Beirut - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived Thursday in Beirut for talks with Lebanese officials on issues related to the situation in the region and Palestinians living in Lebanon.

Beirut - At least one person was wounded Wednesday in clashes that erupted between rival Palestinians inside a refugee camp in southern Lebanon, Palestinian sources said.

The clashes erupted between the mainstream Fatah faction and extremists from Jund al-Sham in the camp at Ain el-Hilweh, east of the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, the sources said.

The fighting started after a personal quarrele broke into clashes with machineguns, wounding at least one person, the sources said.

The clashes caused panic inside the camp which is the residence of some 70,000 Palestinian refugees.

There are some 367,000 Palestinian refugees living in 12 camps around Lebanon.

Brussels - The European Union is helping the Palestinian Authority pay for public sector wages and pensions by providing it with an extra 40 million euros (60 million dollars) in aid, officials in Brussels said Wednesday.

The money, which was requested by the cash-strapped office ran by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, comes on top of 440 million euros in aid pledged by the bloc at a donors conference in Paris in December.

"Today we are strengthening our commitment by adding 40 million to help the Palestinian Authority overcome the financial difficulties it is facing," said EU external affairs commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

Jerusalem - A Palestinian who was shot in the foot from close range during a protest in the West Bank last month, petitioned Israel's highest court Tuesday to demand the Israeli soldier who fired and his commander be charged with aggravated abuse.

The Palestinian, Ashraf Abu Rahmeh, 27, participated in a July 7 demonstration in the West Bank village of Nil'in, north-west of Jerusalem, against construction in the area of Israel's controversial security barrier.