* ‘US seeks to drown Mideast in wars’ Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah criticized a US plan on Friday to increase military assistance to Arab countries.

* Turkish parliament being sworn in Turkey is swearing in a new parliament with attention focusing on 20 pro-Kurdish deputies, represented for the first time since 1991.

* Olmert to meet with Abbas in Jericho Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in the quiet West Bank town of Jericho on Sunday.

* Lebanon braces for key elections Lebanon is stepping up security ahead of two by-elections, one a key test of support among the deeply divided Christian community.

* Ahmadinejad accuses US of seeking ME dominance Iran’s president criticized the US on Friday for its plan to increase weapons sales to several Arab countries and step up military aid to Israel.

* Miles below the North Pole, Russian mini-subs lay claim to Arctic wealth Russia symbolically staked its claim to billions of dollars worth of oil and gas reserves in the Arctic Ocean yesterday.

* Arafat aide calls on Chirac to reveal truth about Arafat’s death Former French President Jacques Chirac knows what killed Yasser Arafat and should make it public, an ex-Arafat aide said.

* New olim: We’ll accept Israel as it is Last week they landed in Israel on two large El-Al planes which carried them to the Holy Land.

* Russia confirms Hamas officials invited to Moscow for talks Russian Foreign Minsiter Sergei Lavrov said his country is holding talks with Hamas in order find solutions for the conflict in the Middle East.

* Lift off for Nasa’s Mars probe Nasa has launched a spacecraft on a nine-month journey to Mars, where it will dig below the surface for clues to the existence of past or present life.