* Musharraf foes triumph at polls The main party backing President Pervez Musharraf has admitted defeat in Pakistan’s elections.

* Fayad says talks moving along too slowly for 2008 deadline Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians are making little progress.

* Fidel Castro announces retirement Cuba’s ailing leader Fidel Castro has said he will not accept another term as president, ending 49 years in power.

* Livni: I think of Temple Mount prayers during negotiations “The tears of the paratroopers at the Western Wall and the Temple Mount prayers accompany me in the negotiations room,” Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said.

* Russia warns US over Kosovo move Russia has warned the US that Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia endangers international stability.

* EU fudges Kosovo independence recognition EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday (18 February) adopted a common text in reaction to Kosovo’s proclamation of independence.

* Admiral: Al Qaeda in Iraq ‘killing off’ former allies Video provided to CNN shows an al Qaeda in Iraq firing squad executing one-time allies — fellow Sunni extremists — who were not loyal enough to the terror organization.

* Saboteurs may have cut Mideast telecom cables: UN agency Damage to several undersea telecom cables that caused outages across the Middle East and Asia could have been an act of sabotage.

* PM Olmert, PA’s Abbas Meeting in Jerusalem Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the leader of the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria, Mahmoud Abbas, are to meet Tuesday evening.

* Israel: UN official’s remarks encourage terrorism Israel accused UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes on Monday of encouraging terrorism.