Islamabad  - Pakistan said on Wednesday it favoured dialogue to deal with the problem of rising Islamic militancy, but warned that no one would be allowed to use its soil to attack a foreign country.

"The dialogue is our first priority. We will rehabilitate and bring into mainstream all those people who are ready to lay down weapons," said Information Minister Sheri Rehman after a meeting of the country's ruling coalition and the military leadership.

Warsaw  - Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski met with US Assistant Secretary of State Stephen Mull Wednesday in the latest round of talks on Polish demands in exchange for a proposed American missile defence system based eastern Europe.

Their meeting came after a day of talks among four teams of experts, said US Embassy spokesman Andrew Schilling. For the past two months the teams have been analyzing the military threat to Poland, strategic options for defence, defence technology and financing.

Buenos Aires  - Just days after the government of Argentine President Cristina Kirchner gave in to a massive and extended farmers' strike, her cabinet chief Wednesday submitted his resignation.

Alberto Fernandez, one of the country's most influential politicians who was appointed by Kirchner's predecessor and husband, Nestor Kirchner, in 2003, cited "exhaustion" and "loss of authority" as reasons for his departure, national media reported on Wednesday.

No mention was made of his successor.

New York - The UN Security Council gave Wednesday a new mandate to its political mission in Nepal as the Himalayan nation has just completed a democratic transition with the swearing in of a new president.

The renewal of the mission's mandate was at the request of the new civilian government in Kathmandu, which had put an end to its 239- year-old monarchy. The mission will remain in Katmandu to assist the government until January 23, 2009.

Tel Aviv - US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama arrived late Tuesday in Israel after earlier meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II in Amman.

The senator is to meet Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Singapore - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and five other foreign ministers were set to meet in Singapore for the first time on Wednesday in an unofficial gathering focusing on North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.

The talks are focused on setting up a mechanism to verify North Korea's nuclear declaration turned over last month.

Officials, including Rice who will be meeting North Korea's foreign minister for the first time, have played down any chance of a breakthrough.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said he hoped the meeting would be very good "for advancing the agenda" and pushing forward progress in the six-party talks.