Moscow - President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday Russia was ready for better relations with US president-elect Barack Obama, one day after a speech that seemed to be a direct challenge to the next US leader.

The comments came after Medvedev said in his first-state-of-the- nation that he would deploy Iskander missiles in Russia's European enclave of Kaliningrad to "neutralize" US missile shield plans.

Washington - The White House acknowledged Thursday that reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by the end of the year was unlikely because of the political stalemate in Israel that resulted in plans for new elections.

"We do not think that it's likely that it would happen before the end of the year," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

Tehran - Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday, in a rare move, congratulated the US president-elect Barack Obama on his success in the recent US presidential race.

"Mr Barack Obama, the president-elect of the United States of America, I congratulate you for being able to attract the majority of votes in the elections," said Ahmadinejad at the start of the message address to to the next president of the country which happens to be Iran's arch-foe.

Washington - President George W Bush said Thursday he would ensure an orderly transition over the next two months and will welcome president-elect Barack Obama to the White House next week.

Facing the first wartime handover of power since Vietnam, Bush said his staff would immediately begin briefing Obama's advisors on policy decisions.

"We all share a steadfast devotion to the United States," Bush said in a statement at the White House. "All of us must ensure that the next president and his team can hit the ground running."

A research by Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota and the Department of Epidemiology and Cardiovascular Diseases Program, University of North Carolina has revealed that whole grain cereals can ward off heart failure risk. The researchers used data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) for their study. They analyzed the results of baseline exams of more than 14,000 White and African American adults conducted in 1987-89, with follow-up exams completed during 1990-92, 1993-95, and 1996-98. By whole-grain foods the researchers meant oatmeal or grits, whole-grain cold cereal, and whole-grain or dark bread.