12/18/12

* Assad's chemical stockpile 'has reached similar levels to Israe'’s nuclear weapons,' defected Syrian general says The chemical weapons arsenal in the hands of the Bashar Assad regime, believed to be one of the largest in the world, is a match for Israel’s alleged stockpile of nuclear weapons.

* Iranian minister denies Syria's Assad about to fall Iran does not believe Syrian President Bashar Assad and his government are about to fall.

* Germany, Poland and the shifting centre of European Union power On 1 November each year an eerie silence descends on the Polish capital, Warsaw. The city empties out. It is All Saints Day - the Day of the Dead.

* The Russia-EU-US drama At the eve of the EU-Russia Summit, trade tension has been rising between Brussels and Moscow.

* PA Arabs Say Yes to Hamas, No to Abbas A new independent poll in the Palestinian Authority points to a calm before a storm of terror as Arabs in Judea, Samaria and Gaza rejected PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

* Russia sends navy squadron to Mediterranean A Russian navy squadron has set off for the Mediterranean amid official talk about a possible evacuation of Russians from Syria.

* Dead Sea Scrolls Online Library Launched On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Israel Antiquities Authority and Google announced on Monday the launch of the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library website.

* Iraq president suffers stroke Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has suffered a stroke and his medical team in Baghdad is still trying to stabilize his condition.

* UN peacekeeping force on the Golan may collapse, French ambassador warns The United Nations peacekeeping force deployed on the Israeli-Syrian border has begun taking precautions against the possible use of chemical weapons.

* Israeli Embassy's 'lynching Jesus' Facebook post sparks Irish ire The Israeli Embassy in Ireland caused a storm of protest Monday when it posted on Facebook an image of Jesus and Mary and suggested that if the Biblical figures were alive today they would have likely been murdered by a mob of Palestinians.