* Iraq remains ‘locked in conflict’ The US defence department says the fundamental character of the conflict in Iraq remains unchanged, despite dramatic security improvements there.

* Khamenei: Iran will never abandon Hamas, its holy warrior Haniyeh Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday said his country will stand beside Gaza’s Hamas rulers and that Israel is weakening and on the path to eventual destruction.

* US must take responsibility for global crisis, Brussels says The European Commission has expressed impatience with Washington over the defeat of a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street.

* EU monitors begin Georgia patrols The first European Union observers have entered the buffer zone around South Ossetia, as they begin monitoring a ceasefire between Georgia and Russia.

* Vladimir Putin lashes US for economic failures The Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin lashed out at the United States today for what he said was its inability to deal with the financial crisis affecting the global economy.

* ‘Israel not interested in real peace’ Israel is uninterested in attaining real peace, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem told London-based newspaper Asharq al-Awasat.

* US Africom ‘has no hidden agenda’ The head of the new US military command for Africa (Africom) has told the BBC it has “no hidden agenda”.

* Hizbullah orders members out of Syria Hizbullah has ordered its members to refrain from visiting Syria until further notice, a website belonging to the Lebanese opposition wrote on Wednesday.

* Four Russian warships to stop in Libya The four warships that Russia is sending to Venezuela in its first deployment of military power to the Western Hemisphere since the Cold War also will visit Libya and several other Mediterranean countries.

* Pentagon to sell fighter jets to Israel The US Defense Department has approved the sale of 25 F-35 stealth-enabled Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) to the Israeli Air Force (IAF).