* Islamic Jihad leader: Israel must be wiped out of existence Organizers say up to 100,000 people attend largest Islamic Jihad rally in Gaza in several years; Hamas leader calls for unity against Israel.

* EU: Iran ready to restart nuclear talks with major powers EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton receives letter from Iran nuclear chief agreeing to meet with the six major powers at any time after Nov. 10.

* Assad: No indication Syria-Israel peace talks will resume soon Remark by Syrian president comes after recent war of words between Damascus and Washington amid U.S. attempts to sway Syria away from Iran’s influence.

* ‘Small, small, small’ EU treaty change to deliver ‘quantum leap’ The Pandora’s Box of referendums, as happened twice in Ireland, had to be avoided at all costs.

* Report: Revolutionary Guards to hold joint drills with Iranian military Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian military will hold a series of joint war games in the coming months, according to the Fars news agency.

* UN Org.: Rachel’s Tomb is a Mosque The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) voted recently to officially declare Rachel’s Tomb to be a mosque.

* Koreas exchange gunfire at land border North and South Korea exchanged gunfire across their heavily armed land border on Friday, despite an apparent thaw in tensions on the divided peninsula in the past few months.

* Most Popular British Name: Mohammed, Muhammed, etc. The most common name given to baby boys born in England in 2009 was none other than Mohammed, in its various forms.

* Settler numbers rise at almost 3 times nat’l average Central Bureau of Statistics figures show West Bank Jewish population at 303,900 in June 2010, up 7,200 in six months.

* Internet Reception Reaches Summit of Mount Everest Climbers at the top of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, will now be able to make video calls and surf the internet on their cell phones, a Nepalese telecom group claimed Thursday.