* Top Iran officials recommend preemptive strike against Israel Senior Tehran officials are recommending a preemptive strike against Israel to prevent an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear reactors, a senior Islamic Republic official told foreign diplomats two weeks ago in London.

* Syria envoy: Future generations will pay if Israel scuttles peace talks Syria’s ambassador to the United States on Tuesday warned that should Israel scuttle peace negotiations with Syria, the citizens of each country will pay the price.

* China calls for cooperation on financial crisis Chinese President Hu Jintao expressed concerns over the ailing U.S. financial system in a phone conversation with U.S. President George W. Bush, state media reported Wednesday.

* Cleric in Iran issues fatwa against US-Iraqi pact An influential Iraqi cleric living in Iran on Wednesday issued a religious decree – a fatwa – blasting the US-Iraqi security pact that would keep American troops in Iraq for three more years and warned Iraqi leaders not to back the deal.

* Recession fears drag shares lower US stocks fell in opening trading in New York, echoing declines in Europe and Asia as fears of a global recession continued to hit investor confidence.

* OPEC faces tough test as oil price tumbles At the beginning of the year, OPEC producers felt confident that strong economic growth and tight supplies would keep oil prices high.

* Temple Mount Visit Cut Short by Arab Mob A mob of dozens of Arabs threatened and nearly surrounded a group of Jewish worshipers who visited the Temple Mount over the Simchat Torah holiday on Tuesday. The police told the Jews to leave.

* Diplomatic Sources: Nasrallah Ill from Chemical Murder Attempt Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah is seriously ill from a chemical attack nearly two weeks ago, according to Iraqi sources quoted by Beirut diplomats.

* Sarkozy in fresh call for eurozone ‘government’ French president Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday (21 October) renewed calls he made last week for the creation of an “economic government” for countries using the euro, in order to react better to crisis situations such as the current global financial turmoil.

* Turkey wants next gov’t to renew indirect Syrian talks Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said Monday he hoped the next Israeli government would continue the Turkish-mediated indirect talks with Syria.