OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Reuters) — Israel on Sunday took its first steps towards forming a new government expected to be led by interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who wants to set the country’s final borders with or without Palestinian agreement.

Russian president Vladimir Putin and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Asad have signed a joint declaration on the further development of friendship and cooperation between the two countries. The declaration signed on Tuesday during Asad’s visit to Moscow said that “the world order

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the United States of blocking Russia’s entry into the World Trade Organization. At a meeting with Russian businessmen on Wednesday he said progress in the Russian-US talks on WTO entry was being artificially delayed, Mayak radio station reported.

Gazprom offered Belarus’ national Beltransgaz to buy Russian gas at European prices starting in 2007, Gazprom’s press service reported quoting a statement made by Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller at his meeting with Belarusian Energy Minister Alexander Ageyev and Beltransgaz General Director Dmitry Kazakov.

Disagreements between the United States and Russia over Russia’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) will be settled within the next month or month and a half, Russian Economy Minister German Gref said. Negotiations are not simple but “we will make progress and reach an agreement within 1-1.5 months,” …

The amount of mortgages issued under housing programs in Russia would rise to between RUR 108 billion and RUR 110 billion by the end of this year, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said at a conference on the involvement of Russian credit organizations in the implementation of national project.

Brushing aside Western threats to refer Tehran to the UN Security Council over its nuclear activities, the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed that his country would soon master nuclear technology in the new Iranian year, which starts on Monday AFP reported Sunday.

ERBIL (Reuters) — A Kurdish writer was sentenced to 1-1/2 years in prison on Sunday for defaming Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, in a case that has raised questions about the freedom of the press in postwar Iraq.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — One thing seems certain after Israel holds an election on Tuesday — no matter who wins, peacemaking with the Palestinians will remain on hold.

KHARTOUM — Arab foreign ministers on Sunday renewed a previous commitment to provide the Palestinian Authority with $50 a month to cover for a budget deficit when Hamas takes office.