KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan’s foreign minister on Sunday declined to confirm a report that said the government was in contact with Taliban insurgents to negotiate an end to the conflict.

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki sought safeguards on Sunday for Christians and other minorities who have complained that they have lost guaranteed seats in provincial councils under a new election law.

GAZA (Reuters) – Hamas security forces released 35 members of the rival Fatah movement from prison on Sunday as a goodwill gesture to mark a Muslim holiday and bolster Egyptian reconciliation efforts, a Hamas official said.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Gunmen kidnapped a Polish engineer in Pakistan on Sunday after shooting dead his Pakistani driver, body guard and translator, a senior police official said.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) – Unidentified gunmen shot dead the most senior woman police officer in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, an official said.

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan’s foreign minister on Sunday declined to confirm a report that said the government was in contact with Taliban insurgents to negotiate an end to the conflict.

Hopes of a Mid-East peace deal before the end of the Bush administration appear to have been quietly put aside by certain parties involved in the process.

Today is crunch day for Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko as far as his reputation in the West is concerned. His country is electing a new parliament.

A fire has destroyed the main hall of Egypt’s National Theatre in the centre of the capital, Cairo. More than 20 engines responded to the blaze, which officials said was caused by an electrical fault.

At least 12 people have been killed and dozens more wounded in two car bombings in a western district of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, police have said.