PRISTINA, Serbia – Kosovo will declare independence from Serbia with Western backing the weekend after the February 3 Serbian presidential election if the nationalist candidate wins, political sources said on Wednesday.

CAIRO – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday rejected demands by Hamas for control of the Gaza border and told the Islamist group to “end its coup in Gaza”.

A cameraman working for an Iraqi Shi’ite satellite television channel and his driver were killed by a roadside bomb attack north of Baghdad on Tuesday, an official from the channel said.

WASHINGTON – A senior U.S. diplomat said on Tuesday some fraud was to be expected in Pakistan’s elections on February 18 but the United States was working hard to ensure a poll that is “as free and fair as possible.”

WASHINGTON – The Iraqi government could see a windfall from higher oil prices this year, while it moves to assume greater responsibility for security and economic development, a U.S. government watchdog said on Wednesday.

TEHRAN (FNA) – Officials of the United Arab Emirates’ private energy firm Crescent Petroleum arrived here in Tehran to continue long-running talks over pricing Iran’s gas supplies to the Persian Gulf Arab state.

TEHRAN (FNA) – Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel in a meeting with the Sheikh of al-Azhar University, Muhammad Sayyed al-Tantawi called for unity among Muslim nations.

TEHRAN (FNA) – Bahrain’s ambassador to Tehran in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki here Wednesday submitted a message from his King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa to the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

TEHRAN (FNA) – US President George Bush has failed in making any remarkable achievement at home and abroad during his term of office, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said, adding that Bush is unlikely to hide its defeats and failures through projecting blame and responsibility on others.

TEHRAN (FNA) – Chinese ambassador to Tehran voiced his country’s enthusiasm for augmenting investment in Iran’s oil and energy sector.