* Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki arrives in Iran Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki arrived in Iran on Wednesday for talks expected to focus on bilateral relations.

* US raid kills 30 Iraq ‘militants’ US-led forces have killed about 30 militants in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, the US military has said.

* No Iraq-Turkey pact on separatists Turkey has failed to get a formal commitment from Iraq’s prime minister to crack down on Kurdish separatists.

* PM: War with Syria not expected A war is not expected to break out on the Syrian front and no other escalation of any kind is anticipated, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said.

* Dutch far-right MP calls for Koran ban The Dutch government swiftly condemned Wilders’ remarks as damaging for community relations in the Netherlands.

* Georgia calls on EU to condemn Russia over missile strike Accusing Russia of committing an “act of aggression” against Georgia by firing a guided missile into its territory, Tbilisi said the EU should not appease Moscow.

* Lost forest reveals new species An expedition to a remote forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo has uncovered six new animal species.

* Abbas: Hamas action in Gaza destructive Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that Hamas’s takeover of the Gaza Strip was “destructive” to the quest for a Palestinian state.

* China threatens ‘nuclear option’ of dollar sales The Chinese government has begun a concerted campaign of economic threats against the United States.

* More time spent on Web than newspapers: study U.S. consumers this year will spend more of their day surfing the Internet than reading newspapers or going to the movies or listening to recorded music.