Tehran - Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday, in a rare move, congratulated the US president-elect Barack Obama on his success in the recent US presidential race.

"Mr Barack Obama, the president-elect of the United States of America, I congratulate you for being able to attract the majority of votes in the elections," said Ahmadinejad at the start of the message address to to the next president of the country which happens to be Iran's arch-foe.

Wiesbaden, Germany - Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing conservatives in the German state of Hesse called Thursday for fresh elections, three days after the failure of a bid to topple them.

The state's Christian Democrat (CDU) leadership said it would present a resolution at the next sitting of the regional legislature, calling for the dissolution of the assembly and new elections on January 18.

Taipei - A visit by China's highest-ranking official to Taiwan since 1949 continued to draw protests Thursday from Taiwanese concerned that his visit could lead to eventual Chinese control of Taiwan.

Thursday's event - a five-minute meeting at the Taipei Guest House between Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou and Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin - was held as thousands of Taiwanese outside shouted "Taiwan is Taiwan, China is China," and "No selling out of Taiwan."

Dhaka - Bangladesh has resolved to protect its sovereign territorial waters in the Bay of Bengal where it claims Myanmar authorities allegedly intruded for oil and gas exploration, officials said Thursday.

A high-level meeting of government and military officials in Dhaka reviewed the situation in the Bay of Bengal over Myanmar's presence in the disputed waters.

London - Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been charged with improper conduct by the Football Association (FA) regarding his conduct towards a referee in a recent Premier League match.

Ferguson marched on to the field at Old Trafford at the end of the recent 4-3 win over Hull City to confront Mike Dean about some of his decisions.

Washington - President George W Bush said Thursday he would ensure an orderly transition over the next two months and will welcome president-elect Barack Obama to the White House next week.

Facing the first wartime handover of power since Vietnam, Bush said his staff would immediately begin briefing Obama's advisors on policy decisions.

"We all share a steadfast devotion to the United States," Bush said in a statement at the White House. "All of us must ensure that the next president and his team can hit the ground running."