* Fatah and Hamas ‘restore trust’ Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah have held two days of talks in the Senegalese capital Dakar.

* Khamenei criticises US role in Iraq Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, has advised Iraq’s visiting prime minister against signing an agreement with the US keeping foreign troops in the country beyond 2008.

* EU holds breath ahead of Irish treaty referendum All eyes are on Ireland this week as the European Union awaits the result of the country’s EU treaty referendum on Thursday with a mixture of relief that the day has finally come around and fear that it may bring a “no” vote.

* Israel tries to play down minister’s warning of attack on Iran Israel yesterday attempted to play down a warning from a senior government minister that an attack on Iran was “unavoidable” if Tehran continued to develop nuclear weapons.

* Qureia: Latrun also up for negotiation Top Palestinian envoy tells Palestinian reporters Israel has offered East Jerusalem, Jordan River Valley, Dead Sea as part of land-swap offer.

* Time overdue for a world currency The world economy is suffering from high inflation, stemming from overly expansionary monetary policy in the United States, as indicated by negative real interest rates and the rapidly depreciating dollar.

* Israeli officials: Israel-Syria talks set to resume this week Indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria are scheduled to resume this week in Turkey, Israeli officials said on Monday.

* Arab countries complicate Med Union plan A number of Arab countries are worried that if they join the EU’s planned Mediterranean Union together with Israel, it would imply a normalisation of bilateral relations, with the Algerian foreign minister stressing that an overall vision for the project still has to be agreed.

* Pressure from oil prices spreads Rising oil prices are beginning to cut into the profits of a wide range of businesses, pushing many to raise prices and maneuver aggressively to offset the rising cost of merchandise made from petroleum.

* President George Bush begins farewell tour of Europe . . . and this time he hopes to be among friends President Bush embarks today on his last important trip to Europe, a six-day swing that will include a dinner with Gordon Brown and a meeting with the Queen at Windsor Castle.