Palestinian Fatah has said it was “encouraged” by the meeting between Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and his US counterpart in the White House, while Hamas said the encounter would lead to nothing.
“Palestinians are encouraged by the commitment President Obama and his administration have shown to Middle East peace,” Saeb Erakat, a Fatah member and the Palestinians’ top official said on Friday.

Israel’s air force on Thursday wrapped up a large-scale four-day exercise which simulated its ability to defend against missile and jet strikes from Syria and Iran, a military official said.
The exercise was aimed at testing the air force’s ability to counter rocket and missile attacks from the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria and archfoe Iran, as well as the infiltration of jets overland, the official told AFP.
This is the first time the Israeli army has simulated strikes from the Islamic republic, located more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) away, he said.

Chad has declared victory after several days of fighting in the eastern desert against anti-government forces.
The claim on Saturday came after battles which left scores of people dead and provoked the government to threaten to break off ties with neighbouring Sudan.
Idriss Deby Itno, the Chadian president, renewed his accusations that the Union of Resistance Forces (UFR) is being backed by Sudan, warning that diplomacy between the nations could be cut.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper warned his country will have to react in some way if the rising number of Czech asylum seekers is not curbed.
Harper raised the issue in talks with Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek Wednesday in Prague on the sidelines of an EU-Canada meeting, Prague radio reported.
Harper said the Czech Republic violated conditions under which Canada has issued free entry visas since 2007, Topolanek told reporters in Prague.

Cambodian and Thai officials held talks to prevent fresh fighting on their border Sunday after tensions over disputed land around an ancient temple flared into deadly gunbattles.
A third Thai soldier died in hospital following Friday’s clashes, which rattled relations between the neighbours just days before a regional summit that was supposed to focus on the global economic slowdown.
Military officials from both sides met over lunch in disputed territory near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple on Sunday, while Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen was set to meet Thai officials later in …

North Korea defied the United States, China and a series of United Nations resolutions by launching a rocket on Sunday that the country said was designed to propel a satellite into space, but that much of the world viewed as an effort to prove it is edging toward the capability to shoot a nuclear warhead on a longer-range missile.
North Korea launched the rocket at 11:30 a.m. local time, or 10:30 NYTime said the office of the South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak. Early reports from the Japanese prime minister’s office …

Two rockets fired from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip slammed into open fields in southern Israel overnight, without causing any casualties or damage, the Israeli military said on Saturday.
“The two Qassam-type devices were fired from the northern Gaza Strip and landed in the western Negev,” a military spokeswoman said, referring to the crude, homemade rockets used by Palestinian armed groups.
Gaza militants have fired more than 160 rockets and mortar rounds on Israel since the end of a massive Israeli offensive at the turn of the year aimed at halting the projectiles, …

Japan and South Korea say they will seek high-level action at the United Nations to punish North Korea if it proceeds with its announced long-range rocket launch.
South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan says North Korea will be breaking international law if it launches a long-range rocket – regardless of what is on board.
He says any North Korean launch, whether it is a missile or a satellite, will be brought to the United Nations Security Council for a possible response.
North Korea informed international agencies Thursday of launch coordinates for when Pyongyang …

The United States has lodged a protest with China over an incident Sunday in which the Pentagon says five Chinese vessels harassed an unarmed U.S. Navy research ship in international waters in the South China Sea, and engaged in potentially dangerous maneuvering. Pentagon officials say this is the latest in a series of such incidents in recent days.
A U.S. Navy photo shows that one of the Chinese ships is fairly large and has “China Marine Surveillance” written on its side. The other ships are smaller and also do not …

Binyamin Netanyahu described Iran as the greatest threat that Israel has ever faced and failed to mention stalled talks with the Palestinians after he was asked to be the country’s new Prime Minister today.
In a speech made outside the residence of President Shimon Peres, the Likud leader said that protecting Israel would be his greatest responsibility as leader, and condemned “formidable” challenges posed by the Islamic Republic.
However, he did not once mention the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process or a two-state solution throughout his address, omissions that will cause concern within …