New York  - With major hostilities having ended in Gaza Strip in the past month, the territory is faced with a renewal of fighting because of the lack of a "proper ceasefire," the UN special coordinator for Middle East peace said Wednesday.

Negotiations have been underway under Egyptian mediation for a permanent ceasefire while Israel has declared several unilateral ceasefires.

Geneva - All sides involved in the talks on last summer's Georgia conflict agreed Wednesday in Geneva to set up a telephone hotline and hold weekly meetings on security incidents.

However, other issues at the eight-party talks at the UN's headquarters in the Swiss city, such as joint missions to conflict areas and humanitarian assistance, and even the date for the next round of talks, remain stalled.

Amsterdam  - Dutch legislator Geert Wilders said Wednesday he will appeal the British entry ban imposed against him.

Speaking in the Dutch parliament, the leader of the liberal- rightist Dutch Freedom Party PVV said he would "appeal that cowardly decision, even if it will be a long road."

Last week the British authorities detained Wilders after arriving at Heathrow Airport in London. They subsequently returned him to the Netherlands.

Brussels  - The European Union's top diplomat is set to pay his first visit to Belarus on Thursday in a further sign of the thaw in relations between Brussels and Minsk, EU officials confirmed.

Javier Solana is to hold talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov before meeting opposition figures including former presidential candidate Alexander Milinkevich, a statement from Solana's office said.

Rome  - Lawyer David Mills is sentenced to prison for accepting a bribe offered by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, triggering a political crisis. Right?

Wrong.

Instead, Tuesday's court ruling passed almost unnoticed compared to the storm that has engulfed Italy's main centre-left opposition Democratic party.

Washington - US President Barack Obama has signed off on sending at least 10,000 more troops to Afghanistan and an announcement on the deployment could come later Tuesday, US television reported.

This would be the first deployment of a larger buildup expected to take place in Afghanistan this year to counter a resurgent Taliban and al-Qaeda that has brought about some of the worst violence in years.