* African troops – ‘fig-leaf’ for Somalia? An African Union summit has opened in Libya amid calls for more African troops to be sent to deal with the crisis in Somalia.

* Israel attempts to stop S-300 air defense supplies to Iran Israel has intensified its efforts to prevent deliveries of Russian S-300 air defense systems to Iran under a 2007 contract.

* Institutional problems loom large for Swedish presidency Sweden takes over at the helm of the EU on Wednesday (1 July) for a six-month presidency.

* US slaps sanctions on Iran firm The US has imposed sanctions on an Iranian firm accused of helping North Korea with its nuclear program.

* Hamas: Fear of Jihad Led US Voters to Arab-Friendly Obama In a public address delivered on Al-Aqsa TV by Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, the Damascus-based terror boss informed Arab viewers that U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama came to power in the United States due to Islamic jihad in the Middle East.

* Paleontologists brought to tears, laughter by Creation Museum For a group of paleontologists, a tour of the Creation Museum seemed like a great tongue-in-cheek way to cap off a serious conference.

* Palestinian minister for Jerusalem affairs resigns Hatem Abdel-Qader, Palestinian Authority minister for Jerusalem affairs, resigned his post on Tuesday.

* Czech presidency limps off EU stage The Czech republic in the past six months helped to end a severe EU gas crisis and to ease Ireland’s Lisbon treaty problem.

* Iran leader cancels Africa visit Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has cancelled his trip to an African Union summit in Libya.

* Iraq stands firm, rejects foreign oil deals Iraq on Wednesday said it has rejected further offers from foreign companies to work in the country’s oil and gas sector.