* Hamas leader: Israeli settlement freeze essential The top leader of the terrorist Hamas group said Tuesday that President Barack Obama’s pressure on Israel to freeze construction in West Bank settlements was an essential step toward restarting peace efforts.

* Iran row fires campaign’s end Final campaigning for Iran’s presidential poll has been overshadowed by a row over accusations made by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

* Mitchell pushes for prompt peace talks US Mideast envoy George Mitchell said the United States seeks a “prompt resumption and early conclusion” of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

* Turkey nervous after EU election results Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on the EU to stick to its commitments on Ankara’s EU accession.

* ‘IDF must respond to Gaza aggression’ With the US breathing heavily down Israel’s neck to ease up on the blockade of the Gaza Strip, the security cabinet convened Wednesday and discussed ways to allow more goods and material into the area.

* Hummingbirds ‘faster than jets’ Male hummingbirds, swooping in an effort to impress females, achieve speeds “faster than fighter jets”, according to a study.

* Barak: Next War will be Tougher than Cast Lead Future IDF operations “on a general scale” will not look like Operation Cast Lead and will be “wider and more intensive”.

* Putin: Russia might abandon nukes if others do Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia is willing to abandon nuclear weapons, if the United States and all other countries that have them do the same.

* Analysis: What is the US policy on Israeli settlements? In his June 4 Cairo speech, President Barack Obama continued to focus US policy on Israel’s construction practices in the West Bank.

* N Korea draft resolution agreed Key Security Council members have agreed on the wording of a draft UN resolution to expand sanctions against North Korea.