* Syria condemns US village raid Syria has protested angrily to both the US and Iraq after what it said was a US helicopter raid inside its territory that killed eight civilians.

* Global shares continue to slide Global markets have fallen in Monday trade, touching five-year lows, as investors continue to fret about the depth of the global economic slowdown.

* Top Iran commander: We supply arms to Middle East militias A top Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander has said Iran is supplying weapons to liberation armies in the Middle East.

* As expected, Peres declares elections President Shimon Peres informed Knesset speaker Dalia Itzik that the country would be holding early elections after it became clear that none of the Knesset factions were capable of building a coalition.

* Yadlin: Radical Axis Exploiting Israeli, US Transition Periods Military Intelligence Chief Amos Yadlin told the cabinet on Sunday that Iran, Syria and Hizbullah were exploiting current political uncertainty in Israel and the US.

* Leftist Church Leaders Rally against Christian Zionists Leftist American church leaders have launched a full-scale public relations campaign against Christian Zionists, who announced Sunday they have raised $9.5 million for Israel.

* First Israel Election Polls Published The first polls of the Israel election season were published Monday and show a dramatic increase in support for the Likud party and a large drop in support for the Labor party.

* Israel votes McCain in US elections Survey finds 46% of Israelis would vote for Republican nominee if given chance to elect US president; Democrat Barack Obama receives 34% of votes.

* Global financial crisis brings Israelis home Economic distress prompts thousands of Israelis living abroad to return to Jewish state. Immigrant Absorption Ministry foresees 15,000 homecomings by end of 2009.

* UK defence minister supports EU army The freshly appointed UK defence secretary has publicly supported the idea of a European army, a key ambition of the French EU presidency.