* Bomb kills top Hezbollah leader Lebanese group Hezbollah says one of its top leaders, Imad Mughniyeh, has died in a bombing in Damascus, and has blamed Israel for assassinating him.

* ‘J’lem talks on and under table’ Hatem Abdel Qader, the Jerusalem affairs adviser to Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad, confirmed Tuesday that Jerusalem is one of the issues currently being discussed by Israeli and PA negotiators.

* Livni shows foreign diplomats realities of Qassam fire Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni toured Sderot and the Gaza vicinity communities Wednesday, along with 70 foreign diplomats.

* Gulf states seek Israeli ‘umbrella’ Persian Gulf nations believe Israel will strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities rather than allow Teheran to develop nuclear weapons capabilities.

* Kosovo independence ‘within days’ The province of Kosovo plans to declare its independence from Serbia within days.

* Olmert: Shas won’t quit coalition Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Wednesday that he did not believe Shas would quit the coalition over reports that Jerusalem was already on the table in talks with the Palestinians.

* Major Danish newspapers republish Muhammad cartoon Denmark’s five major daily newspapers republished on Wednesday one of the 12 drawings of the Prophet Muhammad which angered Muslims around the world.

* Africa war zones’ ‘rape epidemic’ Sexual violence is spreading in African conflict zones like an epidemic, the United Nations has warned.

* Israel denies involvement in Mughniyeh assassination In a first official Israeli reaction to the killing of Hizbullah’s terror chief Imad Mughniyeh, the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday rejected Hizbullah’s claims that Israel had assassinated the arch-terrorist.

* Sarkozy pleads for ‘coherent’ EU space policy French President Nicolas Sarkozy has added planet Mars to the already long ‘to-do’ list.