* Syria: Annapolis conference a defeat for the Palestinians A Syrian state-run newspaper on Saturday described this week’s US-sponsored Mideast peace conference as a “defeat” for the Palestinians and for peace in the region.

* Turkish army fires on PKK in Iraq The Turkish army says it has inflicted “heavy losses” on rebels from the Kurdish separatist PKK movement across the border in Iraq.

* Abbas: Summit follow-up talks to take place in Moscow and Paris Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that there will be meetings in Moscow and Paris.

* Russians reflect ahead of polls Russia is observing what officials are calling a day of silence before people vote for a new parliament in Sunday’s general election.

* EU agrees Galileo satellite project The 27-nation European Union has agreed how the Galileo satellite project, worth €3.4 billion, will be shared out among member states.

* Global effort on World Aids Day Events are being held to mark the 20th World Aids Day, many highlighting the need to fight continued prejudices against people with HIV-Aids.

* Iran: Sanctions won’t stop atomic work The European Union said it was disappointed after talks with Iran Friday.

* Unity Within Likud as it Continues to Top Polls Likud Party leader Binyamin Netanyahu, who heads the opposition in the Knesset, met on Thursday with his party’s #2, Silvan Shalom.

* A year on, ‘tent city’ paralyzes Beirut The tents in downtown Beirut stand almost empty, their roofs newly reinforced with plastic covers for winter after the old ones fell apart.

* US withdraws UN resolution on Annapolis In a sudden about face, the United States on Friday withdrew a UN resolution endorsing this week’s agreement by Israeli and Palestinian leaders.