TOKYO: Palestinian leaders have not set specific terms on which they would accept a U.S. offer to mediate indirect peace talks with Israel, and expect clarification on such talks in a week, President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday. The United States has proposed circumventing a dispute preventing the resumption of talks, stalled for more than a year since a war in Gaza, by reconvening in the form of "proximity talks" on an indirect basis.
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SAN JOSE: Laura Chinchilla, a social conservative who opposes abortion but wants more help for the poor, became Costa Rica’s first female president after a convincing election triumph. Her main opponents conceded defeat and the 50-year-old ruling party candidate joined thousands of supporters celebrating in San Jose early on Monday. First results showed she won 47 per cent of the votes counted, way ahead of her rivals.
Full Story| THE NEWS |

KIEV: Ukraine has narrowly chosen the pro-Russia Viktor Yanukovich as its next president, results showed on Monday, after elections that rejected the West-leaning policies of the Orange Revolution. But with his margin of victory of around just 2.5 per cent according to a count of almost all the votes, his challenger Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was showing no sign of conceding a poll that was much closer than forecast.
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PARIS: France has agreed to sell a first amphibious assault warship to Moscow in a deal the French defence minister said Monday highlighted Europe’s new relationship with a new Russia. The sale of the ultra-modern Mistral-class helicopter carrier had worried Russia’s neighbour Georgia and raised eyebrows among France’s allies as the first sale by a NATO member of such advanced technology to Moscow.
Full Story| KHALEEJ TIMES |

TAIPEI: Taiwan on Monday gave the green light for building a bridge between two small islands that it controls off China, in what officials called a first step towards connecting the islets with the mainland. A bridge linking the Taiwan-held Kinmen group of islands with China would be a powerful symbol of improved ties between Taipei and Beijing, as the area is so far best known as the scene of their bloodiest battle in the past 60 years.
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WASHINGTON: Senior diplomats from six major powers held a conference call on Friday to discuss their efforts to persuade Iran via negotiations and sanctions to restrain its nuclear program, the U.S. State Department said. “They discussed both tracks, both the pressure track and the (negotiating track),” State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters, referring to the “dual track” policy of diplomacy and sanctions.
Full Story| KHALEEJ TIMES |

SEOUL: South Korea is considering a rare summit with North Korea this year, but officials are agonising over whether any meaningful deal can be reached. Timing would prove crucial, as Lee Myung-bak, South Korea's president, wants to use his country's presidency of the G20 leading economies this year to promote Seoul internationally as the capital of a stable, advanced nation.
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CAPE CANAVERAL: The US space shuttle Endeavour and its crew of six astronauts were set to blast off early Sunday on a mission to deliver a module dubbed Tranquility to the International Space Station. Endeavour is scheduled to takeoff at 4:39 am (0939 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center here. Countdown started on Thursday, and by Friday, the weather forecast had improved to an 80-percent "go" for launch.
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TOKYO: Japan has boosted calls to restrict the use of nuclear weapons in war - and ultimately eliminate the atomic threat - by finally easing its once-rigid demands to preserve a broad-based nuclear deterrent. The move follows a major international report commissioned by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd that urged countries to adopt a 'sole purpose' nuclear posture - meaning they would only use atomic weapons in the face of a direct nuclear threat.
Full Story| THE AGE.COM.AU |

JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Syrian President Bashar Assad went in different directions with their statements on Sunday, with Netanyahu making conciliatory comments, and Assad responding by talking again about war. Assad, according to the Syrian SANA news agency, held talks with the speaker of the Lebanese parliament, Nabih Berri, in Damascus and stressed “Syria’s commitment to stand by Lebanon’s government".
Full Story| THE JERUSALEM POST |