* Egypt nabs Palestinian-led terror cell ‘plotting Suez attacks’ Egyptian authorities have arrested 25 al-Qaida-linked terrorists on suspicion of plotting attacks on oil pipelines and ships crossing the Suez Canal.

* China leaders vow Xinjiang action The pledge, reported by state media, was the first public comment by top leaders on the violence that has left 156 people dead in the city of Urumqi.

* Netanyahu adviser raises “MAD” nuclear scenario Israel must have “tremendously powerful” weapons to deter a nuclear attack or destroy an enemy that dares to launch an atomic strike.

* EU parliament ‘has equal power’ to member states The European Parliament is on a level power footing with member states in the EU’s complex institutional triangle.

* Ban criticises G8 climate efforts UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has criticised leaders of the G8 industrial nations for failing to make deeper commitments to combat climate change.

* Jews fast, mourn destruction of Jerusalem The “Three Weeks” of gradually-increasing mourning over the destruction of the Holy Temples and Israel’s exile begins Thursday.

* EU apologizes for statements against settlements The European Union Commission apologized to Israel’s Ambassador to the Union, Ron Kuriel, over statements it made earlier this week claiming that the settlement policy was stifling the Palestinian economy.

* Germany calls for ban on neo-Nazi Web sites abroad Germany’s Justice Minister on Thursday called for foreign Internet service providers to remove neo-Nazi images, texts and other content.

* Cyberattacks Jam Government and Commercial Web Sites in U.S. and South Korea A wave of cyberattacks aimed at 27 American and South Korean government agencies and commercial Web sites temporarily jammed more than a third of them over the past five days.

* Worst violence since US pullback hits Iraq Bombings killed more than 40 people in Iraq on Thursday in the worst violence since U.S. combat troops withdrew from urban areas last week.