* 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.