09/18/14

* Israeli official: Syria kept 'significant' chemical weapons Israel believes Syria has retained caches of combat-ready chemical weapons after giving up raw materials used to produce such munitions under pressure from foreign powers, a senior Israeli official said on Thursday.

* Israeli Islamic State member: 'We love to drink blood' An Arab-Israeli Islamic State fighter nicknamed "the Palestinian slayer" declared that the jihadist group "love[s] to drink blood."

* Study: America No Longer 'Needs' Israel A new Israeli study into the historical role of the United States in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has concluded that America no longer has "need" of the Jewish state.

* Scottish independence: Voting under way in referendum People in Scotland are voting on whether the country should stay in the UK or become an independent nation.

* Ukraine crisis: President Poroshenko in key US visit Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has urged the US to provide military assistance to his country to counter pro-Russian eastern separatists.

* Does moderate Islam exist? The guiding principle of the Islamic State (IS) is that Muslims must fight non-Muslims all over the world and offer them the following choices: Convert to Islam, pay a humiliating tax called "Jijya," or be killed.

* Watch: Syrian child sniper discusses killing soldiers: There's nothing to it The Syrian civil war, well into its third year, has not only claimed more than 190,000 lives and displaced millions of people from their homes, it has turned a number of children into soldiers, unmoved by taking the life of another.

* China's Xi Jinping signs landmark deals on India visit India and China have signed 12 agreements in Delhi, one of which will see China investing $20bn (£12.2bn) in India's infrastructure over five years.

* Poll: Israelis care more about peace process and EU than Iran Israelis see advancing the peace process with the Palestinians as more important than confronting the Iranian nuclear threat, according to a poll published this week.

* Crowdfunding Campaign for Third Temple Close to Goal A crowdfunding initiative to rebuild the Third Temple in Jerusalem has gained steam, the Temple Institute stated Wednesday, and is close to reaching its $100,000 goal.