Pakistani opposition parties tried to forge a united front on Wednesday against military president Pervez Musharraf, who insisted his state of emergency was vital for fair elections.

Baghdad, the epicenter of Iraq’s sectarian bloodshed, is starting to rebuild its shattered infrastructure, but political feuds and the threat of renewed attacks could reverse progress, officials said on Wednesday.

Sectarian strife remains a great threat despite improving security, Iraqi leaders said at a conference on Wednesday, hours after a powerful roadside bomb exploded not far from where they met in central Baghdad.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Wednesday talks on Palestinian statehood must be predicated on the recognition of Israel as “the state of the Jewish people”, a new Israeli condition.

Russia’s main pro-Kremlin party suffered a drop in support in an opinion poll issued on Wednesday, but still seemed set to dominate a December parliamentary election widely seen as a referendum on the rule of President Vladimir Putin.

The European Union called on Pakistan’s military ruler again on Wednesday to end the state of emergency and set a firm date for elections, but said now was not the time to cut aid to the country.

Iraq’s cabinet has submitted to parliament a draft bill that would ease curbs on former members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath party joining the civil service and military, the government said on Wednesday.

In a hotel room in southern Russia, Lydia and Pavel Izvozchikov are praying their son will be found alive somewhere in the shallow waters at the mouth of the Black Sea.

Wearing blue camouflage fatigues and crooning about Islamic holy war, the five members of Hamas’s Protectors of the Homeland police band are trying to boost morale in Gaza with an arsenal of anti-Israel numbers.

Turkey’s prime minister denied on Wednesday carrying out aerial strikes this week against Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq, but the government reaffirmed its readiness for a cross-border operation if deemed necessary.