* 1st Temple remains uncovered in dig near Temple Mount The remains of a building from the First Temple period have been uncovered in an archeological excavation just west of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, the Israel Antiquities Authority said on Sunday.

* Merkel lays wreath at Yad Vashem memorial During visit to museum, German chancellor stresses her commitment to preserving memory of Holocaust.

* Syrian FM: War with Israel possible A war between Syria and Israel is certainly a possibility, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem was quoted as saying Sunday.

* Israel to hold massive emergency drill In the face of a possible escalation with Syria and Iran’s efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon, parts of the country will shut down next month in what security officials say will be the largest emergency exercise in Israel’s history.

* New parliament opens in Pakistan Pakistan’s new parliament has convened for the first time since President Pervez Musharraf and his allies suffered a heavy blow in elections.

* Conservatives win Iran election Conservative candidates in Iran’s general election have kept control of parliament, in line with expectations.

* Pope: Enough With Slaughters in Iraq Pope Benedict XVI issued one of his strongest appeals for peace in Iraq on Sunday, days after the body of the kidnapped Chaldean Catholic archbishop was found near the northern city of Mosul.

* Profits from stolen oil help sustain insurgency in Iraq The Bayji refinery may be the most important industrial site in the Sunni Arab-dominated regions of Iraq. On a good day, 500 tanker trucks will leave the refinery filled with fuel with a street value of $10 million.

* Cheney in Baghdad for key talks US Vice-President Dick Cheney is in the Iraqi capital Baghdad for a previously unannounced visit, ahead of the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion.

* EU backs Turkish PM in battle with courts The EU is supporting embattled Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan in his struggle with prosecutors who want his moderate Islamist party shut down, with the bloc’s enlargement chief saying the accession process will go ahead despite the ongoing constitutional crisis.