* Olmert says peace accord with Palestinians unlikely in 2008 Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday he did not believe Israel and the Palestinian Authority would be able to achieve their stated goal of forging a peace deal by the end of the year.

* US talks to Iran to legitimize attack Recent talks the United States held with Iran are aimed at creating legitimacy for a potential attack against Iranian nuclear facilities, defense officials speculated.

* Russia to propose pan-European security pact Individual European countries should sign up to a legally-binding security pact that includes Russia in a new structure over-arching the EU and NATO.

* What Do High Oil Prices Mean for Iraq’s Future? There are very few silver linings to current record-high oil prices — but a more stable future for embattled Iraq may be one of them.

* Syrian US ambassador: Let’s make peace “Here’s the grand thing on offer: Let us sit together, let us make peace, let us end once and for all the state of war,” said the Syrian Ambassador.

* Deal still elusive at trade talks Rich and poor countries are still struggling to reach a compromise as protracted talks on a global trade pact enter a second week.

* Turkey Blames Kurdish Rebels For Istanbul Blasts That Killed 17 Istanbul’s governor said Monday that two bomb blasts which killed 17 people and injured 150 others.

* Ireland strongly opposed to Lisbon revote Almost three quarters of Irish voters are opposed to the idea of a second vote on the EU’s Lisbon treaty.

* Turkish court deciding AKP’s fate Turkey’s Constitutional Court is meeting to consider if the governing AK Party should be banned for alleged anti-secular activities.

* Gaza poverty at unprecedented high The number of households in the Gaza Strip below the poverty line has reached an unprecedented high of nearly 52 percent.