* 600 Iranian missiles said to be pointed at targets in Israel Six hundred Iranian Shihab-3 missiles are pointed at targets throughout Israel, and will be launched if either Iran or Syria are attacked, an Iranian website affiliated with the regime reported on Monday.

* Israelis ‘blew apart Syrian nuclear cache’ It was just after midnight when the 69th Squadron of Israeli F15Is crossed the Syrian coast-line.

* France warning of war with Iran French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says the world should prepare for war over Iran’s nuclear programme.

* PA Chairman Abbas threatens to boycott November peace summit Palestinian authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas will not attend Washington’s regional peace summit in November unless Israel agrees to a reach an agreement with the Palestinians there, Abbas’ associates told Haaretz Sunday, adding the summit could “prove dangerous”.

* Sadr group quits Iraq ruling bloc The political movement loyal to radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has withdrawn from Iraq’s governing Shia alliance.

* Israeli astrophysicists help find oldest-known planet outside solar system The discovery of the oldest planet yet identified outside our solar system – just announced in the prestigious journal Nature – illustrates the process that is likely to lead to the sun burning out in approximately five billion years.

* Oil industry ‘sleepwalking into crisis’ Lord Oxburgh, the former chairman of Shell, has issued a stark warning that the price of oil could hit $150 per barrel, with oil production peaking within the next 20 years.

* ‘Settlers must move to save their lives’ Anita Finkelstein almost tossed the personally addressed letter from the “One House” movement warning that her home in the Tekoa settlement would soon be in “trapped in hostile territory” because it is located on the Palestinian side of the security barrier.

* Interior Ministry eyeballs biometric passports Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit recently declared that as Israel’s passports and identity cards are easily counterfeited, he will push to replace all of them to increase security and meet the increasingly stringent requirements of other countries admitting Israeli visitors.

* Bush setting America up for war with Iran Senior American intelligence and defence officials believe that President George W Bush and his inner circle are taking steps to place America on the path to war with Iran, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.