* Saudi spy chief visits Israel, Ramallah The director of Saudi Arabia's General intelligence agency, Khalid Bin Ali Al Humaidan, paid surprise visits to Ramallah and Jerusalem on Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 21-22.
* More American troops may be sent to Syria - US commander More US troops may be needed in Syria to speed up the campaign against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), the top commander for the Middle East has stated, specifically referring to the push to liberate Raqqa.
* China Slams Deployment of U.S. Aircraft Carrier to South China Sea On Tuesday, China slammed the United States' deployment of an aircraft carrier to conduct "routine operations" in the South China Sea, calling it a pretense to undermine its sovereignty.
* Political Instability in Africa Could Lead to ISIS Resurgence The Islamic State has faced significant defeats in Africa over the past year but political instability across the northern and western regions could offer a ripe breeding ground for the terrorist group to resurge.
* Star's seven Earth-sized worlds set record Astronomers have detected a record seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a single star.
* Iran's Khamenei Calls for Palestinian Intifada, Israel a 'Cancerous Tumor' Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on the Palestinians to pursue another intifada against Israel while claiming the Israeli government is a "cancerous tumor" that should be confronted.
* Airplane Like Those Used for Covert Iraqi Aliya Arrives in Israel A C46 airplane, the model used in the illegal aliya operation that brought thousands of Jews to British Mandate Palestine from Iraq in 1947, is being restored after arriving in Haifa this week.
* Iran Sends Delegation to Saudi for Talks on Rejoining Haj Relations between the two regional powers worsened after hundreds of people, many of them Iranians, died in a crush at the 2015 pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.