* Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri warns of Israel ‘threat’ Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri says he is concerned about “escalating” threats posed to the Middle East by Israel.

* European Debt Issues Top Agenda for Meeting With the European Union’s single currency in the grip of the worst crisis in its history, the bloc’s new president is expected to use the growing alarm over debt levels to argue for a new form of “economic government” in Europe.

* Euro MPs back new European Commission The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly in favour of the new 27-strong team of European commissioners.

* China PLA officers urge economic punch against U.S. The calls for broad retaliation over the planned U.S. weapons sales to the disputed island came from officers at China’s National Defence University and Academy of Military Sciences.

* Jordan negotiates construction of nuclear power plant Jordan is moving forward with its plan to set up a nuclear reactor.

* Barroso urges new wave of optimism in Europe European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Tuesday (9 February) celebrated EU enlargement and the single currency as the bloc’s main achievements in the face of crisis-related gloom in Europe.

* Obama ups military aid to Arab League states The administration of President Barack Obama has proposed an increase in U.S. military aid for several Arab League states.

* Google prepares Facebook assault Google is set to make a fresh attempt to gain a stronger foothold in the booming social networking business on Tuesday as it seeks to counter the growing threat that Facebook poses to some of its core services.

* Byzantine-era street uncovered in Jerusalem Archaeologists said Wednesday that they have unearthed a section of a stone street in Jerusalem that provides important new evidence about the city’s commercial life 1,500 years ago.

* PM’s first year far better than ’96 Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu enjoyed a much more trouble-free first year in office than in his first term as prime minister.