RAMALLAH, Oct. 6 – An independent Palestinian academic said Monday that he will stand for presidential elections if they were held in January.Abdel Satar Qassem, politics professor in Nablus’ Al-Najjah University, made the decision as the Hamas-dominated Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), or parliament, refused to extend Abbas’term after it ends …

GAZA, Oct. 6 – Palestinian lawmakers from the Islamic Hamas movement in Gaza decided Monday that the presidential term of President Mahmoud Abbas would legally end on Jan. 8, 2009.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States has asked Japan and NATO allies who have refused to send troops to Afghanistan to pay the estimated $17 billion needed to build up the Afghan army, according to U.S. defense officials.