* Iran ‘has second enrichment site’ Iran has revealed the existence of a second uranium enrichment plant, the UN nuclear watchdog has confirmed.

* PM rips UN for Ahmadinejad ‘disgrace’ Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday took to task the countries of the world that had sat silently and listened the day before to Holocaust-denier Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

* Dollar under scrutiny at G20 summit The embattled US dollar is expected to come under scrutiny at a summit of developing and industrialized nations following China-led calls to review its role as a reserve currency.

* HSBC bids farewell to dollar supremacy The sun is setting on the US dollar as the ultra-loose monetary policy of the US Federal Reserve forces China and the vibrant economies of the emerging world to forge a new global currency order.

* Abbas: We can’t return to negotiations The Palestinians cannot return to peace talks at this time because of “fundamental disagreements” with Israel on what should be on the agenda.

* Quartet keeps pressure for Mideast peace talks The Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators renewed its call for Israel to freeze settlements in the territories on Thursday.

* English most studied language in EU schools English is the most studied language in schools in the European Union, but over 35 percent of adults only speak their mother tongue.

* Pope Benedict to Confront Secularism on His First Czech Visit Pope Benedict XVI will confront secularism when he visits the Czech Republic, a former communist nation with a centuries-long history of religious and ideological conflict .

* UN warns over East Africa hunger More than 20 million people in the Horn of Africa need food aid because of two years of poor rainfall.

* Militant says Pakistani Taliban stronger than ever Pakistan’s Taliban movement is stronger than ever despite the killing of its top commander and will stage more suicide attacks if the army launches another offensive against it.

* ‘Ahmadinejad is antithesis of moral’ A day after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s anti-Israeli speech at the UN General Assembly, President Shimon Peres said Thursday that the hard-line leader was the antithesis of moral.

* Obama’s follow-up acts at U.N. include Gadhafi, Ahmadinejad He read from a small pale-blue copy of the United Nations charter, before tossing it aside and rifling through scrawled notes on yellow notepaper.

* Russia ‘rethinks’ Iran sanctions The Russian president has signalled that Moscow might be prepared to soften its opposition to further sanctions against Iran over its nuclear plans.

* China speaks out against Iran sanctions ahead of UNSC talks China believes sanctions on Iran “are not the way out,” Bloomberg quoted a government spokeswoman as saying in Beijing on Thursday.

* Lesson in the Bible: MK Katz Chides Bibi for Term ‘West Bank’ National Union Knesset Member Yaakov “Ketzaleh” Katz chided Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Wednesday for using the term “West Bank” when referring to Judea and Samaria.

* Saudis open hi-tech science oasis A multi-billion dollar university has opened in Saudi Arabia in an attempt to enable the country to compete in science and technology internationally.

* Expert Predicts ‘World Relief’ If Israel Bombs Iran Nukes The head of Iran’s nuclear agency, Ali Akbar Selahi, said Wednesday that Israel lacks the military capability to attack his country’s nuclear installations.

* Sustained recovery hangs in the balance for G20 Leaders from the Group of 20 industrialised and developing nations are meeting in the US city of Pittsburgh.

* Obama to push nuclear disarmament US President Barack Obama is to call for an end to nuclear arms and efforts to stop the spread of the technology behind them, at an historic UN session.

* U.N. climate meeting was propaganda: Czech president Czech President Vaclav Klaus sharply criticized a U.N. meeting on climate change on Tuesday at which U.S. President Barack Obama was among the top speakers, describing it as propagandistic and undignified.

* ‘It’s time to move forward,’ Obama demands Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu emerged from his meeting with US President Barack Obama and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Tuesday saying that the Palestinians had dropped their preconditions for negotiations.

* PM, Abbas draw contrasting conclusions Abbas himself announced that nothing less than an Israeli withdraw to the 1967 borders would enable resuming peace talks.

* U.S. to push for new economic world order at G20 The United States will urge world leaders this week to launch a new push in November to rebalance the world economy.

* Egypt: Probe Israeli nuke capabilities Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit sent a message to the UN Security Council last week, reiterating his support for non-proliferation and imploring the 15 member countries to investigate Israel’s nuclear capabilities.

* Al-Qaida predicts Obama’s fall by Muslim nation Al-Qaida on Tuesday released a new 106-minute long video predicting President Barack Obama’s downfall at the hands of the Muslim world.

* Obama to give maiden UN address US President Barack Obama is due to deliver his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

* Holy Temple Mikveh Discovered Near Western Wall A 2,000-year-old mikveh (ritual bath) has been uncovered just 20 meters from the Western Wall.

* In U.S., Netanyahu refuses to rule out military strike on Iran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave no clue in a series of U.S. television interviews on Tuesday whether Israel might opt to attack Iran.

* Terrorism and nukes top General Assembly agenda More than 120 world leaders meet Wednesday on the heels of a climate change summit to tackle other crucial issues on the international agenda.

* EU unveils new ‘super-regulators’ The European Union (EU) has unveiled plans for new “super-regulators” across the banking sectors in Europe.

* Obama to host Middle East summit US President Barack Obama is to host a summit of Israeli and Palestinian leaders, but Washington admits it has no “grand expectations” from the talks.

* ‘Arabs offer flyover rights for freeze’ A number of North African and Persian Gulf states have promised to give Israeli airliners flyover rights in the airspace over their countries.

* Peres hopes Obama-led summit will yield return to peace talks President Shimon Peres on Tuesday dismissed the “low expectations” attributed to the upcoming tripartite summit between Israel, the Palestinians, and the U.S.

* Big week for Obama at UN In his first foray into the annual meet-and-greet fest known as the UN General Assembly this week, US President Barack Obama will seek to make his impact on the major issues facing the world.

* Carter: Settlements hindering peace Israel must stop building settlements in the West Bank if peace is ever to be achieved in the Middle East.

* Iranian Plane Crashes as Ahmadinejad Threatens Israel and US An Iranian plane crashed during a military show in Tehran while Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was delivering another threatening speech aimed at Israel and the United States.

* Peres: Netanyahu will repay Ahmadinejad President Shimon Peres told schoolchildren in the north that “the prime minister will be demonstratively absent from a meeting with one of the most evil and horrible people of modern history, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad”.

* Swedish-Israeli relations continue to deteriorate Relations between Sweden, the EU presidency-in-office, and Israel have gone from bad to worse after Israel accused Sweden of breaking an EU ban on contact with Hamas.

* Czechs Set Hurdle for Europe Treaty With the Irish poised to vote next month on a landmark European Union treaty meant to improve the bloc’s global standing, alarm is growing in Brussels.

* Why everyone is saying no to Obama Everybody is saying no to the American president these days. And it’s not just that they’re saying no, it’s also the way they’re saying no.

* Ayalon: Military option against Iran is still on the table Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon insisted Monday that the military option against Iran was still on the table.

* McChrystal: More Forces or ‘Mission Failure’ The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warns in an urgent, confidential assessment of the war that he needs more forces within the next year and bluntly states that without them, the eight-year conflict “will likely result in failure.”

* Brzezinski: US should down IAF jets Former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski has urged US President Barack Obama to make it clear that if the IAF tries to launch an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities via Iraqi airspace, the US Air Force will shoot down the Israeli jets.

* Obama Says Financial Regulations Must Be Strengthened Globally President Barack Obama said tougher financial regulations are needed worldwide to protect consumers, provide economic stability and prevent future crises.

* Kremlin says Israel promised not to strike Iran Israel promised Russia it would not launch an attack on Iran, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview aired on Sunday.

* Berlusconi advocates creation of ‘core Europe’ if Ireland says No again Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has suggested that if the Irish people vote against the Lisbon Treaty a second time, a group of European Union member states should move to create a “core Europe”.

* Ahmadinejad proud of Holocaust denial Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday he was proud his denial of the Holocaust had enraged the West.

* Iraqi Shiite leader appeals for unity before vote The leader of Iraq’s largest Shiite party sought Monday to shore up political support before January’s elections.

* ‘Poland missile array not yet nixed’ Russia’s top general said Monday that plans to deploy missiles in an enclave next to Poland have not been shelved.

* Netanyahu leaves for New York meeting Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and President Barack Obama will meet this week after all.

* Abbas: Settlement construction main impediment to peace talks The peace process is currently stagnant because of Israel’s unwillingness to halt all settlement construction in the West Bank.

* Anger at Iranian Holocaust denial The Iranian president’s latest denial of the Nazi Holocaust has drawn strong condemnation from Western powers.

* ‘New intel changed Europe missile plan’ US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday that the new missile defense system planned for Europe has the flexibility to adapt to changes in Iranian missile capabilities.

* UN criticizes Israel’s atomic program Overriding Western objections, a 150-nation nuclear conference on Friday passed a resolution directly criticizing Israel and its atomic program for the first time in 18 years.

* Russian president denies Putin has all the power Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says those who question whether he has power in his country are going by “stereotypes” and “stigmas.”

* Nasrallah: We’ll never recognize Israel The leader of Lebanon’s Hizbullah vowed on Friday that his Shiite terror group will never recognize Israel and that no Arab state has the right to do so either.

* Parshat Rosh Hashana: Silence resounds This year, when the shofar will be sounded only on the second day of Rosh Hashana, a mystical silence prevails in the synagogue on the first day, Shabbat.

* Turkey weighs missile purchase options The Turkish military said Friday it is weighing bids from American, Russian and Chinese defense contractors as it seeks to buy at least $1 billion worth of long-range missile defense systems.

* Russia Scraps Missile Deployment after Obama Cancels Missile Shield Russia says it has scrapped plans to deploy missiles in a region near Poland after U.S. President Barack Obama canceled plans for a missile defense system in Central Europe.

* Lesser role spurs talk of faster exit from Iraq New rules placing tens of thousands of U.S. combat troops under virtual house arrest on their bases mean the American military increasingly finds itself a symbolic force in Iraq.

* Khatami reportedly stabbed at rally In an apparent sign of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his ruling party flexing their muscles ahead of next week’s UN General Assembly, the hard-line leader again denied the Holocaust.

* Nuclear conference criticizes Israeli nukes Overriding Western objections, a 150-nation nuclear conference on Friday passed a resolution directly criticizing Israel and its atomic program for the first time in 18 years.

* ‘No agreement’ in Mid-East talks US envoy George Mitchell’s latest round of shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East has ended without agreement.

* EU calls for halt to settlement activity The European Union on Friday urged Israel “to immediately end all settlement activities, including in East Jerusalem.”

* Poles, Czechs: US missile defense shift a betrayal Poles and Czechs voiced deep concern Friday at President Barack Obama’s decision to scrap a Bush-era missile defense shield planned for their countries.

* Parshat Rosh Hashana: Silence resounds This year, when the shofar will be sounded only on the second day of Rosh Hashana, a mystical silence prevails in the synagogue on the first day, Shabbat.

* IAF chief: We must stop S-300 delivery Israel needs to make every effort to stop the S-300 missile defense system from reaching countries where the air force may need to fly.

* Rally ‘attack’ on Iran opposition Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has come under attack in Tehran during an annual rally in support of Palestinians.

* ‘Missile plan cancellation may be good’ There is no need to be alarmed by US President Barack Obama’s decision to terminate the previous administration’s plans to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe.

* Sarkozy warns Czech president on EU treaty French President Nicolas Sarkozy has warned the Czech Republic that it will have to face “consequences” if it continues to delay final ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.

Obama shelves Europe missile plan US President Barack Obama has shelved plans for controversial bases in Poland and the Czech Republic in a major overhaul of missile defence in Europe.

* Syria insists Israel does not want peace Turkey encouraged Syria on Wednesday to think of ways to revive the stalled peace talks with Israel.

* Analysis: Demise of U.S. shield may embolden Russia hawks Washington hopes that by backing away from an anti-missile system in east Europe, it will get Russian cooperation on everything.

* What happened to the US deadline on Iran? Earlier this month, it became clear that Iran was defying the US and its Western allies.

* China could undermine US military power in Pacific: Gates China’s increasingly advanced weaponry could undermine US military power in the Pacific.

* ‘The steps are not silent anymore’ A street recently uncovered in the capital’s City of David was, metaphorically, “the last seam of independent Jews in Jerusalem.”

* ‘Old friends’ Cuba, China strengthen ties Why is the world’s third-largest economy spending hundreds of millions of dollars in Cuba?

* China says will push space programme to catch up West China said Thursday its rapidly growing space programme was the crowning achievement of the nation’s high-tech transformation.

* Venezuela says signs new $16 billion China oil deal President Hugo Chavez said on Wednesday Venezuela signed a $16 billion investment deal with China over three years to raise oil output by several hundred thousand barrels per day in the OPEC member’s Orinoco belt.

* Russia’s response to US missile defense shield shift President Barack Obama’s decision to shelve plans for a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe could be seen as a major concession to Moscow.

* ‘We may have to attack Iran by Dec.’ Israel will be compelled to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities if Western powers do not impose serious sanctions against Teheran by the end of 2009, former deputy defense minister Ephraim Sneh said on Wednesday.

* Mitchell-PM meeting: Still no settlements deal Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US special Mideast envoy George Mitchell failed to reach an agreement on the West Bank settlement issue after meeting in Jerusalem on Wednesday for the second time in two days.

* CBS: Israel’s population numbers 7,465,500 Israel’s population numbers 7,465,500 – some 5,634,300 Jews, 1,513,200 Arabs and 318,000 others – according to the annual pre-Rosh Hashana report released by the Central Bureau of Statistics Wednesday.

* Euro MPs give Barroso new mandate The powerful European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, has won a second term of office after a majority of Euro MPs voted for him.

* Crisis makes Europe richest reagion in the world, study says Europe has emerged as the richest region in the world, pushing North America, where wealth has declined by more than 20 percent due to the economic crisis, off the top spot, a study has shown.

* Syrian president to visit Turkey for Mideast talks A Syrian official says President Bashar Assad will visit Turkey on Wednesday for talks that will touch on the stalled peace process between Syria and Israel.

* Carter says Obama row is ‘racist’ Former US President Jimmy Carter says much of the vitriol against President Barack Obama’s health reforms and spending plans is “based on racism”.

* Israel’s Future is Young: Jewish Birthrate Up, Muslim Rate Down The State of Israel faces a promising Jewish future, according to statistics released Wednesday by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBC).

* Pole attempts to breathe new life into EU legislature The new president of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, has given himself the task of making his institution more internet friendly and livening up debates in the notoriously dull EU legislature.

* Clash Over ‘Islamization’ at DC Muslim Prayer Rally A new organization dedicated to fighting what it sees as an encroaching Islamic takeover of the U.S. is set to launch later this month with a gathering in Washington, D.C.

* Mitchell makes last push on settlements Washington’s special Mideast envoy launched a last-ditch push Tuesday to wring an Israeli promise to curtail settlement construction and persuade the Palestinians to attend a high-profile US meeting meant as a prelude to peacemaking.

* Anniversary of Creation Heralds Countdown to New Year Jews gathered at the Western Wall in the wee hours of Monday morning, and more flocked to the mystical Galilee village of Meron later in the day.

* EU countries practice ‘secret’ diplomacy, Hamas says High-ranking officials from European countries hold talks with Hamas on a weekly basis despite an EU ban on diplomatic contact.

* EU: Iran meeting likely in Turkey Talks on Iran’s nuclear program will likely be held in Turkey and full US participation may lead to progress in the negotiations.

* ‘We are carefully monitoring s. Lebanon’ Despite the Katyusha attacks on Israel over the weekend from southern Lebanon and evidence of ongoing Hizbullah efforts to rearm in possible preparation for a future confrontation with Israel.

* US warns against forgetting Iraq The senior American commander in Iraq has told the BBC that he is concerned that the country will be forgotten, amid the current focus on Afghanistan.

* Fight Nights and Reggae Pack Brazilian Churches A growing evangelical movement in Brazil is attracting young people by adopting their culture.

* US worried about Venezuelan arms buildup A U.S. official said Monday that Venezuelan arms acquisitions could spark an arms race in Latin America and he also expressed misgivings about the country’s possible nuclear ambitions.

* Stop Ahmadinejad Movement Hits New York The World Jewish Congress and other activists are planning a mass demonstration in New York.