* Palestinians harden refusal to accept a ‘Jewish state’ Opposition from Palestinian leaders to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as the “state of the Jews” intensified.

* Abbas urges ‘bring down Hamas’ Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has called for Gaza’s Hamas rulers to be “brought down”, his strongest call yet for their removal.

* ANALYSIS: Lebanon risks civil war Lebanese presidential elections have been rescheduled once again, this time moved from November 12 to 21.

* Musharraf ‘will quit army soon’ Pakistan’s attorney general says he expects President Pervez Musharraf to resign as army head before 1 December.

* Jerusalem says Solana could trump ElBaradei Two weeks before he is due to deliver a report on the Iranian nuclear program to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana remained tight-lipped.

* Darfur mission may fail, warns UN The joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission to Darfur may fail unless countries can provide helicopters and lorries, a top UN official says.

* Israel urging Disney to sue Hamas The Israeli consulate in Los Angeles, California recently appealed to the Walt Disney Company to examine whether or not Hamas infringed upon its copyright on the character of Mickey Mouse.

* EU seeks ‘status neutral’ way out for Kosovo As diplomatic efforts on the fate of Kosovo look set to reach a dead end, the European Union’s mediator has suggested a status neutral solution for Serbia’s breakaway province.

* China calls for Tehran to work with IAEA China supports Iran’s right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes but wants Tehran to allay international suspicions about its nuclear program.

* Several dead in Kirkuk blast A suicide car bomber has struck in Iraq’s northern oil city of Kirkuk, killing seven people and wounding 20.