Damascus - Talks to reconcile differences between feuding Palestinian factions could fall apart if Egyptian mediators refuse to consider input from the factions, a source close to the negotiations said Wednesday.

"Egypt told the Palestinian factions that it would not consider the comments and amendments made by the factions on the draft submitted by Cairo," said Khaled Abdel Meguid, secretary of the follow-up committee of a national meeting of Palestinians.

Ramallah - Israeli soldiers shot and killed a 68-year-old Palestinian Wednesday morning in the village of Yamoun, west of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, according to the official Voice of Pa

Tel Aviv/Ramallah - There are not many parts of the world where George W Bush - one of the most unpopular US presidents in history - is as well liked as he was in Israel.

It remains to be seen whether his successor, either Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain, will be able to fill his shoes.

Outgoing Israeli premier Ehud Olmert called Bush "our closest ally and partner" and "a force of inspiration" during a visit in May. President Shimon Peres welcomed him as a "dear" and "Biblical" friend of Israel.

Amman - A regional conference on security cooperation between Mediterranean and European countries opened in Amman Monday with the participation of 56 states.

The two-day meeting entitled "Regional Security: the Mediterranean as a Model" is sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Jordanian foreign ministry.

The meeting is designed to boost cooperation between OSCE and states in the region particularly in the sphere of combatting terrorism.

Manama, Bahrain - A new report about the state of the environment in the Arab world warns of fresh water scarcity, desertification, air quality and marine pollution among the top challenges facing the countries in the region.

The Arab Environment: Future Challenges report, released at the opening of the first Arab Forum for Environmental Development (AFED) in the Bahraini capital Manama on Sunday said that urgent action was needed to prevent such problems from intensifying.

The report, compiled by independent experts, estimated the cost of environmental degradation in the Arab region as a whole at 5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).