intends to work toward Middle East peace regardless of who forms Israel’s new government.

* Brussels seeks to regain lead on economic crisis The European Commission and Czech EU presidency on Wednesday (11 February) sought to stamp their authority on dealing with the current economic crisis.

* Pope condemns denial of Holocaust Pope Benedict XVI has told American Jewish leaders that any denial of the Holocaust is “intolerable”, especially if it comes from a clergyman.

* Egypt cracks down on smugglers near Gaza Egyptian police arrested 40 suspected smugglers and seized goods in a new crackdown on smuggling into the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

* Anti-Islamic film’s maker faces UK ban A Dutch lawmaker who made a controversial film about Islam planned to travel to Britain on Thursday despite a ban on his entry.

* Abbas urges world to isolate Likud like it does Hamas Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas has conducted an international campaign in recent weeks aimed at the diplomatic isolation of a right-wing government.