* Abbas says the Palestinians are ‘reaching out’ to Israel The new Hamas-Fatah coalition was to set to clear a final formal hurdle Saturday, approval by the parliament.

* Iraq unveils reconstruction plan Iraq’s vice-president has spelled out the details of a five-year reconstruction plan at a key UN conference on the country’s future.

* U.S. Anti-missile Shield in Europe May Cause Arms Race — Russian General U.S. missile defense deployment in Europe could drag Russia into a new arms race.

* US, EU express willingness to deal with new PA coalition The US will maintain an unofficial communication channel with Salam Fayad, expected to be appointed to the position of finance minister in the new Palestinian Authority unity government.

* China, Russia seek to block UN report on Darfur China and Russia joined Arab and Muslim states on Friday in urging the U.N.’s human rights watchdog to ignore a report from a mission to Darfur that blamed Sudan for continuing war crimes against civilians there.

* Israel firm: No dealing with PA gov’t As Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said that the Palestinians’ hand was “extended” towards Israel, government spokeswoman Miri Eisen repeated Israel’s refusal to deal with the PA.

* Bush talks with Saudi, Egyptian leaders on Mideast President George W. Bush thanked Saudi King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for participating in a recent conference on Iraq and discussed Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

* Caution urged on climate ‘risks’ Two leading UK climate researchers say some of their peers are “overplaying” the global warming message and risk confusing the public about the threat.

* Report: Syria spurns Solana’s incentives Syria has spurned EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana’s recent offer of an incentives package designed to sweeten relations between Syria and Europe.

* Worldwide protests mark Iraq war A series of anti-war demonstrations are under way, with protests scheduled in countries including the United States, Canada, Australia and Britain ahead of the fourth anniversary of the US-led war in Iraq.