Jerusalem - Israeli President Shimon Peres gave the green light Monday for the country to hold new elections, telling parliament that consultations he had held with political parties led him to conclude that no legislator had enough backing to form a coalition government.

The president had completed the consultations earlier Monday, a day after Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni informed him that she was unable to form a government to replace that headed by Ehud Olmert, who resigned the premiership on September 21.

London  - Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem Monday accused the US of "criminal and terrorist aggression" by launching a raid on civilians in which seven people, including three children, were killed.

Speaking at a news conference in London, al-Muallem urged the US government and the government of Iraq to investigate the incident and to "report back" to Syria.

The minister said the fact that the raid took place during daylight was proof that it was a "determined" attack.

Stockholm  - Banking shares took a hit Monday on the Stockholm stock exchange as the Swedish central bank said it would offer a 1-billion-kronor (125 million dollars) loan to the Carnegie Investment Bank AB.

The group's shares continued their recent slide, and had plunged some 60 per cent at midday but late-afternoon were down 50 per cent. The Stockholm OMXS index also recovered some ground and was off 3 per cent.

Kabul- US military spokesmen confirmed that Taliban rebels shot down a US helicopter in central Afghanistan Monday, while three US-led soldiers died in suicide and roadside attacks elsewhere in the country, officials said.

The helicopter crew engaged with Taliban fighters on the ground in Wardak province, about 50 kilometres west of Kabul city, US military spokesman Major Johan Redfield told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

He said the chopper was hit by "enemy fire" but none of the 10-member crew was killed.

Hamburg  - The Syrian Arab Republic, a neighbour of both Israel and Iraq, is embroiled in several conflicts. The country has been the target of several military attacks:

October 26, 2008: US soldiers attack a village near the Iraqi border, Syria claims. Nine people are said to have been killed and 14 injured in the commando raid. According to Iraqi sources, the operation was to target suspected terrorists that had previously attacked Iraqi security forces on the border. The US military has not officially confirmed the operation.