* IAEA member: Iran holding secret tests to advance nuclear program Iran has recently tested ways of recovering highly enriched uranium from waste reactor fuel in a covert bid to expand its nuclear program.

* Israeli-Backed PA Strikes Hamas Hard in West Bank The Palestinian Authority recently uncovered a massive underground tunnel belonging to Hamas in the southern West Bank city of Hebron.

* ‘Human catastrophe’ grips Congo Fierce fighting between government and rebel forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo is causing a humanitarian catastrophe.

* Historian: Conditions Are Ripe for a King of Israel The current situation in Israel could have all the necessary ingredients for the appointment of a king, according to biblical scholar and historian David Solomon.

* MKs says Olmert has no mandate for peace talks with Syria Right-wing Knesset members appealed to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz on Friday morning, asking him to look into outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s plan to resume Israel’s unofficial talks with Syria.

* New head for US Central Command US General David Petraeus is to take control of US military operations throughout the Middle East and much of Asia as head of US Central Command.

* Qaeda wants Republicans, Bush “humiliated”: Web video An al Qaeda leader has called for President George W. Bush and the Republicans to be “humiliated.”

* Norway Funding PA Hate Media Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) has issued a report on the state of the Palestinian Authority (PA) media in the wake of the Annapolis conference.

* Vatican: Bar gays from priesthood Candidates for the Catholic priesthood should undergo psychological tests to screen out heterosexuals unable to control their sexual urges and men with strong homosexual tendencies.

* Commission hails Turkey’s role in regional stability Turkey’s role as promoter of regional stability has improved in the last year.