Paris  - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday in Paris that he hoped the upcoming Israeli elections did not mean the Middle East peace process would have to start again from square one.

"We will work together with anyone the Israeli people elect, as long as we don't have to start at the beginning again," Abbas said one week before Israeli general elections are to be held.

Jaipur, Feb. 3 : Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday accused the neighbouring country (Pakistan) of spreading terror in the country but emphasized that Indians were strong enough to fight the menace.

While addressing a thanks-giving rally in Jaipur, the state capital of Rajasthan, where Congress returned to power during Assembly elections after trouncing Bharatiya Janata party, Sonia Gandhi said that people of India would never allow its enemies to succeed in their endeavor of spreading terror.

Colombo, Feb. 3, : Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan on Tuesday equaled the world record held for long by Pakistani cricketer Wasim Akram for most One Day International wickets at Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Murali took the crucial wicket of Yuvraj Singh to equal the world record.

Right handed off spinner Muralitharan needed just two wickets to surpass the Akram''s tally of 502 wickets in today's match. But he could only take one wicket in his spell of
10 overs.

He is already carrying the world record for most wickets in the long form of cricket also.

Monrovia - Mystery on Tuesday surrounded the swarm of caterpillars in Liberia which have devastated crops and prompted an official state of emergency, after officials admitted they could not identify them.

"They are not army worms, though we haven't determined what they are," Agriculture Minister Chris Toe told a news conference in the West African state's capital on Monday.

The head of the team set up by the government to investigate and contain spread of the pests, Dr J Qwelibo Subah, confirmed they are yet to identify the species.

Athens - Greek riot police fired tear gas and clashed with protesting farmers at the port of Piraeus for a second day Tuesday after farmers attempted to break through a police barricade.

More than 2,000 farmers from the Greek Mediterranean island of Crete remained camped out at Piraeus, the main port on the mainland, throughout Tuesday.

Hundreds more had joined them after arriving on passenger ferries early Tuesday to protest low commodity prices and demand fresh subsidies.

Harare - Four days after Zimbabwe's opposition gave in to pressure to join President Robert Mugabe in a unity government, the deal looked to be in jeopardy again Tuesday as Morgan Tsvangirai's party accused Mugabe's Zanu-PF of shirking its commitments.

Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) spokesman Nelson Chamisa accused Zanu-PF of backtracking on a commitment to resolve outstanding sticking points before the new government is formed.