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Arab League Chief Amr Mussa condemns raid in Syria, calls for probe

Cairo, EgyptCairo - Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa on Monday condemned the US raid in Syria on Sunday, describing it as "a violation of Syrian sovereignty."

Mussa told reporters at the League's headquarters that the US action did not help stability in the already volatile region.

He underlined the Arab League's support for Syria's "right to defend its land and people" and called for an investigation in the incident to "hold those responsible into account."

Peres ready to announce early Israeli elections

Israel FlagJerusalem - Israeli President Shimon Peres completed consultations with parliamentary factions Monday, preparing the ground for early elections in the politically turbulent country before March.

A day after Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni informed him that she was unable to form a government, Peres was expected to announce to Knesset speaker Dalia Itzik Monday afternoon that his consultations had left him with no option but to call for new elections.

Somali ceasefire set to take effect November 5

SomaliNairobi/Djibouti - A ceasefire agreement between the Somali government and parts of the Islamist opposition is set to take effect on November 5, after the warring parties reached an agreement Sunday evening in Djibouti.

Texan space tourist says entrepreneurs should get more ISS access

Moscow - Texan space tourist Richard Gariott said Monday the Russian space agency and NASA should give business entrepreneurs wider access to the International Space Station (ISS).

Silicon Valley millionaire Garriott, who made his fortune designing fantasy computer games, said he fit the profile as he spoke with journalists three days after landing back to earth from his tour of the space station.

"I think NASA and Roscosmos and other partners in the ISS should take broad steps to encourage businessmen, such as myself, to take advantage of the profits to be had in the space sphere - it would be a huge loss not to," Garriott was quoted by news agency Interfax as saying from the cosmonauts training base in Star City outside Moscow.

Merkel to meet Brown as recession fears mount

Merkel urges better crisis management for financial sector Berlin- As fears of recession grow, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to meet this week with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to discuss the financial markets crisis, her spokesman said Monday.

The two are to meet Thursday in London and speak to the media afterwards, spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said. Merkel is also to pay a call at Buckingham Palace to visit Queen Elizabeth II.

Syrian foreign minister in London talks as spokesman condemns raid

London - Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem was holding talks with is British counterpart David Miliband in London Monday, but a planned joint news conference was called off following reports of a US raid into Syrian territory, the Foreign Office said.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said the press conference had been abandoned because both sides had been concerned that it would be dominated by questions about the US raid.

Commentators said it would clearly have been awkward for Miliband, as the representative of the US' principal ally in Iraq, to have appeared alongside al-Muallem at a time when Syria was condemning what it described as an act of "serious aggression" by the US.

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