Ramallah – Ma’an – Khalid Mash’al, head of the Hamas politburo, has said that Hamas is ready to form a central government in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as a gesture to resume negotiations between Hamas and Fatah.

KIEV (Reuters) – Yulia Tymoshenko, a leading force in Ukraine’s 2004 “Orange Revolution”, narrowly failed to win parliament’s backing to restore her as prime minister on Tuesday and accused her rivals of cheating.

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan and NATO forces seized the Taliban stronghold of Musa Qala on Tuesday, a symbolic victory for the Afghan government and its Western backers, but one which may do little to stop the insurgents from carrying out attacks.