* Archaeologists Issue Urgent Warnings Against Temple Mount Dig Top Israeli archaeologists held an emergency press conference on Thursday, warning that a Second Temple courtyard wall is in danger of being destroyed by the Arab excavations there.

* Solana visits Middle East before key summits EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana went to Israel and the Palestinian territories on Saturday to discuss the latest developments in the region.

* US welcomes Iraq militia ‘freeze’ The US military says it is encouraged by a radical Iraqi cleric’s order that his Mehdi army militia should freeze operations for six months.

* Abdullah hopeful for int’l ME peace conference Jordan’s King Abdullah II urged Palestinians on Friday to overcome internal divisions to realize their goal of an independent state.

* Russia to send manned mission to the Moon by 2025 – space agency Russia plans to send cosmonauts to the Moon by 2025 and establish a permanent manned base there in 2027-2032.

* Analysis: Russia uses Syrian port to demonstrate its power in the Med Russia is expanding its military presence in Syria, developing an advanced naval port at Tartus and providing Syria with sophisticated missile technology.

* Libya marks Gaddafi anniversary Libya has pardoned over two thousand prisoners to mark the 38th anniversary of president Muammar Gaddafi’s seizure of power.

* Peres: Suspicion over Israeli nukes is good deterrent “I declare the Middle East free from the threat of (nuclear) destruction,” President Shimon Peres said.

* Stakes raised in looming Lebanese presidential poll Lebanon’s pro-Syrian president has raised the stakes in a looming presidential election.

* EU split over Kosovo independence would create ‘chaos’, EU envoy says The EU’s Kosovo envoy, Wolfgang Ischinger, has urged the bloc to work towards finding a common response to a possible failure of the final round of diplomacy on the fate of the province.