* Iran defiant on nuclear plan as UN gears up for fresh sanctions Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday a United Nations Security Council resolution could not stop the Islamic state from obtaining nuclear technology.

* Ethiopians can look back in pride, says Olmert “The Ethiopian immigrants did not find a rose paradise here,” Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Wednesday.

* Palestinian PM unveils unity team Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya has unveiled a national unity cabinet after months of negotiations between his Hamas movement and Fatah.

* Hamas TV: Disengagement Key to Israel’s Destruction Hamas-controlled television is broadcasting a statement by the group’s late leader Ahmad Yassin several times a day.

* Israeli officials slam Solana remarks Israeli officials expressed disappointment Wednesday that EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana backed a full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights.

* China to expand “Great Internet Firewall” China will tighten controls on Internet blogs and webcasts in a response to new technologies that have allowed cyber citizens to avoid government censorship efforts.

* Pope sets out ‘non-negotiable values’ in key document Pope Benedict XVI Tuesday set out “non-negotiable values” as he urged Catholic lawmakers to oppose laws favoring divorce, abortion, and euthanasia.

* The general and the sheikh – can they save Iraq? When the American general met the Arab sheikh for the first time they greeted each other with undisguised enthusiasm.

* Israel, PA agree on Japan-backed plan A recent Japan-backed agreement to promote economic cooperation and development in the Middle East must run parallel to concrete steps to stem violence there.

* Russia clinches Balkan oil deal Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a deal in Athens to ship Russian oil to the EU via a pipeline bypassing the busy Bosphorus.