* Blair: I won’t give up on Mideast peace Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair said that he knew a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be extremely difficult.

* France: Iran’s claim of new centrifuges ‘worrying’ A day after US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton downplayed Iran’s claim that it had developed new uranium enrichment technology.

* Expert’s Report: Israel Cannot Leave Golan While Syria continues to condition indirect talks with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government on Israel’s consent to quit the entire Golan Heights, a new report by a respected IDF general shows that Israel cannot afford to do so.

* Christians mark Good Friday in Jerusalem Thousands of Christian clergymen, worshippers and pilgrims thronged the alleyways of Jerusalem’s Old City, chanting hymns and bearing crosses as they marked Good Friday by retracing Jesus’ final footsteps.

* PA Trying to Scuttle Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit in Canada The Palestinian Authority is objecting to a planned exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls in Canada.

* Russia Offer Abbas Helicopters, Rifles for Emerging PA Army Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has promised visiting Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas 5,000 sub-machine guns, 300 machine guns and 1,000 handguns.

* Could Iran Have Nukes in 60 Days? Call it the Iranian tango. For the United States, engaging Iran in politics is akin to executing a political tango.

* Iraqi PM talks business with Russian leaders Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met with Russia’s leaders on Friday to discuss Russia’s push for a bigger role in Iraq’s oil and gas industry.

* Mass funeral for Italy quake dead Thousands of people have attended a state funeral for 205 people who died in the Abruzzo earthquake, as Italy holds a day of mourning.

* Russia: Deal signed for Israeli drones Russia announced Friday that it had signed a contract to buy Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from Israel.