* Rabbis: Abortion will delay the redemption The Chief Rabbis of Israel, Yona Metzger and Shlomo Amar, announced in a letter sent out Monday to state-employed rabbis that they would “strengthen” the work of an anti-abortion council in the rabbinate.

* Western counter-terrorism help ‘not enough for Yemen’ Yemen has said it is not getting enough support from the West to tackle al-Qaeda, as details emerge of the suspected US jet bomber’s time there.

* PM returns after meeting Mubarak Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday evening returned to Israel after holding talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

* ‘Hundreds of al-Qaeda militants planning attacks from Yemen’ Hundreds of al-Qaeda militants are planning terror attacks from Yemen, the country’s Foreign Minister said today.

* Putin Urges US To Share Missile Defense Data Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Russia wants the U.S. to share detailed data about its planned missile shield under a new arms control treaty.

* Obama’s appeasement policy opens the way for Iran’s strategic ascent in Mideast Despite the lingering demonstrations and disorder in Tehran, Iran’s ruling mullahs are confident anew in their country’s ability to surge to a hegemonic position in the Middle East without a major war.

* Ahmadinejad: Riots are Zionist masquerade Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday opposition rallies were a foreign-backed “nauseating masquerade”.

* EU on alert over Russian oil supplies A fresh row between Russia and Ukraine over energy shipment fees – fast becoming something of a New Year’s tradition – has caused alarm in the European Union.

* Settlers stepping up fight against freeze Yesha Council heads and heads of West Bank local authorities plan to step up their battle against the settlement construction freeze.

* Israeli settlement construction in East Jerusalem draws EU rebuke Israel has announced the construction of some 700 apartments in East Jerusalem just a month after the Jewish state proclaimed a freeze on the building of new settlements in occupied Palestinian territory.