* U.S. Officials Voice Frustrations With Saudis’ Role in Iraq During a high-level meeting in Riyadh in January, Saudi officials confronted a top American envoy with documents that seemed to suggest that Iraq’s prime minister could not be trusted.
* Volatility sweeps global markets European shares wobbled on Friday after earlier sharp falls in world stock markets, prompted by worries over higher interest rate levels.
* Kosovo independence is threat to Europe peace: Putin Peace in Europe can only be built by respecting Serbia's territorial integrity, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
* Israel urges 'damaging' Iran sanctions Concerned that the international community is "losing momentum" in its bid to use sanctions to deter Iran's nuclear drive, Israel is now energetically lobbying for the imposition of a new batch of stiffer sanctions.
* Thousands more rifles reach Palestinian Authority Three Jordanian trucks loaded with Kalashnikov rifles arrived Friday afternoon at the Muqataa compound in Ramallah.
* Report warns against too many 'Net rules Kazakhstan and Georgia are among countries imposing excessive restrictions on how people use the Internet.
* Report: 'Armed struggle' excluded from PA government platform for first time The Palestinian Authority government published its platform on Friday, which for the first time does not include a reference to armed struggle against Israel.
* Lebanese troops fight Islamists 'at close quarters' The Lebanese army claimed a significant advance Friday in its bid to rout Fatah Al Islam extremists from a Palestinian refugee camp.
* Security fallout worsens for Fatah It is now six weeks since Hamas security forces overran their Fatah counterparts to seize control of the Gaza Strip.
* Unseemly scramble for Libyan oil France has beaten potential competitors to the punch in the race to secure lucrative Libyan carbon and nuclear contracts.