* Ahmadinejad vows to toughen stance toward West Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed on Saturday to toughen Iran’s stance toward the West during his new term in office, the official news agency IRNA reported.

* N. Korea: We’ll intercept Japanese jets North Korea threatened Saturday to shoot down any Japanese planes that enter its airspace, accusing Tokyo of spying near one of its missile launch sites.

* Blair sees Middle East deal if Israel acts Quartet envoy says deal on a two-state solution could be within reach if Jerusalem compromises on issues such as halting settlement expansion.

* Syria threatens to take back Golan by force Syrian officials threatened on Saturday to take back the Golan Heights by force if a peace agreement involving the return of the strategic plateau is not reached with Israel, Army Radio reported.

* Turkey to ‘never give up’ EU bid Turkey has urged France and Germany to back its bid to join the EU, rejecting calls for a special partnership rather than full membership.

* Hariri named as Lebanon’s new PM Lebanon’s President Michel Suleiman has named Saad Hariri as the country’s new prime minister, following parliamentary election earlier this month.

* Iran’s security council tells Moussavi to back off Members of Iran’s influential National Security Council have told opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi that his repeated demands for the annulment of the June 12 election results are “illogical and unethical,” state media reported.

* Iraqi PM Calls for National Unity Following Deadly Bombings Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has called for national unity, following a spate of deadly bombings just days before U.S. forces are set to withdraw from Iraqi cities.

* Medvedev says first African tour came just in time Russian President Dmitry Medvedev returned from his trip to Africa on Saturday, declaring that such a visit should have been made sooner but it was not too late for Russia to play a role on the continent.

* European leaders mark Iron Curtain fall in Hungary European leaders marked the 20th anniversary of the symbolic fall of the Iron Curtain, often described as the first crack in the Berlin Wall and one of the key episodes leading to the end of communism in Eastern Europe, in Budapest on Saturday.