In the news:

It is hard to know what this development may mean - we'll have to wait and see:

Mosque Set on Fire in Northern Israel

A mosque in an Arab village in northern Israel was set on fire early Monday in what the police called an arson attack, and an outside wall was defaced with Hebrew graffiti.

The attack followed a series of similar assaults on mosques in the West Bank by arsonists suspected of being radical settlers as part of a campaign known as “price tag,” which seeks to exact a price from local Palestinians for violence against settlers or from Israeli security forces for taking action against illegal construction in Jewish outposts in the West Bank.

The defense minister, Ehud Barak, said that the “criminals” involved wanted to upset Jewish-Arab relations.

Israel Police on high alert as clashes ensue following mosque arson

Several dozen youths clashed with police overnight in a Bedouin village in northern Israel, hours after a local mosque was vandalized allegedly by Jewish extremists, officials said Tuesday.

The Bedouin protesters blocked roads with rocks, set fire to tires and threw stones at the police. Angry youth also torched the local council building, the local community center and a health clinic.

Police are concerned that Israeli Arabs will carry out revenge attacks in the wake of the arson, and also fear acts by Jewish extremists will spark further agitation and violence during the upcoming holidays, particularly in cities with mixed Jewish-Arab populations.

Iranian Pastor Increasingly Likely to Face Death Penalty Under New Charges

Imprisoned Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, originally sentenced to death for apostasy and refusing to renounce Christianity, is now in even greater danger of being put to death in light of reports in state-run media of other charges, including being a Zionist and a threat to national security.

"The charge of being a Zionist and thus a traitor is among the most serious accusations that can be made in Iran," said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice, or ACLJ. "Unfortunately, we know that this is the charge Iran levies to justify executing people who were actually arrested, imprisoned and tried on completely different charges."

In a ruling from the Iranian Supreme Court obtained by FoxNews.com, Nadarkhani was sentenced to execution by hanging for breaking Islamic law by conducting Christian worship and baptizing himself and others.

Putin says he wants to build 'Eurasian Union'

Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he wants to bring ex-Soviet states into a "Eurasian Union" in an article which outlined his first foreign policy initiative as he prepares to return to the Kremlin as the country's next president.

Putin said the new union would build on an existing Customs Union with Belarus and Kazakhstan which from next year will remove all barriers to trade, capital and labour movement between the three countries.

"We are not going to stop there and are setting an ambitious goal -- to achieve an even higher integration level in the Eurasian Union," Putin wrote in an article which will be published in Izvestia newspaper on Oct. 4.

Putin said he saw the new union as a supra-national body which would coordinate "economic and currency policy" between its members. It would also be open to new members.

And below, we see a very interesting comment, particularly for those who believe that the biblical "10 kings" will consist of 10 world unions:

Putin wrote that he saw the way out of the global crisis through a regional integration, mentioning the European Union, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as examples.

"These 'bricks' can assemble into a more stable global economy," Putin wrote.

Also see:

Putin To Reassemble The Soviet Union

Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he wants to bring ex-Soviet states into a “Eurasian Union” in an article which outlined his first foreign policy initiative as he prepares to return to the Kremlin as the country’s next president.

Putin said the new union would build on an existing Customs Union with Belarus and Kazakhstan which from next year will remove all barriers to trade, capital and labor movement between the three countries.

“We are not going to stop there and are setting an ambitious goal — to achieve an even higher integration level in the Eurasian Union,” Putin wrote in an article which will be published in Izvestia newspaper on October 4.

Putin said he saw the new union as a supra-national body which would coordinate “economic and currency policy” between its members. It would also be open to new members.