ISRAEL

U.S. President Barack Obama sent Iran an unprecedented videotaped message on Friday offering a new beginning of diplomatic engagement after decades of U.S. hostility to the Islamic Republic.

Lebanon's president ruled out on Wednesday holding direct peace talks with Israel, saying that the best way to resolve his country's differences with the Jewish state was to hold a regional peace conference instead.

Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu's party secured its first coalition partner on Sunday, reaching an initial agreement with the ultra-right Yisrael Beiteinu party, an official said.

The world needs to act urgently to avoid a global water crisis due to increased population, rising living standards, dietary changes and more biofuels production, the United Nations warned on Thursday.

Israel's 22-day offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip killed 1,434 people, including 960 civilians, 239 police officers and 235 fighters, a Palestinian human rights group said Thursday.

On Tuesday talks between rival Palestinian factions opened with the aim of reaching a power-sharing agreement.

Iran's top military commander said the new U.S. administration was just as warmongering as its predecessor, but that the United States could not afford to attack Iran, an Iranian news agency reported on Tuesday.

Hamas's popularity among Palestinians has risen sharply since a three-week Israeli war in January devastated the Islamist-ruled Gaza Strip, an opinion poll released Monday showed.

Syria President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview published on Monday that a peace deal with Israel was possible but that normal relations would only be possible if Israel ended its conflict with the Palestinians.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said on Saturday he intended to resign by the end of March in a move that could help unity talks between the rival Fatah and Hamas factions.

Mauritania has ordered staff at Israel's embassy to leave the country within 48 hours after freezing ties with the Jewish state over its invasion of Gaza, a senior Mauritanian official said on Friday.

When Palestinian Sharif Attoun asked bulldozer driver Ziad Dabash to flatten his home in Arab East Jerusalem, his friend was heartbroken.

On Wednesday Britain said it was prepared to engage in direct contacts with the political wing of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, the AFP reported.

Iranian missiles can reach Israeli nuclear sites and Tehran will respond firmly to any attack, a top commander said on Wednesday.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged on Tuesday to press hard for Palestinian statehood, putting Washington on a possible collision course with Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu.

International donors pledged $4.481 billion on Monday to help the Palestinian economy and rebuild Gaza after Israel's three-week offensive, insisting their funds bypass the territory's Hamas rulers.

Bank Hapoalim, Israel's largest bank in terms of assets, reassured investors on Monday they would receive interest payments on deferred capital notes that had been downgraded by the Standard & Poor's Maalot ratings agency.

Israel's right-wing Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has abandoned efforts to woo centrist Tzipi Livni into forming a broad coalition government, a spokeswoman said on Saturday.

Israeli right-winger Benjamin Netanyahu and centrist Tzipi Livni met Friday but failed to agree on forming a coalition government and left it unclear whether negotiations between their parties would continue.

The Vatican said on Friday that an apology by a traditionalist bishop who denied the Holocaust fell short of meeting the Holy See's demand for a full and public recanting of his position.

The Palestinian Authority is to ask foreign governments on Monday for $1.33 billion to repair and renew homes, industry and other facilities in the Gaza Strip after last month's Israeli offensive.