KHARTOUM (Reuters) — Senior diplomats will seek to persuade Khartoum on Tuesday to accept UN peacekeepers in the violent Darfur region after UN chief Kofi Annan accused Sudan of violating international law.

TEL AVIV (Reuters) — Israel has speeded up efforts to develop long-range cruise missiles of a type that could be used should the Jewish state try to strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities, security sources said on Tuesday.

ABU DHABI (AP) — Gulf officials sent conflicting messages about a new diplomatic initiative by Arab countries of the region to help resolve the dispute over Iran’s controversial nuclear programme.