Krakow, Poland  - The United States Thursday greeted Germany's pledge to expand its NATO military commitment in Afghanistan, saying it will help secure the country in the lead-up to presidential elections later this year.

Geoff Morrell, press secretary of the Pentagon, said he hoped Germany would serve as an example to other countries to motivate more troop commitments before elections in August.

Morrell was at the NATO alliance meeting in Krakow.

Amman  - The Jordanian Interior Ministry on Thursday announced new facilities for Iraqis, particularly businessmen, wishing to visit or stay in Jordan.

The rules, which go into effect as of Sunday, provides for the establishment of a "special counter" on the border post for granting Iraqi businessmen, investors and officials entry visas without prior agreement from the interior minister as it was the case before, according to a ministry statement.

Munich  - Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is heading for Iran and is scheduled to meet with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a German newpaper was set to report Friday.

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung said Schroeder's Berlin office had confirmed he was on the trip, which would last four days.

During the private visit, he would also meet with Ali Larijani, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, and a former president, Hashemi Rafsanjani, who now chairs the Experts Assembly, the country's highest clerical body.

The whole of Canada seems to be gearing up with great zeal for Obama's visit to Ottawa. People are driving for hours through the cold and snow to get a glimpse of Obama when he lands at Ottawa and give him a grand Canadian welcome.

Obama T-shirts, Obama specialty coffee beans and Obama burgers are flying off the shelves in the wake of arrival of the U. S. President. The police raised barricades yesterday even as the well wishers planned rallies to greet the president.

New York - East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta called on the UN Security Council on Thursday to continue its assistance to the tiny island nation in the Pacific, a call supported by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

A UN mission comprised of nearly 3,000 police and civilian personnel has been providing security to the country and training to local forces. The UN was first involved 10 years ago in helping East Timor to gain independence from Indonesia and in organizing elections to establish the current government.

Geneva  - During dispute settlements sessions at the World Trade Organization on Thursday, the United States and European Union continued to argue over tariffs on banana imports and bans on genetically modified foods.

The US alleged that the EU was failing to comply with a judicial body decision on bio-tech products, saying that nine member states had bans in place on the goods which were "not based on risk assessment," meaning they were not proven to have negative health consequences or similar concerns.