* Iran’s leader predicts Israel’s destruction Iran’s supreme leader predicted the destruction of Israel in comments posted on his Web site on Wednesday.

* ‘J’lem will be Palestinian capital’ Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday said that the Palestinians would not accept Abu Dis.

* Lebanon: Conflict widens to Syria Any future strike at Hizbullah that does not take into account its status as a client of Syria, is unlikely to land a decisive blow.

* At Davos, Sarkozy Calls for Global Finance Rules France wants to use its presidency of the Group of 20 next year to create a new international monetary system, President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Wednesday.

* Al Qaida still focused on WMD strike as ‘worthy follow-up to 9/11’ Al Qaida has become the only insurgency group advancing toward an unconventional weapons attack capability against the West.

* Training Afghan Forces Will Take Years, Karzai Says Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain opened an international conference on Afghanistan here on Thursday, saying international efforts to end the eight-year-old war had reached a “decisive time.”

* Galactic Partnership: NASA and Israel Space Agency NASA and the Israel Space Agency have signed a joint statement of cooperation.

* ‘No obstacles over Iran arms deals’ Russia still considers Iran a valuable customer for its weapons, a top arms trade official said Thursday.

* Arab League chief presses for Palestinian state Arab League chief Amr Moussa said Wednesday that if a Palestinian state is not established soon there will be a single state for Israelis and Palestinians.

* Israel developing micro-satellites for better intelligence Israel is expected to invest hundreds of millions in developing small satellites that can be launched from an airplane.