* Israel rivals vie to head cabinet Leaders of the two main Israeli parties are seeking coalition partners to form a government after neither emerged the clear winner in early elections.

* Netanyahu declares: I will be next PM Likud Party leader Binyamin Netanyahu declared that he would be Israel’s next prime minister and promised to begin collation talks to form a new government.

* New U.S. approach to China not just economic The Obama administration plans to realign the United States’ relationship with China by widening the focus beyond the economic concerns of the Bush years.

* Arabs fear rise of hard-right in Israel Arabs on Wednesday saw little hope for peace from whatever government emerges from Israel’s inconclusive elections.

* German judges express scepticism about EU treaty Several of the eight judges in charge of examining whether the EU’s Lisbon Treaty is compatible with the German constitution have expressed scepticism about the constitutional effects of further EU integration.

* Teheran denies running out of uranium Iran said Wednesday that it was not running out of raw uranium or seeking to buy uranium concentrate from abroad to sustain its ambitious nuclear program.

* NKorea moving missile equipment to site North Korea has been moving missile equipment to a launch pad in a further indication the country is taking steps toward test firing a long-range missile.

* China to build Mecca rail system China has signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia to build a new railway system linking the main sites of the annual Muslim pilgrimage, the Hajj.

* EU crisis summit ‘on March 1’ EU leaders will hold a special summit on the economic crisis in Brussels on March 1.