* National Command bunker being built Construction on the new National Command Center, where the country’s leaders would be rushed to, should Israel suffer a nuclear attack, is rapidly progressing.

* ‘Hamas in Damascus ordered a mega attack’ Yahiya Moussa, a member of the Hamas parliament in Gaza, said the organization did not change its policy regarding suicide attacks.

* Afghan opium crop ‘at record high’ Afghanistan’s production of poppies is expected to hit a record high this year and will produce nearly all of the world’s opium.

* Hebron settlers mull setting up own state Hebron today is dead quiet. But settler leaders are warning that the recent eviction of Jewish squatters may have laid groundwork for future violent clashes.

* IDF: Terrorists learned our defense systems Six young Palestinians were caught by the IDF after they tried crossing into Israel from Gaza.

* Mt. of Olives National Authority to be Formed The Knesset has taken the first step towards legislating the establishment of a new national authority.

* Former Iraqi leader returning ‘to fight for our country’ Iraq’s former interim prime minister accused Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of fomenting sectarian violence.

* Saudis set up force to guard oil plants Saudi Arabia has begun setting up a 35,000-strong security force to protect its oil infrastructure from potential attacks.

* Half of IDF’s New Combat Officers are Religious Half of the IDF’s young combat officers are religious Jews, according to statistics.

* Vatican flight service launches A senior Vatican cardinal has inaugurated a low-cost charter flight service which aims to transport Catholic pilgrims to holy sites.

* IDF modifying Arrow deployment in the North Predicting that Israel’s future wars will be characterized by unprecedented missile barrages, the IDF has decided to modify its missile defense doctrine.

* Civilians evacuated from besieged Lebanon camp The families of Islamist fighters besieged in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon were evacuated by the army.

* Mubarak: Mideast summit lacks structure, consensus on issues The Middle East peace conference called by U.S. President George W. Bush lacks a framework, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was quoted as saying.

* Turkey’s Gul forced to wait for presidency Abdullah Gul failed to secure election as Turkey’s next president in a second round of voting in parliament.

* Bishara in Lebanon: Hizbullah stronger than ever Former Arab Israeli Knesset Member Azmi Bishara, accused by Israel of spying for Hizbullah during the Second Lebanon War, praised the Lebanese-based terror organization during a tour of southern Lebanon.

* China to act on gender imbalance The Chinese government says it is drafting new laws to tackle the growing gender imbalance caused by the widespread abortion of female foetuses.

* Somali politician threatens attacks One of the leaders of the Union of Islamic Courts movement has said that the group’s fighters will step up their attacks.

* Bush: Iraqis Working to Secure Country President Bush said Saturday that Iraqis are sacrificing dearly to secure their country.

* Hamas TV attacks Fatah using cartoon mimicking Disney’s ‘Lion King’ After killing off its Mickey Mouse-lookalike, Hamas has turned to another Disneyesque character.

* Pakistan tests new cruise missile Pakistan has successfully test-fired a new cruise missile capable of carrying nuclear weapons, its military said.

* IDF modifying Arrow deployment in the North Predicting that Israel’s future wars will be characterized by unprecedented missile barrages, the IDF has decided to modify its missile defense doctrine.

* Infectious diseases spreading faster than ever: U.N. Infectious diseases are emerging more quickly and spreading faster around the globe than ever and becoming increasingly difficult to treat.

* Turkey votes again on president Turkish MPs have begun a second round of voting to elect a president, with a two-thirds majority needed to win.

* Intelligence briefers call Iraq ‘grave’ Intelligence officials today released a meticulously worded report concluding that the U.S.-backed government in Iraq looks precarious and security conditions are shaky.

* Khartoum ‘defying Darfur embargo’ Amnesty International (AI) has accused the Sudanese government of deploying weapons to Darfur in “breathtaking defiance” of a UN arms embargo.

* Russia confirms Soviet sorties over Dimona in ’67 The chief spokesman of the Russian Air Force, Col. Aleksandr V. Drobyshevsky, has confirmed in writing for the first time that it was Soviet pilots, in the USSR’s most-advanced MiG-25 “Foxbat” aircraft, who flew highly-provocative sorties over Israel’s nuclear facility at Dimona in May 1967.

* Turkey angered by new ADL stance on Armenian ‘genocide’ The Turkish government is pressuring Israel in an effort to reverse an American Jewish organization’s decision to recognize Turkey’s massacre of Armenians during World War I as genocide.

* ‘Abbas definitely won’t seek reelection’ Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has recently made it clear that he does not intend to run for another term.

* “Fossil find pushes human-ape split back millions of years” Ten million-year-old fossils discovered in Ethiopia show that “humans and apes probably split six or seven million years earlier than widely thought”, according to landmark study. (See my Prophetic Prospective on the Theory of Evolution)

* White House pleads for patience with Iraqi leaders The White House Thursday pleaded for patience with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki’s battered government.

* ‘Revolutionary Guards try to get around sanctions’ Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are using cover companies to get around UN sanctions against the country’s nuclear program.

* Abbas denies W. Bank-Gaza route in land swap plan The office of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday rejected a Haaretz report that Israel had proposed a route between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

* WHO warns of global epidemic risk Infectious diseases are spreading faster than ever before, the World Health Organization annual report says.

* ‘Abbas launching war in West Bank’ A senior Hamas official in Lebanon on Wednesday accused Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of launching a full-out war against his Hamas in the West Bank.

* Israel Told to Ease Palestinian Movement Israel must provide more freedom of movement in the West Bank and open crossings into Gaza.

* Peres: Olmert, Abbas in ‘serious’ talks Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is holding “serious discussions” with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

* Haifa Univ: Extracting Energy From Beneath the Ocean Floor The University of Haifa, in cooperation with Stanford University, is embarking on a unique, wide-ranging research effort to investigate energy production.

* Turkish envoy returns to deal with ADL The Turkish ambassador is set to end his vacation two weeks early to return to Israel.

* Hamas head blames Israel, US for Palestinian impasse Hamas supremo Khaled Meshaal said efforts to end the bitter feud with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were deadlocked.

* Al-Mujahidat, Armed Hamas Women in Gaza Wearing a long, draped robe and black headscarf, with a rocket-propelled grenade on her shoulder, Fatima, a 27-year-old woman living in Khan Younis, is a member of the special armed women units known as “Al-Mujahidat.”

* Aksa Martyrs Brigades: Truce over Fatah’s armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, announced Tuesday it would no longer honor understandings reached with Israel.

* Iraq PM hits back at US criticism Iraq’s PM Nouri Maliki has rejected US criticism of his administration, saying “no-one has the right to place timetables” on its performance.

* Iran has remote-controlled launch pads Preparing for a possible American or Israeli strike on its nuclear installations, Iran has developed a remote-controlled launch system that can be used to operate dozens of unmanned Shihab ballistic missile launchers in underground bunkers.

* Mideast countries speed up nuclear development projects Several Arab countries in recent months have boosted their nuclear programs.

* ‘Baghdad Jews must run for their lives’ Eight Baghdad Jews who represent the remnants of that city’s Jewish community are facing security threats so grave that they need to flee the country.

* UK Typhoons shadow Russian bomber Two new RAF Typhoon jets shadowed a Russian bomber heading for Britain, the Ministry of Defence has said.

* Russia steps up military expansion Vladimir Putin announced ambitious plans to revive Russia’s military power and restore its role as the world’s leading producer of military aircraft yesterday.

* Vatican plans flights to shrines The Vatican is to launch a low-cost charter flight service to transport pilgrims to holy sites worldwide.

* Knesset conversion proposals slammed by Orthodox, Reform The report submitted to the prime minister on Monday on the state of conversion in Israel managed for once to unite nearly all religious authorities.

* Google Earth given celestial view The constellations of Andromeda, Hydra and Vulpecula are now just a mouse click away for amateur star-gazers, following the launch of Google Sky.

* Peres set to meet with PA’s Abbas President Shimon Peres met with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad in Jerusalem a week ago, and plans to meet with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

* Hamas Threatens to Use ‘More Dangerous Weapons’ Hamas threatened Israel with far more dangerous weapons than the Kassam rocket.

* MIDEAST: Bush Could Have Given Fatah That Kiss of Death Ever since the takeover of Gaza two months ago by Palestinian resistance faction Hamas, Washington and its allies have steadfastly supported the rival Fatah movement.

* North American Jews Put The ‘Home’ in ‘Homeland’ The largest chartered flight of the summer filled with new immigrants (olim) from North America touched down Tuesday morning at Ben Gurion International Airport.

* Iraqi leader in Syria for talks Iraq’s prime minister arrived in Syria on Monday to discuss trade, security and refugees.

* Gaddafi son unveils reform plan The son of the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, has announced reform plans, including an independent central bank and free media.

* EU moves to avoid indirect cash to Hamas The EU is standing by its decision to block the financing of fuel for a Gaza power plant.

* Muhammad Dahlan returns to Ramallah Fatah legislator Muhammad Dahlan returned to Ramallah on Monday after spending six weeks abroad for medical treatment.

* UN extends AU’s Somalia mission The UN Security Council has voted unanimously to extend the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia.

* US survey raises eyebrows in J’lem A survey by a respected journal showing that 15 of 108 foreign policy elites in the US believe Israel does not serve US national security interests has raised eyebrows in Jerusalem.

* Olmert, Arabs Negotiating Over Temple Mount Arab representatives who are negotiating an agreement with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s office have made it clear that they will not accept any final peace deal with Israel unless the Jewish State forfeits the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site.

* Iraq governor dies in bomb attack An Iraqi governor has died in a roadside bomb attack, the second assassination of a provincial leader in nine days.

* Iraqi PM comes to Syria for first visit Iraq’s embattled Nouri al-Maliki came to Syria on Monday on his first visit as prime minister amid efforts to garner neighbors’ support for curbing violence at home.

* ‘US pushing Israel to wage war against Syria with aid’ Washington is preventing Israel from making peace with Syria and instead is pushing it to wage war, the Arab country’s government-owned daily Tishrin read on Monday.

* Sadr vows to work with UN if it replaces US, UK in Iraq Radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr has pledged to commit his forces and followers to help the United Nations were it to replace American and British troops in Iraq, in an interview published Monday.

* Artificial Life Likely in 3 to 10 Years Around the world, a handful of scientists are trying to create life from scratch and they’re getting closer.

* Scientists Oppose Peres’ Dead Sea Canal Scheme The World Bank has finished a series of public hearings on a project which will link the Red Sea in the Gulf of Eilat to the depleted and polluted Dead Sea, located between Israel and Jordan.

* ILA leasing Arab-owned land in Jerusalem to Ateret Cohanim The Israel Lands Administration (ILA) is working together with the Ateret Cohanim association to wrest from Palestinian landowners control of 30 dunams (7.5 acres) of land in East Jerusalem and to transfer it to the association without a tender.

* Turkey holds new presidency vote Voting is taking place in the newly-elected Turkish parliament to choose the country’s next president.

* France most at ease with Muslim population Britons are more suspicious of Muslims than citizens of other big EU states while the French appear the most at ease with their Muslim population, according to a new poll.

* Syria reportedly gets Russian SA-22s Syria has begun delivery of the first batch of anti-aircraft missile and gun range land-based Pantsyr-S1E defense systems.

* Turkish hijacking ends peacefully Two men who tried to hijack a Turkish plane have surrendered after all 136 passengers and crew escaped unharmed.

* ‘Israel is the standard bearer of Satan’ Iran’s hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday that Israel was the standard bearer of Satan.

* Iranian Guards vow to ‘punch’ U.S. Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards said they would not bow to pressure and threatened to “punch” the U.S.

* Salah: Israel wants to divide Al-Aqsa between Jews, Muslims The head of the Islamic Movement’s northern branch, Sheikh Ra’ad Salah, said on Saturday that Israel is trying to forcibly divide the Al-Aqsa mosque.

* Russia Resumes Its Long-Range Air Patrols In Russia’s latest assertion of a broader global military presence, President Vladimir Putin announced Friday that the country had resumed the regular long-range air patrols that ended after the Soviet Union collapsed.

* Iraqi Sunni alliance ready to attend political meeting Iraq’s top Sunni party, The Iraqi Accord Front, announced that it would attend a political leaders’ meeting scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

* Russia forces World Service off FM radio The fallout from the diplomatic row between Britain and Russia spread to the BBC yesterday when Russia announced it was closing down the World Service’s main Russian-language broadcasts.

* Police Examine Islamist Terror Made in the U.S.A. A study released this week by the New York Police Department raised alarm bells in both mainstream American and Arab-American communities, albeit for different reasons.

* Sarkozy calls for more market monitoring after recent turmoil Nicolas Sarkozy has called on G7 governments to work with the International Monetary Fund and central banks on financial transparency.

* Iraqi Political Leaders Forge New Pact Iraq’s political leaders emerged Thursday from three days of crisis talks with a new alliance that seeks to save the crumbling U.S.-backed government.

* PM, Abbas negotiate core issues on founding Palestinian state Talks between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on a future Palestinian state are stuck on the issue of the Palestinian refugee problem.

* Russia-China war games boost ties Russian and Chinese troops have staged a series of dramatic war games in Russia’s Ural Mountains at the close of the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

* Riyadh: Syria spreading chaos in the Middle East Saudi Arabia accused Syria on Thursday of attempting to destabilize the region and spread chaos.

* Israel, US try to maintain military edge With a new $30-billion, 10-year aid package from the US in the bag, Israeli and American officials are now discussing what military equipment Israel can buy and Saudi Arabia can’t.

* Nato ‘tracking’ Russian bombers Russian long-range bombers have flown over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in a military drill.

* Internet use could kill off local newspapers, study finds News audiences are ditching television and newspapers and using the Internet as their main source of information.

* Gadhafi Son Warns of More Europe Attacks Islamic extremists are certain to carry out more terrorist attacks in Europe, and any country that engages itself militarily in Iraq or Afghanistan is a likely target.

* Fayyad sheds mild-mannered image Tough talk doesn’t come naturally to Salam Fayyad. The 55-year-old former World Bank employee.

* India parties mull nuclear deal Communist allies of India’s government are holding meetings to discuss their opposition to a landmark nuclear deal with the US.

By: Hillel Fendel – Arutz Sheva

This November will mark 60 years since the famous and fateful UN partition vote that paved the way for Israel’s creation. The Knesset plans to reenact the vote with fanfare.

Read more….