Ramallah  - European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana discussed the peace process in Ramallah Friday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Solana arrived in Ramallah coming from Israel, where he met Foreign Minister Tsibi Livni.

In Ramallah, Abbas told Solana that he is working to reach a final peace agreement on all the core issues. He said he would never accept a partial agreement, or postpone any of the core issues or a declaration of principle, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told reporters after the meeting.

Washington  - The United States has admitted more than 12,000 Iraqi refugees in the last eleven months, surpassing a goal set following criticism it responded too slowly to resettle Iraqis who fled the violence.

The US State Department said Friday that 12,118 Iraqis have been admitted to the United States since October, and hundreds more have received special immigrant visas.

Iraqis began fleeing by the thousands in 2006 and 2007 as sectarian and terrorist violence in the country peaked. Most of them headed to Syria.

Washington  - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama's campaign on Friday kicked off a new phase in its battle for the White House, declaring it would be more aggressive in combatting "lies" from opponents and strengthening the message that Obama is the candidate who can bring about "real change" in Washington.

New York  - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on Bolivian parties on Friday to seek a political settlement to their conflict, which has caused deaths and damage to the country's economic infrastructure.

Washington, Sept 12: As the US death toll in Afghanistan has reportedly reached an all-time high, around 113 this year alone, the American intelligence agency CIA has reportedly launched a major blitz into Pakistan against top Al Qaeda and Taliban targets, apparently with due authority from US President George Bush.

Besides the 113 American soldiers, 101 other foreign troops have died during this year.

According to the Daily News, the CIA had rarely hit targets in Pakistan because they sparked anti-American outrage that threatened former Pakistan president and US ally Pervez Musharraf’s fragile hold on power.

Islamabad, Sept: Rebutting media reports that the British government had declared Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman as persona non-grata (an unwelcome person), the British High Commission has said that the Maulana still held a valid visit visa to the UK.

“The British government has not excluded Maulana Fazlur Rehman, nor does it have any plans to do so. Indeed Maulana currently holds a valid visit visa to the UK,” the Daily Times quoted a statement issued by the British High Commission as saying.