Amman  - Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad Bolani said Thursday that the security pact being negotiated with the United States was a "purely national issue" and that Baghdad rejected any external interference in its contents.

"The security agreement with the United States is a purely national issue and thus we cannot accept any meddling that injures Iraq's interests," Bolani told reporters before the opening of a meeting that groups Interior Ministers of Iraq and eight neighbouring countries.

"The security agreement is subject only to the vision of the Iraqi government," he added.

Midland  - Dow Chemical Thursday reported profits for the third quarter, but it said rising costs of raw materials and energy had weighed on the company and that it sees a recession on the horizon.

"The global economy is now feeling the full effects of the same economic issues that have plagued the US for the past several quarters," chairman and CEO Andrew N Liveris said in a statement.

"In our view, we will likely see a global recession through most of 2009.

Moscow - Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday accused the EU mission in Georgia of ignoring escalating violence in buffer zones set outside the rebel regions under a ceasefire accord.

"We are concerned by the careless attitude toward what is happening in these zones. This is a dangerous game, they are playing with fire," Lavrov told journalists in Moscow.

Cairo  - Israel's new government will continue negotiations with the Palestinian government and believes that reaching a peace agreement before the end the year is possible, Israeli President Shimon Peres said on Thursday.

"We hope to see an independent Palestinian state to live side by side with Israel in peace and security," said Peres in a press conference during an Israeli-Egyptian summit in the Egyptian Red Sea city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Peres said the chances of reaching a peace agreement with the Palestinian government were high, without giving specifics.

Bharatpur (Rajasthan), Oct. 23 : At least 22 persons including 12 children died and 35 injured in a tragic explosion that ripped through an illegal fireworks factory at Deeg in Bharatpur region of Rajasthan today.

The explosion took place in a house of a firecracker maker in the Deeg town. The blast caused a major fire, which engulfed a few houses in the neighborhood.

Meanwhile, 10 people allegedly involved in illegal manufacturing of firecrackers were arrested after the explosion at Deeg. The explosion affected six other houses which collapsed due to the impact of blast.

Jaipur, Oct. 23 : There has been a low turn out of visitors to the Jaipur city this time round. And, one of the most affected have been the jumbos whose owners are finding it tough to care for them in this difficult time.

One month into the tourist season has passed but one can find many jumbos standing idle in queue at Hathi stand in Amer village of Jaipur to carry them to historical Amer Fort. The village has about 100 elephants.

It takes about a thousand rupees a day to feed an animal whereas the daily earnings around rupees 300-400.