Strasbourg, France - Efforts to appoint a new NATO chief appeared doomed Saturday after Turkey refused to soften its opposition to the frontrunner, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussens, Turkish diplomats said.

Turkish officials said "no agreement" had been reached during a meeting in Strasbourg and predicted that talks on the issue would only resume after the summit in France.

US President Barack Obama and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi were among those piling pressure on Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to change their minds.

Brussels/Copenhagen  - Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, 56, has officially thrown his hat into the ring for the position of NATO secretary general, Danish media reported Thursday.

According to the newspaper Politiken, Rasmussen made his announcement at a meeting of NATO ambassadors on the eve of a NATO summit in Germany and France to celebrate the defence alliance's 60th anniversary.

Turkey opposes Rasmussen's candidacy, which means the heads of NATO countries will have to deliberate on the decision during the summit.

Istanbul, Turkey  - European champions Spain pulled off a late 2-1 win away to Turkey on Wednesday, a result keeps intact their 31-game unbeaten run - and leaves them well set up to qualify for South Africa.

Liverpool midfielder Albert Riera hit the winning goal two minutes into injury-time, thus silencing the crowd in Galatasaray's packed Ali Sami Yen stadium.

"That was a really important goal," said Riera, "because it gives us a crucial win."

Ankara - There were no concrete results from a trilateral summit in Ankara Wednesday between the presidents of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey - but the summit was an example of Turkey attempting to play a new role in regional affairs.

Ankara - The presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday recommitted themselves to cooperate on fighting terrorism and drug trafficking.

At a trilateral summit hosted by Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Presidents Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan agreed to step up cooperation and to formalize their meetings.

Ankara  - The presidents of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey met for talks in the Turkish capital Ankara Wednesday, with the topic of security set to top the agenda.

Presidents Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan are expected to commit to sharing of intelligence and further cooperation in dealing with Taliban extremists that freely cross the porous border between the two neighbours.