* Belgian PM named as EU president EU leaders have chosen the Belgian Prime Minister, Herman van Rompuy, to be the first permanent European Council President.

* Official: Major powers to discuss Iran sanctions on Friday Six major world powers will meet in Brussels to discuss what measures could be applied against Teheran for its refusal to halt its nuclear enrichment program.

* Karzai sets target for Afghanistan forces to take over Hamid Karzai has been sworn in as Afghan president for a second elected term, saying he wants Afghan forces in charge of the nation within five years.

* Virtual reality, psych prep help IAF In the face of a growing anti-aircraft and ballistic missile threat against Israel, the IAF plans to conduct special seminars to prepare pilots and ground crews for future conflicts.

* Internet Group: Biometric Database is Dangerous The Israeli Internet Union issued an open letter to Knesset members Sunday, asking them to “act to stop the passage of the law that would require biometric identification measures and a biometric database, at least in its current form.”

* EU rebukes Israel for Jerusalem settlement expansion Israel’s decision to push ahead with settlement expansion in East Jerusalem in defiance of international community opinion generated a rebuke from the EU.

* Obama’s press on Gilo shows a continued misread of Israel US President Barack Obama is an extremely intelligent man surrounded by equally intelligent advisers.

* Poll: Record high support of peace talks According to the monthly War and Peace Index, some 75% of the Jewish public in Israel support holding peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.

* Hamas: Terrorism to Eliminate Israel is a ‘Principle’ In an interview published Thursday in the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat, a Hamas spokesman said that the jihadist movement is loyal to “Palestinian principles”.

* Golden cross in Vatican’s collection gets new look One of the gems of the Vatican’s priceless religious art collection — a 6th century reliquary containing the purported fragments of the cross on which Jesus was crucified — has been restored to its Byzantine-era glory.