* Abbas: Keep on with talks 'as long as there's a tiny bit of hope' At the opening of Fatah's sixth general assembly Tuesday morning, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said that his people must persist with peace negotiations with Israel.
* EU population to hit 500 million The European Union's population is set to reach the 500 million mark in 2009.
* Zawahri: Israel must be wiped off map Ayman al-Zawahri, Al Qaida's second-in-command, said on Monday that Israel should be wiped off the map.
* Arab leaders, on U.S. visits, put onus on Israel Two visiting Arab leaders sought to ratchet up diplomatic pressure on Israel in Washington.
* US Mideast plan anticipated 'in matter of weeks' Despite recent Arab statements opposing US demands for confidence-building steps towards Israel, the US anticipates it will have the pieces in place to formally re-launch the Arab-Israel peace process.
* Global economy at risk from oil price rise The world economy cannot sustain any further rise in the oil price, the International Energy Agency's chief economist warned as oil prices rose toward a record high for the year.
* New Nato chief pledges to fix relations with EU Nato's new secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen wants to improve the alliance's practical co-operation with the European Union.
* 'Israel soon to be larger than Diaspora' Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu welcomed a planeload of olim on Tuesday at Ben Gurion Airport, telling them "we're close to a tipping point."
* Bill Clinton on N Korea mission Former US President Bill Clinton has arrived in North Korea on a surprise visit to discuss the fate of two jailed US reporters.
* Catholics alarmed by EU equal rights law Atheists could attack galleries for showing religious art and witches could claim the right to use church halls under a draft EU equal rights law.