Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that US president-elect Barack Obama should change the American approach towards nations in general and Iran in particular.

"The (Obama slogan of) change should not just be superficial. What is important is change in approach towards nations," Ahmadinejad said in a speech in Sari, northern Iran, carried by the Khabar news network.

Ahmadinejad was the first Iranian president since the 1979 Islamic revolution to send a congratulation message to his American counterpart on his success in the presidential race.

Dublin - Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin on Wednesday described visiting Czech President Vaclav Klaus' meeting with the leader of the Eurosceptic group that campaigned successfully against the Lisbon Treaty in June as "an inappropriate intervention."

Speaking on Irish state RTE Radio, Martin said that while Klaus had the right to include private elements to his state visit, his appearance before reporters with Declan Ganley of the Libertas group Tuesday evening meant that a private dinner "turned out to be much more political."

Chicago/New Delhi, Nov. 12: The strategic relationship between India and the United States, which was put in place through the US-India civil nuclear cooperation agreement is likely to be enhanced further during the Obama regime.

This is the indication given by US President-elect Barack Obama during a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday morning, when he described the bilateral strategic relationship is a "very important partnership".

Brussels - When the leaders of Russia and the European Union meet in the French resort of Nice on Friday, they are more likely to talk about the current financial crisis than the crisis in their own relationship sparked by Russia's war with Georgia, diplomats say.

"It's fair to guess that Georgia won't be the focus of the French presidency at the summit. They will definitely cover it, but it won't be the number one issue," an EU diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.