* Abdullah: 'Israeli violations on Temple Mount dangerously increased lately' The king stated: "As the defender of Jerusalem's holy places, Jordan acted and will keep acting against Israeli violations until east Jerusalem will be liberated from Israeli occupation."
* Iran fires 2 missiles marked with 'Israel must be wiped out' Iran test-launched two ballistic missiles Wednesday emblazoned with the phrase "Israel must be wiped out" in Hebrew, Iranian media reported, in a show of power by the Shiite nation as U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's visited Jerusalem.
* Iran: Our Missiles are Pointed at Israel Senior Iranian military officials this week boasted that they had stockpiled a huge quantity of long-range ballistic missiles that are pointed directly at Israel.
* Damascus rules out talks on presidency at peace talks The government delegation would reject any attempt to include presidential elections on the agenda, he said.
* SECURITY AND DEFENSE: The North Korean connection Former US intelligence officer Bruce Bechtol sheds light on North Korea's pervasive involvement in the military buildups of Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas.
* UN report: ISIL attracting fighters, expanding control in Libya Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) has capitalized on the chaos in Libya to recruit a large number of jihadists and expand its area of control, according to a United Nations report.
* Biden visit lightens the mood, can't heal dysfunctional ties VP reaffirmed his 'love' for Netanyahu, scolded the Palestinians, but the White House was spot on with its advance word that the trip would bring no breakthrough.
* 10,000 civilians evacuated as Iraqi army advances on ISIS Iraqi government forces make fresh gains against Islamic State in Ramadi, retaking key town and setting their sights on another.
* 'Thunder' in Saudi desert as huge military drill ends 20 nations from the Middle East, Africa and Asia participate in what is described as a 'show of regional unity'.
* UK police: Islamic State seeking 'spectacular attacks' on West "What we are now seeing in recent months...is the broadening of the threat...going from that narrow focus on police and military and symbols of the state to something much broader," says UK police.