* Assad: Golan will return to Arab hands After the foreign minister of Saudi flatly rejected US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's request that his country make goodwill gestures toward Israel.
* Iran poll protests trial begins The trial has begun in Iran of 100 people arrested for their alleged involvement in post-election violence.
* Saudi FM: No gestures toward Israel Saudi Arabia on Friday sharply rejected American calls for gestures towards Israel.
* 'Fatah conference to harden party line' The Palestinian Fatah movement will attempt to bring its platform up to date during a conference next week in Bethlehem.
* Lebanese cleric: Arab patience with Obama wearing thin An influential Lebanese Shi'ite cleric said Friday that President Barack Obama's outreach to the Arab and Islamic worlds has failed to improve ties.
* Iraqis fear al Qaeda violence after mosque bombs Iraqis said on Saturday they feared al Qaeda was trying to tip their country back into the sectarian strife.
* Russia could use military force to defend S. Ossetian residents Russia's Defense Ministry is concerned over recent shots on South Ossetia's capital Tskhinval and its suburbs.
* Settlers flock to new outpost on Shabbat eve Some 30 right-wing activists set up illegal outpost near West Bank settlement of Kedumim.
* 'German charity front for Hizbullah' A German charity for Lebanese orphans is a front organization raising funds for Hizbullah suicide bombers.
* Ahmadinejad denies rift with Khamenei Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed out at critics within his own hard-line camp.