* Activists planning Temple Mount ascent A group of activists dedicated to bringing Jews to the Temple Mount told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that they were hoping to see hundreds of participants take part in a planned “mass pilgrimage” to the site.

* Iran test-fires advanced missile Iran has successfully test-fired an improved version of a medium-range missile.

* Global Anti-Semitism ‘Alive and Kicking’ Global anti-Semitism is “alive and kicking,” according to Information and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein, who headlined a conference focusing on the issue.

* How cyberwarfare has made MI a combat arm of the IDF Using computer networks for espionage is as important to warfare today as the advent of air support was to warfare in the 20th century.

* Rich nations must assume environmental duties: pope Industrialized nations must recognize their responsibility for the environmental crisis.

* Abbas to Haaretz: Peace possible in 6 months if Israel freezes all settlements If Israel completely halts construction in the settlements, negotiations with the Palestinians on a final-status agreement can be completed within six months.

* Nato’s Rasmussen seeks Russia’s help in Afghanistan Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is seeking greater Russian assistance for the war in Afghanistan, on his first official trip to Moscow.

* North Korea weapons: How much slips through? The seizure at Bangkok’s airport of 35 tons of North Korean arms being shipped by plane raises a disturbing question: How many weapons is North Korea managing to ship undetected to Iran?

* How to Fight Anti-Semitism: Conference Opens in Jerusalem The two-day 2009 Global Forum for Combating Anti-semitism (GFCA) opened in Jerusalem on Wednesday, with 500 participants from over 50 countries.

* EU’s new foreign relations chief criticises Israel The EU’s new foreign relations chief, Catherine Ashton, criticised Israel in her first speech on the Middle East and unveiled plans to visit the region in the New Year.

* Gulf petro-powers to launch currency in latest threat to dollar hegemony “The Gulf monetary union pact has come into effect,” said Kuwait’s finance minister, Mustafa al-Shamali, speaking at a Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) summit in Kuwait.