The State Department says U.S. and Iranian officials will meet next week in Baghdad to discuss Iraq security issues. U.S. officials say attacks in Iraq thought to be Iranian-supported have declined in recent weeks.

Ramallah – Ma’an – Khalid Mash’al, head of the Hamas politburo, has said that Hamas is ready to form a central government in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as a gesture to resume negotiations between Hamas and Fatah.

KIEV (Reuters) – Yulia Tymoshenko, a leading force in Ukraine’s 2004 “Orange Revolution”, narrowly failed to win parliament’s backing to restore her as prime minister on Tuesday and accused her rivals of cheating.